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I-Search Paper
English 309W
The I-Search Paper: How Effective is it?
Introduction
Prior to this semester, I had never heard of an I-Search paper. I have been in school for several years, and I
have never had the opportunity to do anything other than a traditional research
paper. In many cases, I would get to
select my topic to write on, but there were always some prescribed guidelines. Also, using the first person, I, was strongly
discouraged. When Dr. Wahlstrom
introduced the I-Search assignment, I must admit I was still confused. I decided to write my I-Search paper for
English 309W on using I-Search papers in the classroom.
Using
the first person is almost uncomfortable for me, since it’s something that has
been drilled into me not to do. As a
future social studies teacher, I would like to have different types of writing
assignments for my students. The I-Search
seems ideal since from the little I know, it’s student
centered, meaning the students get to choose their research question and it
combines this with the important skill of learning how to conduct
research. The social studies standards
require that social studies teachers teach their students to research and
problem solve. If the I-Search paper is
a different way to do, while getting students interested and active, then it
seems like something I should know about.
I wanted to know about the I-Search process, how it is used in middle and
high schools, and what kinds of results teachers and students are getting from
using the I-Search paper in their classes.
The Hunt
I
began my research by searching the ERIC on line database for I-Search. I located several educational articles and
studies, but I was not able to access as many as I wanted. Several of the articles were in journals the
Buffalo State College library does not subscribe to and journal articles are
not available as ERIC documents on microfiche.
I was able to look at 2 books and an article on ERIC microfiche. This was a learning experience in and of
itself. I heard about the ERIC database
for education information, but had not used it until I started on this I-Search
project. Also, I had not used microfiche
at
The
ERIC documents I looked at included an article by Tom Reigstad in which he
reports the experiences of Buffalo State College undergraduate students who
have done I-Search papers. I was also
able to access a book written by Judith Zorfass in which she details the use of
I-Search papers with middle school students.
I found this information particularly interesting since it specifically
deals with the special needs of young adolescents and the ways in which the
I-Search paper meets those needs. By
requiring the students to be active researchers, young adolescents are engaged
and kept interested. I was also able to
look at a paper Linda Jobe presented at a meeting of the National Council of
Teachers of English in 1991. Jobe
expands on the I-Search paper to describe a we-search
paper, which involves cooperative learning in the I-Search process. ERIC also helped me locate a journal article
from the English Journal that reviews
the use of the internet in an I-Search paper.
This article was a little dated, from 1995, and in the 9 years that have
passed, most students have had some exposure to the internet. Although, in poorer or more
rural areas this might not be the case.
The
next step, after completing the ERIC search was to search the Buffalo State
College library’s book catalog. I only
located 1 book, but it was probably the most informative one on the subject, The I-Search Paper by Ken Macrorie. I later learned that Macrorie was the
originator of the I-Search paper. It is
also mentioned in every article and presentation I examined.
My
next step was to search the internet for information on I-Search papers. I used the search engine Google and it led me
to several internet sites describing the use of the I-Search and even some
examples of I-Search papers. I also used
the links found on the English 309W syllabus website to look at the information
there on I-Search papers. One site
featured an article from the Teacher Librarian journal by Carol Bowen in which
she describes the use of an I-Search paper with her 5th grade
class. Google also helped me locate an
example of a letter to parents one English teacher
used to introduce the I-Search paper process to her students’ parents. This was a very useful example to have to use
as a model for explaining I-Search papers to parents. I am assuming, that
like me, most adults have not heard of or done an I-Search paper, so if I use
one with my students, their parents should be included in the process too. Also, since it seems like the I-Search process
is very lengthy, it will consume a lot of their students’ time and I would hope
most parents would want to know about the process.
Results
I
learned that the I-Search process is a combination of active learning and a
normal research paper. I-Search units
are lengthy, typically they seem to last anywhere from 6 weeks (Bowen) to 8-12
weeks (Zorfass). The very first thing
that needs to be done is to introduce the students to the idea of an I-Search
paper and how it differs from traditional research paper where they find
information to answer a question assigned to them and that is it. The I-Search paper
is different, because the students get to choose their own research question
and sources other than the traditional books and magazine articles are encouraged.
In the first phase of the I-Search
process, the students come up with a question they want to answer. As Bowen (2002) wrote “the personal nature of
an “I-Search” motivates students because they are searching for something they
want to know.” In order for an I-Search
unit to work, the students must come up with I-Search questions that are
relevant and important to them personally (Make It Happen!). Teachers help the students brainstorm ideas
for research questions, but do not assign topics or questions. Bowen described how she used the overhead
projector to help her students make an interest web in this phase. The Make it Happen! Site, recommends that
teachers have the students think about their prior knowledge of the theme, what
questions they have about the theme, and what areas they are interested in
learning more about.
