Research Projects versus Report Papers.

Case Study:

In class, students work on a research project. They use information from multiple sources, take notes and cite materials following the MLA format. They turn their projects to the teacher... and the teacher is disappointed. Research papers look like encyclopedia articles or book reports. 

What is the problem?

Suggestions: 

Before the project is long underway, students examine several research papers. Their attention is drawn to the details that make research papers not a mere review of information found on a topic. A research paper is the result of an intense work and interaction with primary and secondary sources followed by an evaluation of these materials. A research paper is a composition in which students express their personal ideas and points of view and support them by information found in reliable sources.

In addition to presenting a summary of arguments of other authors on the topic (Report), students analyze, examine, discover and revise facts, theories and applications (Research) through a series of steps (Research Process) in order to develop their own ideas and express them in a form of a product. 




You may decide to "apply" knowledge and focus on creating a product. Then, your learning will grow along making and presenting it to the audience.

Keywords:

Primary Sources - are information "collected directly from the real world". They include interviews, surveys, observations, analysis and ethnographic research (Purdue OWL).

Secondary Sources as opposed to primary sources are articles, books or websites that interpret primary sources. These sources are "works of synthesis and interpretation based upon primary sources and the work of other authors" (Teachinghistory.org).

Research – is a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc. Synonyms: investigation, analysis, fact-finding, examination, scrutiny (Webster).

Report - is a review of what others have written about a topic, given a spoken or written account of something that one has observed, heard, done, or investigated, presenting a  summary of arguments of other authors on the topic. Synonyms: describe, communicate, publish, publicize.

Project - is an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim (Oxford Dictionaries Online)

Research paper reviews the materials written about a topic, draws one’s own conclusions and argues his/her point.

Research Process – is a series of steps, which make up research from the development of an idea to the completed research paper.

Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting

Paraphrasing, summarising and quoting are the three ways of presenting someone's ideas and phrases that Middle School students are often struggle with. To help students grasp the difference, Humanities teacher Mr. Sullivan and I, library media specialist conduct a purpose-built class activity.

Before we start a lesson on paraphrasing, summarising and quoting, six grade students are divided by groups. They brainstorm and  share their understanding in front of the class. Other students listen carefully, take notes and ask questions when the presentation is over.

Building an even clarer differentiation between the tools through a dialogue is the next step of student discovery. Students are paired to develop each concept through a conversation. We guide  student discussions by asking open questions.

Below are the results of the class discussions.

Quoting:

What? Quoting is an exact reproduction of spoken or written words. It's usually a short message that

supports and not replaces students' own ideas.
Why? Writers use quoting when the exact wording is the best way to convey a message.
How? The message should not be altered. Quotation marks are used in the beginning and at the end of the message.

Paraphrasing:

What? Paraphrasing is a way to express the original ideas in ones own way by using different words.
Why? It is done to support students' original ideas and/or provide evidence.

How? Paraphrasing doesn't make the original text shorter.
A correct way to paraphrase is

• to read the original text carefully and understand it. 
• Then, identify key words and main ideas and relationships between them as well as the author's attitude toward information you are paraphrasing. 
• When paraphrasing, change the grammar and sentence structure but keywords, main ideas and relationships between them keep the same. 
• Express the attitude the author has to treat the original text, that is confidence, doubt, criticism, or other.

Summarising
What? Summarising is a way to convey main ideas of the original text.
Why? Summarising is used to support main ideas of student writing or provide evidence to prove student thoughts.
How?

• To summarise, read the text, take notes and outline the main ideas. 
• Leave out details and examples.
• Close the text and rewrite notes in your own words.

Helping Hand

Hopes and Dreams for Parent-Teacher Conferences published in Yardstick last week has many ideas Elementary School teachers can use to have their meetings with parents special this year.

Brenda Power from Choice Literacy devoted her recent weekly newsletter to differentiating and grouping students according to their academic abilities. Personal experience that teachers share in Flexible groups in 5th grade classroom and The Dare to Differentiate Wiki can be a useful source of materials on how to organize flexible groups in your classroom. When joining the wiki you can add your ideas to the collection.

Open educational resource collection Curriki.org shares traditional instructional materials between educators. It offers free sources and collaborative tools that users can also customize to meet their specific needs. If you are looking for critical friends, interested in digital textbooks for High School, want to know how to implement Algebra - join these and many other professional groups in this organization. You can collaborate with other teachers throughout the world and create a professional group among educators in your school, find and share lesson plans, class activities and worksheets on your subject.