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Guided Resource Inquiries (GRI) Research Fellows Project, 2013-2014

Project Overview  |  Context  |  GRI Tool  |  Objectives  |  Research  |  Sample GRI

Research Questions

  • To what extent does critical analysis of primary source materials support course learning objectives for students at CSUN? 
  • How effective is the GRI model for initiating Archives and Information Competency learning?
  • How are student perceptions of their understanding of a subject affected by the use of primary sources? By the GRI Tool?
  • How effective is the assignment in providing archives and information outreach? Are participating students more likely to use primary sources and archives?

Assessment and Dissemination

Answers to the above research questions, and others, will be illuminated by brief student quizzes, and student and faculty focus groups or surveys to commence in the Spring of 2014. In addition to the Research Fellows Colloquium in October 2014, results of this pilot will be disseminated through scholarly articles and/or presentations in the areas of Library and Information Science and/or Higher Education. As partners in this pilot, participating instructors will have full and immediate access to primary data generated by the pilot, and are encouraged to disseminate knowledge from their own disciplinary perspectives.

Timeline

  • October 2013: Faculty interest collected and project presented.
  • November - December 2013: GRI assignment design (Instructors create new or use existing prompts; create rubrics for measuring objectives)
  • January-March 2014: Assignment distributed and completed by students (links to assignments available through the course Moodle Site)
  • April 2014: Faculty and student focus groups and/or surveys

Bibliography

For more on the document-based question and the use of primary sources for learning, see the following resources:

Blackey, Robert. “Advanced Placement European History: An Anatomy of the Essay Examination, 1956-2000.” The History Teacher 35, no. 3 (May 1, 2002): 311–342. doi:10.2307/3054441.

Boyd, Fenice B., and Chinwe H. Ikpeze. “Navigating a Literacy Landscape: Teaching Conceptual Understanding with Multiple Text Types.” Journal of Literacy Research 39, no. 2 (June 1, 2007): 217–248.
doi:10.1080/10862960701331951.

Kuhlthau, Carol Collier. “Guided Inquiry: School Libraries in the 21st Century.” School Libraries Worldwide 16, no. 1 (January 2010): 1–12.

Malkmus, Doris. “‘Old Stuff’ for New Teaching Methods: Outreach to History Faculty Teaching with Primary Sources.” Portal: Libraries and the Academy 10, no. 4 (2010): 413–435. doi:10.1353/pla.2010.0008.

Ormond, Barbara. “Enabling Students to Read Historical Images: The Value of the Three-Level Guide for Historical Inquiry.” History Teacher 44, no. 2 (February 2011): 179–190.

Rothschild, Eric. “The Impact of the Document-Based Question on the Teaching of United States History.” The History Teacher 33, no. 4 (August 1, 2000): 495–500. doi:10.2307/494945.

Young, Kathleen McCarthy, and Gaea Leinhardt. “Writing from Primary Documents: A Way ofKnowing in History.” Written
Communication
15, no. 1 (January 1, 1998): 25–68. doi:10.1177/0741088398015001002.