Undergraduate / Bachelors

Submitted by Amanda M. on March 14th, 2018
Short Description: 

This lesson was developed for a Photography course on the theory and psychology of photography (non-majors and majors both take this course). This lesson is typically presented at the beginning of a course section on the aesthetics of photography. It was meant to challenge their assumptions about art, information (online) as a commodity, and copyright practices of artists. Students may be asked to look up Richard Prince before class or during, as the lesson suggests.

Attachments: 
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Richard Prince, Aesthetics, Value of Info.pdfdisplayed 1458 times73.25 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Identify and discuss relevant issues related to the work of Richard Prince, including copyright, appropriation, and visual information as a commodity.
Consider the original context of the work of Richard Prince and critique whether these images, in this new context, take on a different meaning.
Discuss the choices that Richard Prince has made in the production of his work to influence interpretation and aesthetic value

Discipline: 
Art

Individual or Group:

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
See lesson plan
Suggested Citation: 
M., Amanda. "Richard Prince, Aesthetics, and the Value of Information." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/richard-prince-aesthetics-and-value-information.
Submitted by Elizabeth Christian on February 26th, 2018
Short Description: 

This activity introduces students to a variety of databases in their discipline by asking them to quickly review and prepare an “elevator speech” on the database’s best features and content. Students then do three rounds of “speed dating” to share with other students what they’ve discovered.

Attachments: 
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Activity worksheet for studentsdisplayed 1600 times14.8 KB
Lesson plan for instructorsdisplayed 1534 times14.22 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will be able to identify and use appropriate databases to form an effective research strategy.
Students will be able to differentiate databases based on functionality and content scope.

Discipline: 
Multidisciplinary

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

This activity works best if all students are in the same discipline, although it can be scaled to include general research databases or multiple disciplines. Part C asks students to quickly identify a research topic and evaluate their databases by searching for that topic. This will work if students already have a research topic in mind for an assignment. If not, you may wish to offer one or more examples for them to use, or skip it entirely.

Collaborators: 
Suggested Citation: 
Christian, Elizabeth. "Database "Speed Dating"." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/database-speed-dating.
Submitted by Nataly Blas on January 9th, 2018
Short Description: 

This activity is intended to introduce students to business resources by following the Porter's 5 Forces. Each Force is its own activity with suggested discussion questions, examples and recommended research approach.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Industry Research using Porter’s 5 Forces.docxdisplayed 1199 times116.47 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will determine the initial scope of the task required to meet their information need.
Students will be able to identify and use key business databases in order to form an effective research strategy.

Discipline: 
AccountingBusiness

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Blas, Nataly. "Industry Research Using Porter's 5 Forces ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/industry-research-using-porters-5-forces.
Submitted by Kirsten Hansen on December 19th, 2017
Short Description: 

During this activity, students work in small groups to explore assigned databases and then share back what they learn in a Google Doc projected at the front of the classroom.

Attachments: 
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Database_Exploration_with_Google_docs.docxdisplayed 2137 times287.4 KB
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Sample_Lesson_Plan_databases and google docs.docdisplayed 1743 times120.5 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

• Students will construct a search using their keywords in a designated database in order to find three articles are superficially relevant to their research topic. • Students will analyze one database in order to articulate one useful feature of the database for their research assignment, and explain why or how the feature might be useful to their assignment.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

I frequently use this activity for first year research classes across a wide variety of disciplines when the faculty member teaching the class has asked me to demo databases. I have also used it with great success in higher-level discipline specific classes including biology and my colleagues have used it with graduate students. This activity works best for classes with a research assignment and when students have received the research assignment and are starting to think about their research topic prior to the IL session. However, I've also had classes where students have not yet received their research assignment and working with a single research question as a whole class works just fine. In that case, I usually have a research question that I've created that we can work with but with discipline specific classes we've also created research questions together at the beginning of class.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

To see how this activity fits into my somewhat-typical first year instruction session, see the sample lesson plan below. Please note: This is a real lesson plan and thus refers to class activities not explained here. The lesson plan is mostly meant to show how the google doc exercise can fit into a larger class session. If you have questions about the other activities mentioned in the lesson plan, please ask!

