The "X" Files
Go on and admit it - you are safe here in our classroom community - you know you have always wondered how and why some things remain unexplainable. This is your chance to finally satisfy your curiosity - that is, attempt to explain and understand the unexplainable and often misunderstood. Does Miss Cleo really know all about you? Do aliens really draw crop circles? Is bursting suddenly into flames really possible? Can a person really reveal my future by gazing at my palm?
This unit will explore those creepy-crawly questions that all of us have, but few admit or ask. You will:
1. Pick a topic
2. Develop an hypothesis
3. Perform outside research
4. Conduct a formal survey
5. Meet in and out of class
6. Reflect on the collaborative experience in your journals
7. Write a 5-7 page report following the guidelines on the process handout
8. Deliver a fifteen-minute oral presentation on the subject at our class Research Symposium
Requirements:
Your finished paper should be no less than five pages long and must be divided into the five following subheadings:
1. Introduction: In the introduction of this project, you will state your original hypothesis about the research - what you expect to discover during the course of your research - even if this hypothesis is disproved later in
this paper. Also, this section is used to give your readers some insight/general background of the topic at hand, for example, you may want to answer these questions for your audience: What is the current knowledge on this topic? What beliefs
are commonly held about this topic, and by who? Who are the experts in the field? Why? **The most important is your hypothesis - this is the point of the entire project, and is due from each group by the end of class today. These cannot be
changed after research has commenced, so take them seriously. The basis of the work will revolve around proving/disproving your original hypothesis.
2. Methodology: In this section, you will talk about the process involved in gaining your information. Discuss how you divided the work up amongst your group members, why and how these decisions were made, how you decided upon the questions on your survey (who, why, where, and how many to survey), and the order and significance of your researching techniques (did you conduct the survey after or before the library/interview research?). This section is very formal in its nature, but we always encourage creativity so long as it enhances and does not inhibit meaning.
3. Collaborative Experience Log: In this portion of the paper, you will each (meaning each member must do this portion at least once) be responsible for recording, as an acting secretary, the meetings and interactions of your
group both inside and outside of class (place, date, time, duration, purpose, accomplishments, goals, successes, defeats, etc.) **After each of these encounters, EACH MEMBER MUST ALSO REFLECT IN THEIR PERSONAL JOURNAL. Record the experience
personally and contrast it with the perception of your group collectively. What are the dynamics of your group? Where do you fit? What do you feel is your position? What problems are you experiencing with the project and/or your group members?
What advantages are you discovering?
4. Tabulation: Here, you will tabulate the results of your survey. This section can take the form of charts if you like; however, they must be easily understood, with a comprehensive key, and a short piece of text providing
their functions.
5. Conclusion: This is the big pay-off!!! Here is where you must do all the critical thinking and drawing conclusions we are so excited about. What did the survey results show you about the current belief system surrounding
your topic? What are you telling us about this topic that we don't already know? What have you discovered? Do the results of your work confirm your original hypothesis or refute it? Why? How? Why do you think you created your original
hypothesis? What influenced that hypothesis?
Reflection:
1. What is your overall opinion of collaborative group work? Was it a positive or negative experience? Why or why not?
2. What did collaborative group work teach you about yourself? Did you find that your writing diminished or flourished in this process? Do you work well with others or is writing a private experience for you? If you had the opportunity, would
you participate in another collaborative group? Why or why not?
3. In the conclusion of your paper, did you prove or disprove your hypothesis? What is the most interesting thing you learned through research? What is the most interesting thing you discovered on your own?
4. Is there anything that you need me to know?