Together Step by STEP: A Collaborative Approach for Writing a Research Paper

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Unit 1: Establishing the Learning Community  Unit 2: Grammar Building	Unit 3: Search	Unit 4: Transpose  Unit 5: Extract	Unit 6: Prepare

Introduction

Welcome. You may watch this video and then go to Unit 1, or you may read the introduction below and move to Unit 1.

While standing in a shoe store, I’m fascinated by the various shapes, colors and textures that pumps have. There are so many to choose from. Some are bold and beautiful others are demure and dainty. Some grab my attention, but others take a little getting used to.

Overall, footwear stores remind me of the commonality existing between shoes and selecting a topic for a research paper.

Consider how the initial phase of research writing -- selecting a topic -- relates to shoes.

Shoes	Research Paper
There are so many to choose from	Multiple topic options available for students to select from
Some are show stoppers	Topics can get your attention
A person’s shoe style may disclose a little about the personality of the one who wears it.	The topic a student selects may reveal a little about the student in terms of his or her interests.

While there are multiple topics to select from, students often do not share my enthusiasm about writing or shoes. Students may say, “I don’t have a hobby”, when tasked to write a personal interest paper. However, the response is inaccurate, and reflects the student’s unfamiliarity with the process of developing a topic and writing a research paper. After all, everyone has interests and unique abilities.

Abilities are often temporarily hampered by anxiety – a well documented issue that separates students from productive cognitive effort. Baker & Brizee (2013) confirm this and report that “ Such an assignment often creates a great deal of unneeded anxiety in the student, which may result in procrastination and a feeling of confusion and inadequacy. This anxiety frequently stems from the fact that many students are unfamiliar and inexperienced with this genre of writing.” (Baker & Brizee, 2013, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/01/).

Therefore, the goals of the course are to:

• Assist instructors with developing and implementing strategies that allow students to tap into their interests and connect their ideas to academic subject matter for the purpose of producing a topic and the subsequent research paper.

• To mitigate anxiety by allowing students to construct their first paper in the context of a team environment that utilizes a wiki to complete each step of the writing process. Class activities coupled with online assignments, allow students to learn from their mistakes in an atmosphere that is supportive and collaborative. Such an environment is especially important for the student who has not yet developed his or her unique literary voice.

These objectives will be accomplished one phase at a time beginning with Unit 1 which seeks to answer the question, "How do I establish a learning community?"

Embedded in each unit are the following:

	Toolbox Resources: Sources near the toolbox require for you to read materials, view a video, or visit a particular website.

	This symbol signals activities to be completed.

Unit 1: Establishing the Learning Community

Target Objective

Participants will implement strategies to establish a learning community

Unit 2: Grammar Building

Target Objective

Learners will utilize strategies to develop their own grammar building activities.

Unit 3: Search

Target Objective

Learners will identify motivational factors that affect students’ research, identify strategies & create a document.

Unit 4: Transpose

Target Objectives

Learners will identify strategies for organizing the research paper in the wiki environment. Learners will identify strategies for moving text from one document to another.

Unit 5: Extract

Target Objective

Learners will identify text to be used in the research paper and employ computer skills to move it to another doc.

Unit 6: Prepare

Target Objective

Learners will identify methods used to prepare the first draft of the paper.

Brenda Rhyne Portfolio Brenda Rhyne Portfolio

Home Page: Together Step by STEP: A Collaborative Approach for Writing a Research Paper
Portfolio: Brenda Rhyne Portfolio

Unit 1: Establishing the Learning Community  Unit 2: Grammar Building	Unit 3: Search	Unit 4: Transpose  Unit 5: Extract	Unit 6: Prepare