Environmental Studies

Submitted by Lauren deLaubell on January 17th, 2025
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Short Description: 

The most powerful wizards have gathered to battle one another.  Only one will win.  Wizards must use reliable sources to research incantations for the battle, or their spells will fizzle.  Truly wise wizards must learn to tell the difference. 

Research Wizards is an information literacy card game designed to teach students ages 12+ about source evaluation.  Research Wizards corresponds to the Frame Authority Is Constructed and Contextual, from the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.  Players will discuss and challenge the relative value of various sources, each representing a different suit in the game.  The game includes four major actions/phases:  Parley, when players discuss and decide for themselves the relative value of each suit; Battle, which includes competition, player actions, and Challenges; Vengeance, for eliminated players to impact and speed up the remainder of the game; and Victory.

The Research Wizards website contains free game files, player directions, and printing tips for librarians and teachers who wish to use the game in their classrooms.  The website includes an editable, Microsoft Publisher version of the game.  Noncommercial use of the game is free for educational purposes with attribution to the author.  Librarians and teachers are encouraged to adapt the game as needed for their subject areas, student needs, and as the sources in the game evolve over time.  Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

Players:  3-5 per deck

Play Time:  20-30 minutes, plus discussion

Research Wizards by Lauren deLaubell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Player directionsdisplayed 1592 times1.02 MB
Printing tipsdisplayed 1509 times26.71 KB
Card deckdisplayed 1550 times2.51 MB
Learning Outcomes: 
    • Wizards will define a variety of traditional and emerging information formats.
    • Wizards will compare a variety of information formats and discuss their relative reliability.
    • Wizards will explore the variation in quality found within specific categories of information (e.g., the wildcard of using resources located by or generated with artificial intelligence).

Individual or Group:

Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

It is recommended to review directions out loud with students, with pauses for students to sort their decks and conduct the Parley phase of play.  To contextualize and reinforce learning, it is recommended to conclude the game with discussion questions; sample questions are provided at the bottom of the player directions file but may be adjusted as needed.

Suggested Citation: 
deLaubell, Lauren. "Research Wizards." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2025. https://projectcora.org/assignment/research-wizards.
Submitted by Tricia Martone on January 16th, 2025
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Short Description: 

This an an active learning class using a jigsaw for teaching how to use Web of Science (25 minutes) and a modified Send-A-Problem (renamed Send Along) activity (15 minutes) that covers keyword brainstorming, practicing searching, evaluating the relevance of sources for a given topic, and considering whether that research topic is right-sized.

The lesson was designed for an environmental studies class with 6 students, though it can be scaled up. The Web of Science jigsaw had 3 groups of 2 each teaching themselves in their pairs the contents of one of the handouts. Students were then shuffled so that each student in each of the 2 new groups of 3 had worked on a separate handout. The students then taught each other what they learned, combining the knowledge of the three handouts. Students were put in pairs for the Send Along activity. All groups completed #1, then passed their paper to the left, and this was repeated for #2 and #3. Papers were passed once more after #3 was complete so that groups ended up with their original paper. The topics of the send along activity were curated such that one topic was too specific, one was right sized, and the other too broad. Reflection on the activity (5-10 minutes) included discussion around what makes a right-sized research question, how useful some Web of Science features were for their searches, how keyword choices impacted their searches, and what they might do differently in future.

This lesson was created by Tricia Martone, Alexis Gomez, and Abigail Murdy during the 2024 Librarians Active Learning Institute (LALI) at Dartmouth Libraries, and has been used by Tricia in one-shot library instruction in undergraduate classes. 

Learning Outcomes: 
  • Students will be able to identify primary peer-reviewed literature relevant to their topic.
  • Students will be able to apply search strategies to locate relevant peer-reviewed sources for their topic.
  • Students will be able to distinguish whether a research topic is broad, too specific, or just right.

Individual or Group:

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

This was created for and used in the Librarians Active Learning Institute (LALI) 2024 practicum. Tricia has since used it in an earth sciences undergraduate class (5 students), and created a modified version of the jigsaw for ProQuest Central in a first-year writing seminar in the earth sciences department (16 students). 

