Reinventing Practice

There are many models for conducting research projects with your class. These models have titles like:

• Information Literacy Model
• Social Investigations Model
• Case Study Model
• Investigative Model
• 8 W's Community-Centred Learning Model
• Project-Based Learning Model
• Project Management Model

Selecting information problems that enable students to develop knowledge and skills in these models, is an important task for the teacher. Information problems that we are promoting in this series generally have some identifiable characteristics.

• Information problems are open-ended and generally do not have a correct answer known to the teacher.
• Information problems require students to analyse and synthesis data from a variety of sources.
• Expert knowledge will need to be constructed and conveyed by the students.
• Conclusions and best-fit solutions will need to be prioritised. The solutions will need to be represented and conveyed.
  
• The problem has an owner and stakeholders.
  
• The process of solving the problem is quite complex and cognitively challenging.

The models we will examine in depth are:

• Information Literacy Model
• Social Investigations Model
• Action Research Model

The information literacy model is generally used to help students immerse in multiple aspects of a problem, issue or topic, developing knowledge through actively engaging with information from multiple sources. It has stages similar to the following.

• Recognise the information needs within a problem.
• Develop successful search strategies.
• Organise data.
• Evaluate data.
• Process the data, so it becomes information within the problem context.
• Develop solutions.
• Evaluate the solutions.
• Communicate a solution of the problem.

The social investigation model is generally used to help students immerse in a social issue where differing conflicting opinions are held by different stakeholders, and is used to help students develop informed opinion or participate in critical debate. It has stages similar to the following.

• Motivate to appeal to students' affective domain.
• Explore the issue.
• Frame and identify opinion.
• Gather information.
• Analyse new ideas.
• Make conclusions from a broad and informed perspective and review opinions.
• Take action.
• Reflect.

The action research model is often used to work actively in a community-centred problem where students want to initiate change. It has stages similar to the following.

• Identify the problem.
• Investigate the problems.
• Evaluate the data.
• List possible actions.
• Predict outcomes.
• Select best action.
• Implement action.
• Evaluate action.
• Identify a new problem and follow procedure