Unit 3: Search
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 4: Transpose | Unit 5: Extract | Unit 6: Prepare |
|---|
Target Objective
Learners will identify motivational factors that affect students’ research, identify Research strategies & create a document.
Unit Objectives
- To identify strategies that support motivation in the classroom
- To identify strategies for conducting the first phase of the research
Lesson 1:Factors that Impact Motivation
Understanding the issues that impact motivation are crucial for development of the learning community.
As an instructor you have probably encountered students who are less motivated to become academically engaged than others.
- In your experience, what are the factors that adversely impact a student's motivation to become involved in writing?
- In your experience, what causes students to become engaged and academically motivated?
Please write your response under the discussion tab for this page.
It is important to analyze these questions in order to improve instructional practice within the context of the learning community.
According to Lai (2011), "motivation can be manipulated through certain instructional practices..” (p. 20).
The question then becomes, what are the instructional practices that can increase student levels of motivation within the context of the learning community? The table below contains major teaching practices that have been shown to bolster motivation.
| Motivators | Explanation |
| Autonomy | Giving students choices. James Connell an educator who is an advocate of the Theory of Self Determination, postulates that when students are given choices to make it increases the likelihood for academic engagement which links to academic achievement. Self Determination and Motivation |
| Peer Review | West & West (2009) report that Peer Review is a cornerstone of online and blended learning environments. Students become motivated as a result of their conversation and working toward a common goal |
| Feedback | Students and the instructor generously give feedback. This feedback can serve as a motivational component for students to keep pursuing instructional outcomes. |
| Modeling | Demonstrating how a project is to be done. For instance, providing a sample of a research paper on the wiki, may serve to motivate students. |
| Relevant Learning | Motivation is affected by the kind of assignment which is given. College freshman and high school students are apt to become engaged when they perceive that their assignment is relevant. |
Please read the following article
 |
Strategies to Motivate Students |
Reflection
Given the information discussed in the article, and the chart above:
- How do you see yourself implementing these strategies to improve your teaching practice?
- How can you utilize the wiki to facilitate their implementation?
Write your response on the discussion tab for this page.
Lesson 2: Strategies for Developing a Topic
The first phase of the research project calls for students to develop a topic and thesis statement. Because students are working in small groups of 2-4 students, you can elect to have them work as a team to devise a topic.
One primary method for devising a topic involves brainstorming. Offer students choices by modeling the different techniques associated with this activity.
| Technique | Comments |
| Inventory List | From a categorized list (i.e. TRENDS, TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTERS), students pose questions (who, what, when, where and how?). To learn more about how the inventory list is created see Media:Inventory List.pdf |
| Using Images | Images can often generate thought and emotions, so they are a valuable tool if used correctly to brainstorm. Open Media:Using Images.pdf and read how images may be employed in a brainstorming session |
| Mind Mapping | This technique is commonly used to develop essays, but it has been used to generate ideas for a research paper as well. |
In this initial phase, students will often select a topic that is too large in scope to be covered during the semester. An excerpt from A Beginner's Research Manual offers suggestions concerning ways to narrow the topic. See Media:Narrow Topic.pdf to learn more.
When students search academic information they may obtain it primarily from:
- Google Scholar
- School Databases (i.e. ProQuest).
However, other research engines while offering the same material found on Scholar.Google may categorize it differently, which means students may find little bits and pieces of information on other sites as well. These sites include:
- Lycos
- Alta Vista
Much of the information that students find, will be found online. However, many good articles are available in print, so encourage students to use print sources as well.
Activity
Ballinger's except presents the inventory list as a way to brainstorm and develop ideas. Reflecting on past experiences, what are the topics that students have written about?
Create an inventory list, and model for students how they would go about developing a topic using this approach.
References
Lai, E. (2011). Motivation: A Literature Review Research Report
http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/d_schunk_self_2003.pdf
Move on to Unit 4: Transpose
Unit 1: Establishing the Learning Community Unit 2: Grammar Building Unit 4: Transpose Unit 5: Extract Unit 6: Prepare
Together Step by STEP: A Collaborative Approach for Writing a Research Paper