For numbers that aren't even, like the 5 students, I asked the instructor to step in to fill the 6th spot so that the jigsaw could function. It's important to have at least one person in each group that worked on each handout. For the class of 16 students, I still had 3 handouts and kept close to a 3 by 5. For teaching themselves, I had 2 groups of 5 and 1 group of 6, then for mixing, I had 4 groups of 3 and 1 group of 4. The group of 4 had two people who worked on the same handout, so those two team-taught the others in their group. This worked well scaled up, though the classroom can get loud. Scaling beyond 16 may require separating the class into a couple groups and then doing the jigsaw among each group (i.e. 36 students might become 3 groups of 12, and then you break it down from there).

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
Students will be able to apply search strategies through Web of Science to find and assess 2 resources on a paper topic. Students will be able to articulate when a search topic isn’t specific enough to be able to narrow in on relevant sources.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

The jigsaw will need a room where students can group up. A lecture hall or room with immovable furniture that's far apart may not accomodate this activity. Students also need to bring laptops to class, so if the instructor doesn't want this, the activity won't be possible.

The send-along that teaches about how to right-size a research question needs very curated topics in order to get this particular part of the lesson across. This landed really well with the topics included in these handouts, but different prompts I used in the Earth Sciences class I taught this in fell flat, though students still got something out of the activity. They instead reflected on what makes a paper relevant to a topic, which was also valuable for them.

Suggested Citation: 
Martone, Tricia. "Strategic Searching and Research Question Evaluation." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2025. https://projectcora.org/assignment/strategic-searching-and-research-question-evaluation.
Submitted by Lydia Bello on March 31st, 2021
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Short Description: 

During this activity, students work with their lab partners to apply Mike Caulfield’s “Four Moves and a Habit” to a piece of science information they have found on the open web.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plan displayed 1265 times229.33 KB
Pre-lab Canvas Quiz questions developed by Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry displayed 1379 times99.7 KB
In Class Activity Templatedisplayed 1250 times55.69 KB
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Upon completing this activity, students will
    • Identify strategies to evaluate scientific information or media on the web in an efficient manner
    • Understand the characteristics that differentiate scholarly versus popular literature

Individual or Group:

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

I use this activity every year in the lab section of General chemistry. At this level of chemistry students are rarely doing research work that involves chemistry literature, and don’t necessarily have chemistry research questions or a need for understanding the library research databases for for the class. However, students at this level are engaging with science information in the classroom and outside the classroom, and this is a great opportunity to build skills needed to engage with information in online spaces. 

Since I developed this assignment, Mike Caulfield has developed a new framework based on the Four Moves, called SIFT. At this point I’ve stayed with Four Moves and a Habit because it comes with an open textbook that I can assign pre-class reading from, and because the named concept of lateral reading has been useful for students.

Many thanks to Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry, for her work on developing this lesson plan and developing the pre-lab quiz questions.

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

I’ve included a lesson plan, word document of the in-class activity, and copy of quiz questions used in Canvas as a pre-lab quiz. The lesson plan does not include much of the language I use to describe the concepts. If you want to know how I frame my explanations, please don’t hesitate to ask! 

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
There is no assessment criteria for this assignment, other than completion.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

THe most successful way to teach these moves is to demonstrate them live, with all the risks that may entail. It is useful to identify one or two examples that you can use to practice the different moves. During the activity it is useful to keep an eye on the collaborative document (Google Doc) students are working on, and use it to check in with individual groups. 

