Big6 Skill 6-Evaluation
Teacher:
Very good
students! I was very impressed with
your presentations and I think you worked very well in your groups. I can tell that a lot of you understand the
complex issues of situation. Let’s move
on to the final step and perhaps the most important step in the Big6 Research
Process—Evaluation.
Ronald:
Doesn’t that
mean that you give us a grade!
Teacher:
My grade is part
of the assessment, but we do the evaluation together. We judge the product and evaluate the process and you can think
about it and decide to how to do it better next time. That is why this step, Evaluation, is so important. Not because it changes anything for this
project, but hopefully taking time to reflect on both the product and the
process will prepare you to do an even better job on the next project you have.
Elana:
I can think of
several things that I’d do differently next time.
Ronald:
I did it all
perfectly!
Teacher:
Well, I’m sure
everyone has some room for improvement.
So, I’m going to give you a few minutes to respond to these evaluation
questions that I’m handing out and then we’ll discuss your responses. Here are the questions I’d like you to
answer
1. What worked?
2. What didn’t work?
3. What did other people do well?
4. What was hardest for you?
5. How will you improve your process next
time?
All right, I’m
going to give you some time to think and write. Get to work.
(FADE)
Teacher:
Okay, I see that
most of you have finished up with the writing part. Let’s go ahead and discuss your responses. Mrs. L is here to join us as well. Elana, you already mentioned that there are
some things you would have done differently?
What specifically about your product would you have changed?
Elana:
Well, I had some
difficulty editing my video and then I got short on time, so in the end, I
think that my video had a lot of content in it that was extra. I would have really liked to have edited
parts of the interview, with other background information. I think that would have really helped the
audience understand my interviewee’s responses.
Paul:
I agree with you
Elana. I mean your video was good and
everything, but it got a little long at points.
Elana:
Yeah. Some of the interview questions and answers
should have been edited out.
Teacher:
Good evaluation,
Elana. Now what would you do
differently next time?
Elana:
Well, I guess I
thought I could do all the editing myself.
I just wasn’t sure how to go about it.
I think that the next time I want to do a video, I should script it all
on paper first and then if I don’t know how to do something find help. I have lots of friends who could have helped
me, but it was too late to ask them by the time I figured out I didn’t know what
I was doing.
Librarian:
So, your basically
saying that your process for organizing your information was not as good as it
could have been and therefore was reflected in your product.
Elana:
Yes, I guess
so. But, I did get some good feedback
from my neighbor.
Teacher:
Really? How so?
Elana:
Well, I had
given a copy of the tape to my neighbor that I interviewed and he e-mailed his
family back in the Middle East to tell them about it. They were really excited that we were learning about it and
e-mailed me. They shared their thoughts
and viewpoints about the Middle East situation. We’ve e-mailed back and forth a couple of times. It was really cool.
Teacher:
That is very
exciting. E-mail can be an excellent
tool. I hope that those of you who used
e-mail to communicate with Mrs. L and me throughout this project thought that
it was helpful.
Elana:
I really liked
using the e-mail. I could be at home
and still be able to ask you questions.
Paul:
I don’t have a
computer at home, so I learned how to use e-mail from the public library so I could
contact you.
Librarian:
Great. You could
also use the school library computers to e-mail your teachers or myself. Who else wants to share their evaluation
about their product or process?
Paul:
I was feeling
pretty good about my presentation until I saw some of the others.
Teacher:
Really what did
you notice in theirs that you thought was lacking in yours?
Paul:
Well, the
presentations that I really liked told a personal story. Like it was a real person involved in the
conflict talking or writing. Mine was
really general. I talked about a group
of people not a single person.
Teacher:
Your
presentation was very informative.
Paul:
Oh yeah it was
factual, but not personal. I didn’t
talk about feelings or day-to-day living.
I just thought that those presentations were more interesting.
Librarian:
Well, what would
you do differently next time?
Paul:
I could have
thought more about my audience when it came time to organizing the
presentation. Mine read like a
textbook. If I had thought about it more, I would have figured out that a story
would have been better.
Teacher:
Good. How did you feel about your research
process?
