This sequence of seven assignments, dubbed “Research Arc,” was created over a decade of teaching introductory research writing to students of all majors at University of Oregon. My primary goals in developing this sequence were to build a culturally responsive and collaborative learning environment and model a thoughtful and conscientious research process that prevents common research pitfalls like de-contextualization of sources, sloppy documentation, and confirmation bias.
My first step was creating an open and unifying course theme, which I title “Making a Better World Through Research and Writing.” This theme acts as an “umbrella” for the course by covering many ideas and questions intersecting through decades and across disciplines. Under this umbrella, students are empowered to research issues that are meaningful to them, personally and academically, while still fostering stimulating connections between their diverse range of research projects. This umbrella theme evolves with current events and between sections of the course, such as via sharing an inspirational list of previous research topics with which former students have been especially successful.
- Subject:
- English Language Arts
- Material Type:
- Assessment
- Homework/Assignment
- Author:
- Kristy Bryant-Berg PhD
- Date Added:
- 09/29/2022