Suggested Citation: 
Bello, Lydia. "“Four Moves and a Habit” in General Chemistry Lab ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2021. https://projectcora.org/assignment/%E2%80%9Cfour-moves-and-habit%E2%80%9D-general-chemistry-lab-0.
Submitted by Lydia Bello on March 31st, 2021
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Short Description: 

During this activity, students work with their lab partners to apply Mike Caulfield’s “Four Moves and a Habit” to a piece of science information they have found on the open web.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Lesson Plan displayed 1265 times229.33 KB
Pre-lab Canvas Quiz questions developed by Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry displayed 1379 times99.7 KB
In Class Activity Templatedisplayed 1250 times55.69 KB
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Upon completing this activity, students will
    • Identify strategies to evaluate scientific information or media on the web in an efficient manner
    • Understand the characteristics that differentiate scholarly versus popular literature

Individual or Group:

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

I use this activity every year in the lab section of General chemistry. At this level of chemistry students are rarely doing research work that involves chemistry literature, and don’t necessarily have chemistry research questions or a need for understanding the library research databases for for the class. However, students at this level are engaging with science information in the classroom and outside the classroom, and this is a great opportunity to build skills needed to engage with information in online spaces. 

Since I developed this assignment, Mike Caulfield has developed a new framework based on the Four Moves, called SIFT. At this point I’ve stayed with Four Moves and a Habit because it comes with an open textbook that I can assign pre-class reading from, and because the named concept of lateral reading has been useful for students.

Many thanks to Andrea Verdan, Seattle University Chemistry, for her work on developing this lesson plan and developing the pre-lab quiz questions.

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

I’ve included a lesson plan, word document of the in-class activity, and copy of quiz questions used in Canvas as a pre-lab quiz. The lesson plan does not include much of the language I use to describe the concepts. If you want to know how I frame my explanations, please don’t hesitate to ask! 

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
There is no assessment criteria for this assignment, other than completion.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

THe most successful way to teach these moves is to demonstrate them live, with all the risks that may entail. It is useful to identify one or two examples that you can use to practice the different moves. During the activity it is useful to keep an eye on the collaborative document (Google Doc) students are working on, and use it to check in with individual groups. 

Suggested Citation: 
Bello, Lydia. "“Four Moves and a Habit” in General Chemistry Lab ." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2021. https://projectcora.org/assignment/%E2%80%9Cfour-moves-and-habit%E2%80%9D-general-chemistry-lab.
Submitted by Janelle Bitter on October 9th, 2019
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Short Description: 

This think-pair-share activity in which students compare a popular and scholarly source will help them progress from answering observable questions (type of language and format) to analytical questions (intended audience). As a class, students will discuss their answers and talk about whether the popular source accurately represented the scholarly source.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Step-by-step instructions on using this activitydisplayed 920 times19.2 KB
The worksheet to be used in this activitydisplayed 920 times14.17 KB
PowerPoint presentation given at a conference about this activitydisplayed 1021 times1020.35 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Students will describe the information creation process for popular and scholarly sources, compare and contrast the type of information disseminated by each, and explain the ways in which authority and accuracy are contingent upon information need. Therefore, students will evaluate the accuracy and authority of a source based on discipline and information need and recognize and select appropriate resources for academic research.

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: 

Using technology can unnecessarily complicate this activity, so printing articles and using the Post-it Note option would be better for a low-tech option.

Suggested Citation: 
Bitter, Janelle. "Scientific research in popular sources classroom activity." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2019. https://projectcora.org/assignment/scientific-research-popular-sources-classroom-activity.
Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on July 24th, 2018
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Short Description: 

Comment envoyer une minorité d'étudiants surmotivés sur des objectifs pédagogiques intégrés et connexes dont le parcours est structuré ?
1) Faire une courte introduction engageante (15min.)
2) Identifier la minorité surmotivée et leur distribuer un parcours.
3) Assurer une supervision mininal avec un suivi distant et ponctuel au besoin.
Avec 2 exemples de parcours: une auto-initiation en 5 niveaux pour contribuer à Wikipédia; et un programme de 12 semaines pour démarrer un blogue sur un sujet de recherche.

How to get the few really motivated students involved? By asking them to fulfil « side-quests » learning activities in a structured itinerary :
1) Present a short but engaging initiation [sur quoi?] (15 min.) ;
2) After identifying the motivated students, give them a formal checklist [pour quoi?];
3) If needed, provide minimum mentoring and follow-up
Here are two examples : 5-steps self-initiation on how to contribute to Wikipedia and 12-weeks program to start a blog on research topic.

