Big6 Research Ideas from Guest Blogger - Sarah Lee, Riverwood Middle
The Big6 Research Process can help teachers, students, and just about anyone! It’s great to use as a guide when you have a research project, but it’s also meant as a guide to problem solving. This is why Danny Hinnant and I wanted to come up with some ideas that our middle school students could really get interested in when we teach the Big6. We wanted them to see that the Big6 can be used throughout their lives to solve all kinds of problems.
What does every middle school student feel a need for? They feel a strong need for a mobile phone if they don’t already have one. Those that do have one are always ready for an updated model. So, the problem that and 6th and 7th grade students were given was to find a way to get this new phone. We explain to the students that the problem and the solution will not be identical for all students. Some students may already have parents who are willing to help them out with a phone, but others may need to convince their parents to let them have one, before being concerned with which phone. Many of the students may need to find a way to help pay for the phone and/or the service, but all should be concerned with getting a good value.
What are 8th grade students hoping for once they get to the high school and get their driver’s license? They would like something to drive. Our 8th graders were asked to find a way to get that first vehicle. We make sure they understand that in addition to the price of the vehicle they will need to consider other expenses associated with having a vehicle such as insurance, gas, and maintenance.
Here are the resources we use to explain the Big6 and students are encouraged to refer to this often using the links for more information and examples: http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/Big_Six_Steps.asp
All students were asked to follow the Big6 steps to solve their problems. They could choose either Google Docs or Google Slides to record their findings for each of the steps. This project was completed in multiple visits to the media center with some classes moving through the steps faster than others.