Collaborators: 
Suggested Citation: 
Hansen, Kirsten. "Exploring Databases with Google Docs." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/exploring-databases-google-docs.
Submitted by Raymond Pun on December 6th, 2017
Short Description: 

A general sample of how to set up the information literacy workshop in an escape room model.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Information Literacy in the Escape Room.pdfdisplayed 3924 times58.51 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students learn different search methods and sources and work in groups collaboratively
Students learn to think through different types of research questions presented in each clue

Discipline: 
Liberal Studies

Individual or Group:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 
Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 
Suggested Citation: 
Pun, Raymond. "Information Literacy in the Escape Room." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/information-literacy-escape-room.
Submitted by Steve Gerstle on November 24th, 2017
Short Description: 

Students often struggle developing good research questions. This rubric is used to assess research questions. Students are given a brief lesson on developing a research question that includes a video produced by the University of Cincinnati.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aYA1ooRce8&index=5&list=PLSWTn4sCw1ZN1B...

Attachments: 
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Rubric for assessing research questionsdisplayed 8029 times13.79 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Assessment of research questions

Individual or Group:

Tags:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

Students were asked to write either their preliminary or final research questions on a sheet of paper. Questions were then assessed using the rubric.

Suggested Citation: 
Gerstle, Steve. "Rubric for assessing research questions." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/rubric-assessing-research-questions.
Submitted by Krista Bowers Sharpe on November 20th, 2017
Short Description: 

This lesson is intended as a single session within a major’s research methods course. Rather than using a shorter “scholarly vs. non-scholarly” comparison worksheet, this activity asks students to work in groups to systematically examine a scholarly article in depth, identify and evaluate its various components visually and in writing, and then compare it to a non-scholarly article on the same topic. Groups then report back to the entire class. Discussion is guided so as to touch on the processes by which sources are created, what these methods say about their authority, and to consider contextually appropriate uses for them.

Attachments: 
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Worksheet displayed 2575 times140.94 KB
AttachmentSize
BowersSharpe_AutopsyLessonPlan2017.docxdisplayed 1703 times18.64 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

● The student will be able to identify the standard elements of scholarly writing. ● The student will be able to distinguish scholarly from non-scholarly literature. ● The student will be able to select the appropriate type of source to use in various contexts.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

Although the activity was developed for students taking two social science majors' research methods courses (SOC 323 and ANTH 305), it could be adapted to any setting that lends itself to in-depth examination of information creation processes, the construction of authority, and the contextual appropriateness of sources.

Additional Instructor Resources (e.g. in-class activities, worksheets, scaffolding applications, supplemental modules, further readings, etc.): 

Lesson plan with tips for guided discussion.

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
The librarian and the teacher of record will evaluate students’ learning based on the verbal reports of their article comparisons and the resulting discussion between groups. Additional assessment will take place after the session by examining the written worksheets and marked-up articles.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Unless seating allows for sitting in circles, pairs work better than groups of three for this activity; Some groups/students will spend too much time on some questions, so time-keeping and pacing are necessary; it is difficult to fit this activity into a 50-minutes session.

Suggested Citation: 
Bowers Sharpe, Krista. "Scholarly Article Autopsy." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/scholarly-article-autopsy.
Submitted by Ken Liss on November 18th, 2017
Short Description: 

In this lesson students view a series of short videos about searching library resources, interspersed with exercises in which they conduct searches on their topics and reflect on what they find and on the research process. (The first two videos and accompanying activities are done outside of class; the third can be done in class.)

