Hal Loewen (Librarian): PT 7500 Desired Results

What are the big ideas? What specific understandings about the big ideas are desired? What prior knowledge, misconceptions, or misunderstandings might students bring/encounter?

Students will understand:

• That research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions (Research as Inquiry)
• Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requires evaluation of a range of information, and requires mental flexibility to understand that searching can be complex (Searching as Strategic Exploration)

Student's prior knowledge, misconceptions or misunderstandings may include:

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• may or may not know the resources available to them, including databases specific to a specific topic
• may or may not have full understanding and or knowledge of  how to create various and complex search strategies
• may or may not have a basic understanding of the level of question needed to answer the range of information required, simple questions for basic knowledge needs to sophisticated questions for deeper inquiry
• may or may not remember how to identify the types of research they need and how to filter searches to that type of research
• may or may not understand how to plan a research project including: developing the search strategy, executing the search in a subscription database, translating the search to other databases, retrieving and storing results

On what, if any, Knowledge Practices (knowledge and skills) and Dispositions (values) from the Frame(s) will the instruction focus? What other key knowledge, skills, and values will students acquire as a result of the this lesson/unit?

• formulate questions for research based on information gaps or on reexamination of existing, possibly conflicting, information (Research as Inquiry)
• determine an appropriate scope of investigation (Research as Inquiry)
• deal with complex research by breaking complex questions into simple ones, limiting the scope of investigations (Research as Inquiry)
• use various research methods, based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry (Research as Inquiry)
• organize information in meaningful ways (Research as Inquiry)
• synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources (Research as Inquiry)
• determine the initial scope of the task required to meet their information needs (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
• utilize divergent (e.g., brainstorming) and convergent (e.g., selecting the best source) thinking when searching (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
• match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
• design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
• understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
• use different types of searching language (e.g., controlled vocabulary, keywords, natural language) appropriately (Searching as Strategic Exploration)
• manage searching processes and results effectively (Searching as Strategic Exploration)

What captivating questions will foster inquiry, understanding and transfer of learning

• What are the different types of information resources to use depending on the question being asked (background and foreground questions)?
• What are the different databases that are available to them and is the information in them unique?
• What is the essential question that needs to be answered that stems from a more complex information need?
• What type of filters can be used to find the results that match their research need?
• Has the student considered all the possible ways in which to express a concept?

Students will know...

• how to identify the most appropriate information resource to answer their question
• the value of creating a search map to organize their search strategy
• that Boolean logic is needed to create complex searches
• what type of question they are asking and what search filter to use to find the "best evidence"
• how to identify the best databases needed to answer their questions 

Students will be able to...

• create a search map to organize their search strategy
• run a search in a wide variety of databases
• find and use "best evidence" filters in a database, or how to create a filter if no filters exist
• expand or focus a search depending on their information need
• adjust a search if they were unable to find adequate results in their first attempt

Students will value...

• asking questions, both simple and complex, requires careful consideration
• that when finding information that is difficult to locate strategic search strategies using Boolean logic can help yield results
• that evidence filters will make it easier to find high evidence information sources
• that the best clinical practice is based on best evidence information