Study Steps
Welcome to our QUEST Independent Study Steps!
****For more information on any of these steps, click on each section title and other underlined text.****
Often, the most frustrating aspect of the independent study involves choosing a topic for the study. Some of you may have a passion for learning about a particular subject, while others flounder with, “What can I do for independent study this year?” Ideas for topics can come from anywhere: your interests, experiences, family history, newspapers and magazines, regular classroom curriculum, etc.
Now that you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to develop some basic questions about your topic to help guide your study. Begin by completing a web or a KWL to brainstorm what you already know and what you wonder about your topic. Developing questions to guide your study may be the most important (and sometimes, difficult) task of your independent study. Your questions will guide the direction of your research.
Now that you have some background knowledge on your topic, it is time to dive deeper into your topic. Consider a list of deep thinking and complex questions and decide which ones would best go with your topic.
Step 3 - Research and Take Notes
Now comes the meat of your Independent Study: researching and taking notes. Many possible sources can be used to gather information about a topic.
Google Log-In Steps:
Go to Google Drive, it will ask for an email log in.
Your child's log-in is:
firstname.lastname##@k12.leanderisd.org - the ## are the last 2 digits of their lunch, or school ID numberThe password is your child's birthdate in this format YYYYMMDD
Step 4 - Organize Your Research
Now that you’ve gathered all of your background information, it’s time to organize the research you have. This will help you plan your presentation and visual aids so that it will make sense to you and your audience. Begin by looking through your different questions. Information will be categorized by placing it into groups. You may want to refer back to your basic background facts or questions. Each question could be one category or section. Some questions or categories could be combined.
Step 5 - Design and Make a Product
The product will allow you to use both your creative and your critical thinking skills. It should:
• Show or demonstrate new information gained from your research;
• Address your complex question or theme;
• Enhance your presentation;
• Be original and elaborate;
• Include a typed description of your product;
• Meet quality standards (careful construction, neat and attractive, well-organized, correct capitalization/usage/punctuation/spelling).
Visual Aids are anything that the audience looks at to understand information. After you've organized your research into a graphic organizer, you will then need to plan and prepare visual aids for each category. It’s best to have a variety of visual aids, and not just one type. Visual aids can be “found” objects; they do NOT have to be something original you created. All significant information will need to be represented with a visual aid or the product!
Step 7 - Present Your Information
You are ready to share your knowledge with the class! The challenge is to do this in an interesting and creative way that engages the audience. Check the Presentation Checklist to make sure your presentation meets all the criteria.