The big ideas, Essential Questions, & Outcomes for our Research Hub are based on
the BC Curriculum in Canada.
Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.
How can we know which sources of information are the most reliable?
What connections can we make between various sources of information?
How can we use the inquiry process and research cycle to understand a topic deeply?
How can we be mindful researchers?
After exploring and practicing each section of our Research Hub, students will be able to . . .
Select a relevant problem or issue for inquiry
Use comparison, classification, inference, imagination, verification, and analogy to clarify and define a problem or issue.
Distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
Assess the accuracy of sources (e.g., consider when they were created, recognize ambiguity and vagueness, distinguish conclusions from supporting statements, analyze logic or consistency of conclusions in terms of evidence provided).
Identify biases that influence; identify authors’ motives and describe how that could affect their reliability as a source; determine whether sources reflect single or multiple points of view
Locate, evaluate, and use relevant data
Select appropriate forms of presentation suitable for purpose and audience
After exploring and practicing each section of our Research Hub, students will be able to . . .
Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions (inquiry)
Assess the credibility of multiple sources and the adequacy of evidence used to justify conclusions (evidence)
After exploring and practicing each section of our Research Hub, students will be able to . . .
Access information and ideas for diverse purposes and from a variety of sources and evaluate their relevance, accuracy, and reliability
Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking
Synthesize ideas from a variety of sources to build understanding
Think critically, creatively, and reflectively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts
Recognize and identify the role of personal, social, and cultural contexts, values, and perspectives in texts
Respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways
Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create engaging and meaningful literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes and audiences
Analyzing and Critiquing: Students will . . .
analyze and make judgments about a work, a position, a process, a performance, or another product or act.
reflect to consider purpose and perspectives, pinpoint evidence, use explicit or implicit criteria, make defensible judgments or assessments, and draw conclusions.
analyze and critique through engagement in formal tasks, informal tasks, and ongoing activities.
Questioning and Investigating: students will . . .
learn to engage in inquiry when they identify and investigate questions, challenges, key issues, or problematic situations in their studies, lives, and communities and in the media.
develop and refine questions; create and carry out plans; gather, interpret, and synthesize information and evidence; and reflect to draw reasoned conclusions.
engage in critical thinking activities that focus on one part of the process, such as questioning, and reach a simple conclusion, leading to more complex inquiry requiring extensive thought and reflection.
Designing and Developing: students will . . .
think critically to develop ideas.
design products or methods or develop performances and representations in response to problems, events, issues, and needs.
work with clear purpose and consider the potential uses or audiences of their work.
explore possibilities, develop and reflect on processes, monitor progress, and adjust procedures in light of criteria and feedback.
Reflecting and Assessing: students will . . .
apply critical, metacognitive, and reflective thinking in given situations, and relate this thinking to other experiences, using this process to identify ways to improve or adapt their approach to learning.
reflect on and assess their experiences, thinking, learning processes, work, and progress in relation to their purposes.
give, receive, and act on feedback and set goals individually and collaboratively.
determine the extent to which they have met their goals and can set new ones.