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Links to videos and descriptions of accompanying searching and reflection activitiesdisplayed 1222 times122.27 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

• Students will learn that research is about exploring the scholarly conversation about a topic and not just about finding answers to questions.
• Students will learn that exploring library (and non-library) resources can help them develop different directions and ways of approaching their topics than they initially had in mind.
• Students will learn how to create strategies for overcoming common obstacles encountered while researching a topic.
• Students will learn how to follow paths from one scholarly source to others.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This set of videos and interspersed searching and reflection exercises was developed by a librarian and two writing instructors as part of a project in the third year of the ACRL Assessment in Action program. It has since been used more widely in the Boston University College of Arts & Sciences Writing Program.

Suggested Citation: 
Liss, Ken. "Exploring the Scholarly Territory Using Library Resources." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/exploring-scholarly-territory-using-library-resources.
Submitted by Sarah Ralston on November 15th, 2017
Short Description: 

This activity/assignment was designed for a first year composition course in collaboration with an English/Writing instructor. It could be used in an information literacy credit course, First Year Experience course, or in another discipline-specific context. The purpose of the lesson is to lay the foundation for students to be able to read scholarly work more effectively and critically. Students are given instruction on reading a scholarly article and directed to look for key pieces of information such as research question or hypothesis, methods, participants or data sources, key findings, and limitations of the study. The instructor then shows an infographic (prepared in advance) showing those key pieces of information in a concise, visual format. Students are introduced to an online infographic maker such as easel.ly or piktochart, and directed to create their own infographic on the article as practice. The graded assignment is for students to create an infographic on a scholarly article of their choosing, relevant to a larger research assignment in the composition (or other) course (e.g. an annotated bibliography).

Attachments: 
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Lesson plan, background prep, and assignment instructionsdisplayed 2152 times18.43 KB
"Parts of a Scholarly Article" Handout and Sample Infographicdisplayed 3167 times703.54 KB
Handout&Sample.pptxdisplayed 2134 times703.54 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

1. Students will be able to identify the components of a scholarly journal article in order to become familiar with common structures of research articles. 2. Students will be able to locate the key pieces of information (hypothesis or research question, methodology, participants or data sources, findings, and limitations) in a scholarly journal article in order to read for understanding. 3. Students will be able to present the key pieces of information from a scholarly article in a visual format using infographic or other online creation tools.

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This assignment was created for a first year composition course in collaboration with the instructor. She wanted to use infographics as a method for teaching multimodal writing, and I wanted a strategy for showing how to read scholarly articles. This activity was conducted on my second visit to class, so students already had instruction on source types and characteristics of scholarly articles. We'd also had a discussion about the concept Scholarship as a Conversation. I spent the class time following the lesson plan as written, and the following class day the students had time in the computer lab with their instructor to create their own infographics. The final essay for the class is an argumentative essay, requiring 5 sources, 2 of which must be scholarly. An infographic summarizing one of the scholarly articles is required as an attachment to the essay.

Suggested Citation: 
Ralston, Sarah. "Scholarly Articles: Reading for Understanding." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/scholarly-articles-reading-understanding.
Submitted by Kristen Bailey on October 3rd, 2017
Short Description: 

Made to be an in class activity or a library resource requested by professors for courses. The first page goes with the instruction portion of a class. 'What is a primary source? What is a secondary source? What is a tertiary source?' It takes them through example types of sources, particularly concerned with history courses. The second and third pages require evaluation of a student's primary and secondary sources. They include a series of questions to make the student think about what makes a source reliable, if the source has a skewed perspective, or if the source is actually related to their research topic.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Historical Sources.pdfdisplayed 35151 times168.9 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Distinguish between primary and secondary sources in a specific discipline. Evaluate potential sources and determine value .

Individual or Group:

Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated): 

This was created at the request of a history professor for integration into their lower-level history survey. The professor wanted to be able to have a reusable resource to help students evaluate the quality of materials they were using for their research. They also wanted the students to have a quick visual reminder of what constitutes a primary or secondary source in relationship to their research question.

Suggested Citation: 
Bailey, Kristen. "Evaluating Historical Sources." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2017. https://projectcora.org/assignment/evaluating-historical-sources.

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