Big6 Skill 1-Task Definition
(Class
files in with teacher in front.)
Teacher:
Okay class,
settle down, and let’s get started. My first order of business is to assign you
this unit’s final project. You have the assignment sheet and your homework last
night was to look it over.
Elana:
I’m
overwhelmed!
Ronald:
Let’s
go to the library
Teacher:
No, Ronald, not
yet, there is a lot to do to BEFORE we go running off to the library. All right class, let’s focus up here on the
board and get started. I’ve written the
Big6 Research steps up here and they are also listed on the back of your
assignment sheet for your convenience.
I want to remind you that these six steps reflect a good research
process. I’ve required that you follow
this process several times this year.
Remember it isn’t just what you produce for a final project paper that
is important, your process of how you achieved it is also very important. So let’s start at the beginning with this
project as well. What is the first Big6
step?
Elana:
Task
Definition
Teacher:
Very
good, Elana. And what is the first step
of defining the task?
Elana:
Defining
the problem.
Teacher:
Yes,
what are some ways to define the problem?
Paul:
Read
the assignment sheets carefully.
Teacher:
Yes,
what else?
Elana:
Ask
clarifying questions.
Teacher:
Good,
anything else?
Ronald:
(Says something
funny)
Teacher:
Well, Ronald,
why don’t we stick to the more conventional means?
You’ve had some
time to look over the assignment sheet, Ronald, please define the problem in
your own words.
Ronald:
You
mean tell everyone what we are supposed to be doing?
Teacher:
Exactly,
that is defining the problem.
Ronald:
Well, it says
here that we are suppose to pretend that we are someone involved in the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict and we are suppose to present a solution to the
conflict.
Teacher:
Okay
that’s a good start. Paul what are you
supposed to produce?
Paul:
(Looking at
assignment sheet) A short position paper that we’ll share with the group
orally.
Teacher:
Anything
else?
Paul:
We’ll
need to turn in all of our research too.
Teacher:
Yes that is very
important. Remember to keep that in
mind as you do your research. Don’t
throw any of it away.
Elana:
So
all we need to do is tell what it is like in the Middle East right now?
Teacher:
Well, you’ll
need to gain a full understanding from one perspective. And then I’ll expect you to come together
with other perspectives and agree on some sort of peaceful solution.
Paul:
How
long does the paper need to be?
Elana:
How
many resources do we have to use?
Paul:
Does
that consensus part need to be written out too?
Elana:
How
do we know what kind of person we are supposed to pretend to be?
Ronald:
Can
we skip this project and still pass the class?
Teacher:
Okay, okay. This project is a large part of your unit
grade so choosing to not do the project is probably not a smart choice to
make. As for the other questions, those
were excellent task definition questions.
Very good. Let’s continue this
discussion…
(FADE)
Teacher:
All right, are
there any other task definition questions?
None? You all think you have an
understanding of what you are suppose to do?
Good. Remember that a research
process is circular. Later on, as you
get more into the project, you may have more questions or may need more
clarification. I’m passing out a list
of possible perspectives. Tomorrow in
class we’ll choose who will be who, but for right now let’s move on to the
second step of defining the task. What
is that step?
Elana:
Identifying
the information needed.
Teacher:
Very
good and what does that mean in your own words?
Elana:
Figure
out what information I’ll need to complete the project.
Teacher:
Excellent. This is the point where you would identify
your research questions. If you don’t
figure out what information you’ll need, you’ll spend a lot of time wading
through information that is irrelevant to your project. So, what are some of those research
questions?
Paul:
I
think we are going to need to know where our people live.
Elana:
And how people
live. And what they believe in. And what they think about the
situation. And…
Teacher:
Slow down
Elana. This is good stuff. Let me use
the Inspiration software to capture this brainstorming session. (SHOW ON
INSPIRATION SOFTWARE) All right, Paul
you mentioned that you would need to know where they lived. Do you mean the
geography?
Paul:
Yes,
definitely. Do they live near
fighting? Or do they live in a place
that is under dispute?
Ronald:
Doesn’t
geography mean, like if they’re in the desert or city?
Teacher:
Good point,
geography can mean the terrain, like you are describing or it can mean where
people live in juxtaposition to something else, as Paul has described. So, let’s divide this geography circle into
two main concepts. (SHOW ALL THIS ON SOFTWAR) Great.
Elana:
What
about a circle on “how they live?”
Teacher:
Explain
what you mean.
Elana:
Well, like how
do they make a living? What is their
economic status? What are their religious beliefs?
Teacher:
Good, good. So questions of culture. That would probably
be a good concept circle to add to our brainstorming session (ADD TO
INSPIRATION).
Paul:
We’ll need to
know if they are actively involved in the conflict or not? Who are their leaders?
Teacher:
Excellent. What else?
Ronald:
Don’t
we like, need to know what is like, going on?
Teacher:
Well, Ronald, if
you are referring to the big overall picture of the conflict, yes indeed. You will certainly need to know who is
involved and what actions are taking place.
However, can we create more specific research questions to help us
identify the needed information?
Elana:
We’ll
need to know the history.
Paul:
We’ll need to
know what peace attempts have been made and why they’ve failed.
Elana:
We’ll
need to know what the obstacles to peace are.
Ronald:
It
sounds like we’ll need to know a lot.
Teacher:
This project
does require a lot of research, Elana.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complex issue. However, by working through the Big6
research steps, the process will be very do-able. For example, now you should have a very clear idea of what is
required for the project and what information you will need to find out to complete
the project. Also, remember that you will be working in groups so you can
divide up the workload.
Elana:
I’m feeling a
lot less overwhelmed now compared to how I felt at the beginning of the class
when I just read over the assignment sheet.
Teacher:
That’s
good. The Big6 research process should
help you by solving problems step by step.
Ronald:
It
still sounds like a lot of work.
Paul:
But,
at least now we know what we have to find out.
Ronald:
Yeah,
but how do we find it out?
Teacher:
That is the
following step in the Big6 Research Process.
We’ll start that step next.