This activity is adapted from a CORA assignment Pass the Problem, submitted by Carolyn Caffrey Gardner. Read more about the Pass the Problem technique from NYU Teaching and Learning Resources.
Learning Outcomes:
-
-
- Students will brainstorm keywords related to their research topic
- Students will think strategically about selecting the best sources to search
- Students will evaluate the effectiveness of the keywords and searches they perform
-
Resources:
-
-
- Pass the Research Problem – PDF worksheet (19 copies for a typical ENGL105 class)
-
Activities:
Notes:
-
-
- This activity works best when students come to the session with a research topic, or have narrowed down a topic in the beginning of the session.
- You can either have students do this individually or in small groups. If individually, they should come away with a research article on their own topic by the end of the activity.
-
Have students write their research topics at the top of the worksheet.
Then, either individually or in small groups, ask them to pass their sheets to the person or small group to their right or behind them if they’re at the end of a row (you may need to help direct this, if there’s confusion!)
Ask students to follow the directions on the sheet through steps 1, 2, and 3, stopping at the stop sign, and passing when you ask them to. It may help to set a timer on the screen and play a song or chime when it’s time to pass.
At the end of step 3, students will pass back to the original owner.
Have a quick debrief with the whole class about their searching experiences, using the chance to clarify if there were problems.
Assessment:
-
-
- The completed worksheets provide evidence that students brainstormed keywords, selected a database and provided a reason for their selection, and located a research article on the topic.
-