5.2 Research Topic ~90 mins
Research a Question of Your Choice
PURPOSE OF THE TASK: This task is designed to engage students in the investigation of a topic of their special interest relating to diversity in online learners (i.e. UDL, Web Accessibility, Learning Preferences, Gender, Culture, Class Size, Learning Support Services, Group Work, Student Engagement, Equity, Relationship Building, Technology)
TECHNOLOGY: Students will need to use online search tools for their research.
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: Refer to the Topic List in 5.1 and the assembled questions in the collaborative ETHERPAD to choose the topic and ONE of the corresponding questions that you find there and want to investigate further.
STEP 2: Then search for at least two other resources on the topic of your choice. Make sure that one of your resources is academic.
If you need help with researching for academic resources, you can book an appointment with a U of L librarian by clicking on this link here. You can also email the Library to arrange for research support gsd.library@uleth.ca.
STEP 3: Finally read the two resources you found and the one that was suggested in the reading list in 5.1. Take note of or highlight the information in your resources that help you answer your question of choice.
TEACHING INTENTIONS:
The psychologists Idit Katz and Avi Assor (2006) posit that what matters most isn’t the kind of choice given to students but, rather, how students perceive the choice provided to them. Granted that students associate feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with choice, then choice is most likely to result in beneficial outcomes, such as student engagement.
The task is designed according to the first UDL principle to provide multiple means of engagement by providing students with individual choice over the related resources and topics they wish to explore.
References:
Katz, I. & Assor, A. (2007). When Choice Motivates and When It Does Not. Educational Psychology Review.19: 429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9027-y
CAST (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/more/downloads
