The Research Process
Students at Hillside will learn about the stages of the research process. The stages are based on Barbara Stripling's Model of Inquiry and are:
In the Connect stage, you are introduced to the topic you will be researching. You should think about what you already know that relates to this topic. You should also be gaining background knowledge as you are introduced to resources relating to the topic. This stage is about observing and developing your understanding of the topic as a whole. You do not need to pick a specific topic to research just yet.
In the Wonder stage, you will start to develop questions and form hypotheses. You are taking what you learned during the connect stage and asking good, meaningful questions that you can pursue during your research.
Now that you have some questions, you will gather resources to Investigate and answer your questions. You will find and synthesize information from multiple sources. See if this new information answers your qu
estions or brings up any new questions to answer.
Construct new understandings connected to previous knowledge. Draw conclusions about questions and your hypothesis.
Share your learning with teachers and classmates; Express yourself! Look for ways to apply what you learned in a new situations, different contexts, other subjects or in parts of your own life.
Finally, Reflect on what you've accomplished and experienced. Did it go well? Is there a way you could organize yourself better next time? Did you spend enough time on each stage? Was their a stage you didn't quite understand? Use this time to think of more questions that came up during a presentation as classmates and teachers learned about your new understandings.