In many schools (especially middle schools), it appears this can be a
multidisciplinary unit, covering including all disciplines (Zorfass). The teacher(s) introduce the theme of the
unit and then the students decide what specifically they are going to write
about within that theme. Zorfass states
that by having the I-Search be a multidisciplinary allows every student to be
“engaged in a personal search related to the theme and overarching concepts …
creates a community of learners involved in seeking answers to similar, but not
identical questions” (6). An exciting
benefit to this process is that students will be able to teach each other what
they have learned about the theme.
Jobe (1991) expands the I-Search to
include cooperative learning in the we-search
paper. In this process, students undergo
the same process as in the I-Search paper, but they work as a group. In a We-search project, not only are the
students active researchers working on a topic of personal interest and
importance to them, they are required to work in a group. Jobe (1991) found that the We-search paper
benefited both teachers and students.
Her students benefited by learning work with others at the same time
they were learning how to research. The
students also get to do real collaborative writing, which does not often
happen. Lastly, her students learned
from each other and learned to help each other.
Once students (either individually or in
groups) have come up with a search question, the next step is for them to write
down what they already know about the question, what information they want to
find, and where and how they can find that information (Make It Happen!).
In the next stage, the students actually
carry out their information gathering.
It is important for teachers to expand the students searching outside of
the school library whenever possible (Make it Happen!). As
During this stage, also called The Hunt,
students should be required to keep a journal or log of what they have done,
problems they encounter, etc. Jobe
recommends having her students turn in weekly reports of their individual and
group’s progress. If the students are
required to turn in periodic (I think weekly is a good idea) of what progress
they have made, they will be less likely to leave the project to the very end
and do a poor job. Students should
understand that unlike a regular research paper where they just report what
they found, in the I or We search papers, they will be
reporting the process they went through.
This will give them another incentive to keep their logs or
journals. As with all the steps, it is
important for the teacher to model this information for the students.
Make it Happen! states that students should get their
information from a wide range of resources, including books, magazines,
newspapers, or reference texts,videos, filmstrips, or television shows, CD-ROM
reference tools, interview people or conduct surveys, conduct an experiment or
engage in a simulation, or go on a field trip.
I think that once students are exposed to the idea that their research
does not have to be limited to the traditional sources of books in the library,
they will be excited. Who knew watching
a television show or movie could be considered research!
The teachers all recommend or require
interviews as part of the process.
In the next step the students gather what
information they have found answering their research question and begin the
writing process, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing in some manner
(Make it Happen!). The end result does
not always have to be a paper, but a paper does have to be prepared describing
the process the students undertook, including their question, what they know
about the questions, what they did to answer the question (the hunt) and what
the results were. Also, the paper should
include a section where the students think about future questions to be
answered and what is left unanswered by their search. Make it Happen! calls this section the “What
it means to me” section, where students have the opportunity to describe what
they learned about research in general from the experience, and how it helped
them and what they would do differently in the future.
Bowen had her students present what they
had learned in various ways, of their choosing, in addition to writing the
I-Search paper. All of her students
presented what they had learned in a variety of ways including, making posters,
using storyboards to create different types of books,
using real objects related to their I-Search in a demonstration, creating
PowerPoint presentations, making a video, and creating a photo essay. Other possibilities could include a dialogue
or skit. All of the teacher also
recommend having the students complete a self evaluation of their I-Search
process. Jobe recommends having the students complete evaluations not only of themselves, but
also their groups members. This allows
the students to reflect on the unit, their project, and the group they worked
in (if applicable).
What’s Next
I
think the next step for myself is to try an I or We
search project when I start teaching. I
will need to read some about the process, but I think it is worth learning more
about and using. It would be interesting
to see if students who do I or we search papers can transition to regular
research papers when they are assigned.
Does writing these papers in the first person hurt or help students
write other papers? Also, it would be
interesting to know how often these projects are bring used and how many
teachers are using them. One teacher I
observed at
Works Cited
Bowen,
Carol. "The I-Search with Grade 5: They Learn!."
Teacher Librarian 29 (2002). 06 May 2004
<http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/tlmag/v_29/v_29_2_feature.html>.
Davis,
Chris. "The I-Search Paper Goes Global: Using the
Internet as a Research Tool." English Journal 84 (): 27-33.
Davis,
Jean. "I-Search Paper." January 1997. Writing Research and I-Search Papers. 06 May 2004.
<http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/80.html>.
"The I-Search Unit." 2000. Make It Happen!.
Educational
Jobe,
Linda. "Collaboration in the Classroom: Teaching the We-Search
Paper." Annual Spring Meeting of the National Council of
Teachers of English. ,
Macrorie,
Ken. The I-Search Paper.
Reigstad,
Tom. "I Search, You Search, We All Search for
I-Search: Research Alternative Works for Advanced Writeres, Too." Composition
Chronicle 10 (): 04-07.
Zorfass,
Judith. Teaching Middle School Students to be Active
Researchers.