|
Copyright
2006, Amanda Burleson, Reich
College of Education, Appalachian
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Artifact # 8 |
These artifacts were developed as a part of a
multi-genre project.
Context: While taking Teaching
the Language Arts, taught by Dr. Beth Frye, I created a multi-genre
project about Annie Oakley.
After reading an article about multi-genre projects, as assigned
reading, I realized the purpose for these special research projects. Multi-genre projects allow students
hands-on creativity when researching a person, place or event. Instead of students researching a
topic and then writing a paper about it, multi-genre projects help students
assimilate information in a cohesive manner across a variety of formats and
genres. When students have
ownership and interest in what they are doing they are usually more invested
in their learning. Using a
variety of formats to demonstrate content knowledge is more appealing to a
range of different learners and taps into student’s multiple intelligences
while producing a product that involves research. I
chose to do my multi-genre project about Annie Oakley. By going through the process of
creating a multi-genre project, I could understand what it would feel like as
a learner to actually do the research this way. I discovered, after I chose my topic, I became enthralled
with the research. Annie Oakley
lived during a time period with a great deal of change. Every fact or
connection to events would leave me wanting to know more, spurring me to do
more in depth research. Once I
gathered my information, I then tried to think about what kind of cohesive
unifying format that I would use to present the project. I decided to present my project by
using a scrapbook because Annie Oakley made many scrapbooks of her
achievements and decided to present the information I found about Annie
Oakley using objects that represented her, which I placed in an ammunition
box. As I was creating the
scrapbook, I consolidated my research into information I could use in the
scrapbook. By going through the
process, I not only have a model for my students, and also understand better
that creating a project like this one is a richer, deeper learning experience
that requires higher order thinking capabilities and allows for creativity,
unlike a typical research paper.
In addition, I created a research invitation and rubric to for
students to research contemporaries/ issues during the time period in which
Annie Oakley lived. Impact: I have not
had the opportunity to use this research method in my teaching thus far. While putting this project together,
I utilized the skills of the media specialist at the school in which I
teach. Because of her background
in libraries and with bookbinding, she helped me to bind my Annie Oakley
scrapbook. While she was helping
me with the binding aspect of the project, I described to her the purpose of
the multi-genre projects and gained knowledge about myself as a learner going
through the process. Kathy, the
media specialist, was so intrigued by the idea of approaching research
through a variety of formats and genres. She wants to create a mini-course where middle school
mini-course students research and use the multi-genre approach. Standard A: Instructional Expertise The multi-genre project demonstrates
my ability to implement and evaluate best reading practices that emerge from
educational reading research and integrate literacy across the
curriculum. The multi-genre
artifact and subsequent research initiation and student rubric exhibit my
expertise in incorporating educational reading literature findings into
school and classroom strategies to improve student learning and foster a love
of literature and research. Standard B: Knowledge of Learners The multi-genre project is created
for the purpose of a hand-on approach to research, where students actually
have to transform their research into cohesive description of their topic
presenting learning across a variety of genres and formats. When learners transform
information and apply it in their daily lives, true learning is taking
place. This project is designed
to reach many different students styles of learning. All students research a topic that
they are interested in, which fosters student learning and aids in maintaining
a classroom environment where learners feel welcome and are successful, no
matter their level. Standard C: Research
I used current educational research
to improve student effectiveness and achievement by completing this
multi-genre project. This
project was designed as a means to create more excitement and interest in the
educational setting by opening up the presentation of research into a variety
of formats and genres, as apposed to simply asking students to write a
research paper. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
