My last post about rubrics raised some questions about how to teach kids to be solid researchers, so I started working up a list of questions that researchers ask themselves.
Most researchers are doing research in order to be better storytellers — their eye is on the final product, a book or article they intend to write. So these questions are built around that assumption, that the researcher is looking for information on how to build a more complete story that appeals to a wide audience. Maybe this will inspire you to add to my list, and we can work up better ways to teach research skills to younger students.
- Can I tell the difference between a true piece of information and a false one?
- Can I tell the difference between a respected source of information and a minority opinion?
- Can I tell when an internet source is lying to me?
- What is the difference between content and context?
- Can I place this event in its correct time?
- Can I place this event on a globe or map?
- What 2-3 other things happened before or after this event which might be relevant?
- What 2-3 other things were going on in the world at the same time?
- Who is my audience?
- If I were telling this story, what sort of questions are people likely to ask me?