Learning Outcomes: 

Contributing to Wikipédia and starting a research blog.

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: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "Missionner les étudiants surmotivés sur des objectifs connexes / Self-driven side-quests with minimum mentoring." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/missionner-les-%C3%A9tudiants-surmotiv%C3%A9s-sur-des-objectifs-connexes-self-driven-side-quests.
Submitted by Pascal Martinolli on July 24th, 2018
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Short Description: 

The purpose of this activity is to inspire students to adopt structured methods when they explore and retrieve information. It is based on lab notebooking methods and on managing and documenting the flow of references in Zotero, a reference management software.

The first principle is based on a tree of collections to manage the references arriving in the Zotero library. Some basic methods are suggested and the students are invited to create their own. The second principle is based on standalone notes to document all the research process through online database, libraries and experts.

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Description of the activity (in English)displayed 1783 times587.94 KB
Description de l'activité (en français)displayed 1754 times753.58 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

Adopting structured methods when exploring and retrieving informations;
Managing and documenting the flow of references in Zotero.

Individual or Group:

Suggested Citation: 
Martinolli, Pascal. "ZotLog: Inspiring students to adopt structured methods in Zotero." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/zotlog-inspiring-students-adopt-structured-methods-zotero.
Submitted by Elisa Acosta on July 18th, 2018
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Short Description: 

Environmental science students critically analyzed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website and its treatment of climate change during the Trump, Obama, and Bush presidencies. This library “warm-up” activity was designed to raise awareness of data fragility and the long-term accessibility of government websites. As future science professionals, it’s important to think about how this impacts scientists and their work. Students were introduced to several tools including: The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, End of Term Archive, and Data Refuge. What happens when government web pages are hidden, moved, or deleted?

Attachments: 
AttachmentSize
Discussion Aid (PowerPoint with screenshots)displayed 1306 times5.16 MB
Additional Resourcesdisplayed 1622 times17.57 KB
Worksheetdisplayed 906 times544.39 KB
Learning Outcomes: 

1.Students will begin to discuss how social, economic, and power structures influence the production and dissemination of climate change information on the EPA website. 2.Students will recognize how government priorities impact federal websites and data accessibility. 3.Students will be able to search the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine in order to find missing or deleted government web pages.

Information Literacy concepts:

Individual or Group:

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

This was a library "warm-up" activity and discussion for a traditional one-shot library instruction session for upper-division environmental science and health & human science students. It was a 75 minute class (warm-up 20-30 minutes). The students needed to find articles and data for their climate change topics. The professor also asked if I could show them how to locate climate change information that had recently disappeared from several federal government websites.

I gave each student a worksheet with directions. In groups of two, students navigated the websites, shared their thoughts with a partner and answered the worksheet questions in writing. Then we had a class discussion and I collected the worksheets.

This activity can be modified for a communication studies, journalism or English class. Students can analyze the language of the new EPA website and compare it to earlier archived versions via the WayBack Machine. The term "climate change" was erased and replaced by terms like "extreme weather" and "resilience."

Assessment or Criteria for Success
Assessment Short Description: 
I collected their worksheets and read the student responses. This gave me the opportunity to hear from the quiet students who didn’t speak up during the discussion. I also saw where students struggled with the activity.
Potential Pitfalls and Teaching Tips: 

Instead of counting how many times “climate change” is mentioned on the EPA home page, some students used the search box and received 10,000+ results.

Suggested Citation: 
Acosta, Elisa. "Missing Information Has Value: Climate Change and the EPA website." CORA (Community of Online Research Assignments), 2018. https://projectcora.org/assignment/missing-information-has-value-climate-change-and-epa-website.
Submitted by Kirsten Hansen on December 19th, 2017
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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: 
AttachmentSize
Database_Exploration_with_Google_docs.docxdisplayed 1937 times287.4 KB
AttachmentSize
Sample_Lesson_Plan_databases and google docs.docdisplayed 1504 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.

Teaching Resource

The resources included represent 12 data-driven assignments created by USC faculty recipients of the Provost's Data-Driven Assignment Grant Program in Spring 2015.

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