Paul:
I felt good
about it. Last time we did a research process, I didn’t stick to the BIG6
research steps and it didn’t go very well.
So I made sure I stuck with the process. And I also, really tried to use the time in the library
wisely. I didn’t do that last time
either.
Librarian:
It sound like
you did some good evaluating of your process on your last project and really
made some improvements for this project.
Paul:
Definitely. The last research project went really
badly. The Big6 process really helped
me through this one.
Teacher:
How about you
Ronald? How did you feel about your
research process?
Ronald:
Well, I guess
that I could have done better.
Librarian:
How so?
Ronald:
Well, I wasted a
lot of time in the library and then had to do a lot of it at home. And it wasn’t really until I started to put
the presentation together that I realized that I didn’t really have a lot to
say, so I had to do a lot of the research at the last minute.
Librarian:
Mmhmm.
Ronald:
The part of the
presentation that I felt the best about was the part we worked on
together. I thought the maps were
really good and explained a lot.
Elana:
Yes, I thought
that was the best part of your presentation too.
Ronald:
Thanks.
Teacher:
So how could you
improve for next time, Ronald?
Ronald:
Well, I know I
should make better use of my time, but I’m not sure really what I would have
done differently.
Librarian:
Let’s look at
each step of the process and figure out what went wrong. Did you feel like you had completely
understood the task?
Ronald:
Oh yeah. I knew exactly what I was supposed to be
doing.
Librarian:
All right, what
about the next step-- that of information seeking strategies? Did you feel comfortable determining the
range of possible sources and making priorities?
Ronald:
Well,
brainstorming the list of sources with the class was helpful, because I didn’t
really know there were so many options.
But I really thought the Internet would be the best source. Besides I’m not really sure how to use those
other sources.
Librarian:
I think that it
is very common for us to go to the same sources over and over because we are
comfortable with them. But Big6 Step #2
is very important in that it asks you to think about the topic and figure out
what sources would be best to find answers for the topic. As you’ve learned sometimes that means
branching out to new resources.
Ronald:
Yeah, but I
don’t know how to use all those other resources.
Teacher:
Well, there is
always someone you can ask for help
Ronald:
I know, I know,
I should have asked the librarian.
Librarian:
Remember, my job
is to teach you how to use the resources.
Always feel free to ask me for help or come to me with specific
questions.
Teacher:
Well, you really
limited yourself by focusing on the Internet as your one source of information,
but let’s move on. What about step 3,
Location and Access?
Ronald:
Well, I’m pretty
good at finding information on the Internet so that wasn’t a problem. I did print out a lot of paper that I
ultimately never used.
Librarian:
Yes, I remember
this.
Ronald:
And I guess that
as I was using the Information…
Librarian:
Big6 step #4?
Ronald:
Yeah, I guess
that I wasn’t really focusing on the information I needed, er, my research
questions. I was just looking for stuff
on the general topic. So when I got to
the point of organizing my research I had a lot of information on the whole
conflict, but not a lot of information on my particular people group.
Teacher:
It sounds like
you really understand what you could do better the next time you do a research
process.
Ronald:
We are going to
have to do another research project in this class!?
Teacher:
Definitely. And you’ll have to do more research projects
in future classes. But soon you’ll
start mastering the Big6 steps and the process won’t be so difficult. Look at Paul, he learned a lot from his
mistakes on his last research process and he really improved on this one!
Librarian:
Research is a
life skill. You will continually have
to access, evaluate, and use information.
I spent this weekend researching what type of refrigerator to buy. When
you graduate and start looking for a job, you’ll need to do research to find
the right career for you.
Teacher:
And if you ever
want to go on a vacation--there is a lot of research involved with that
process! Research will never go away
and that is one of the reasons we require you to do so much research in
school. We want you to learn the
subject, but we also want you to practice the Big6 research steps so you’ll be
prepared for what lies ahead in the “real world”!
Teacher:
Yes
,indeed. Okay, I think we are done with
this project, but I know that what you have learned about the situation in the
Middle East AND about research will remain with you. Very, very good work, students.