Developing the Project

Overview of the Roles

In the second phase of the CSI project, student work is focused on preparing for the investigation and representations they will undertake in their fieldwork. Follow-up discussions revolve around acquisition of new information from fieldwork, data gathered, visits by and interviews with experts, and library and Web research; we utilize local resources because multiple field trips may be required.

The students realized they needed to create some standards for behavior, photographs, and quality of research, and, as the discussions continued and samples were placed on a Web site for consideration, parents and community members were invited to participate in the discussions. What would the site need to show? Who would evaluate the quality of the photos and films? The children found that applying standards in the real world is not easy; some of the work was messy and needed to be checked for completeness and accuracy. Part of the process was their realization that their work was being taken seriously and that they might need to repeat observations and data collection.

Overview of Phase 2 Structural Features

Fieldwork

Children do real-world explorations, then they record their field experiences:

• Making sketches and field notes.

• Visiting the cemetery:
• Division of labor.
• Cooperative grouping:

• Headstone region teams.
• Research groups (cultures specialists, headstone architectural-design specialists, geographical specialists, ecological specialists).

• After visiting the cemetery:
• Evaluating the visit and reviewing results using the group workday evaluation form.

Representation

• Elaborating on field sketches and notes.

• Writing and illustrating reports:

• Post-visit debriefing (very important to process).
• Analyzing data sheets.
• Entering data into survey program.
• Downloading and organizing images.
• Assessment of behavior in the field using rubric.
• Assessment of achieved goals for completing tasks.

Investigation

Included in the investigation phase are researching in the library and on the Web, interviewing experts, and raising new questions based on students' current level of knowledge.

• Begin the research process:

• Ask essential questions and divide up main points for research.
• Assign topics to students.
• Students use primary source documents, texts, books, the Internet, etc. for locating and analyzing information.
• Begin the writing process.
• Upload finished drafts of research and findings on the Geo-Literacy Web site when it is made available for students.

• Compare and contrast (Eva used Intel's Visual Ranking -- free registration is required).

• Set new goals for next visit (Eva used Intel's Seeing Reason -- free registration is required).

• Share findings, observations, and new questions to investigate.

Display

Share representations of personal experience on the topic.

• Upload finished drafts of research and findings on the Geo-Literacy Web site when the site is made available for students.

• Edit, review, and modify research material.

• Create a "Sources Cited" document and upload it to the Web site.

• As all aspects of fair-use guidelines should be adhered to, this is an important aspect of the project. Students need to know how to cite sources and build a list of works cited and/or a bibliography. In the resources section, we have listed a few online sources that prompt for the information and then create the correct citation for the user.

• Students prepare their findings, such as the charts created by the survey program at the link above, and explain their findings in their own words. Students display the charts and interpretations in their own words. They can also create other charts, graphs, and conclusions that can be scanned in and posted on the site.

• Upload finished drafts of research and findings on the Geo-Literacy Web site when the site is made available for students.

• The CSI Web site can also be posted to the school site, the school-district site, or other sites as well. (The Geo-Literacy Project offers to host the site for free and thus build a collection of CSI sites.)

• Edit, review, and modify the research material.

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