Goals and Assumptions

I saw Jeff Liles talk recently and was struck by the way he started his session. Instead of an agenda or outcomes or objectives, he started with his goals and his assumptions. From reading Learning as Transformation recently I'm really into the need to identify assumptions and warrants with students so that they can start making decisions about whether or not they want to continue living as though those things were true. Being more explicit about assumptions is my first step but I hadn't considered how to let that shape my workshop structure (instead of merely workshop content) until I saw what Jeff did. So now I want to start my workshops with goals and assumptions and open it for discussion briefly if any students disagree with my assumptions so we can negotiate. And possibly setting norms like Toni Davies did for her session on kaizen. This feels more comfortable and organic to my thinking than describing an agenda or objectives at the beginning of class. And I know I need to do a better job of framing what will be coming for students, but I haven't wanted to do any of the things I'd ever seen done before. Now I have a model and I feel really excited about it.

DIY Goals

• consider that plagiarism can happen accidentally, but doing original work cannot and therefore requires planning
• evaluate various approaches to research papers and their value for avoiding plagiarism
• become aware of their own views on plagiarism and their roles as student scholars
• get an introduction to the idea that knowledge is contingent

DIY Assumptions

• students who choose to plagiarize will not be dissuaded by this workshop, because plagiarizing is easier than doing the work
• students who hold the belief that there is one right answer to the questions they're researching are more likely to plagiarize
• students who don't feel comfortable reading are more likely to plagiarize and so students who are concerned about plagiaizing should seek support from their teachers and tutors when they're having trouble understanding their readings
• students who plagiarize give low priority to learning and are more worried about getting the credit

RSR Goals

• discover the structure of the research process
• consider some of the decisions they make during the research process and the consequences of those decisions
• start making connections between the type of information needed and the source to seek

RSR Assumptions

• students understand writing as a process, but experience research as chaotic and random
• understanding that research is a process, students can more easily assess their progress and adjust their approach if they are falling short
• seeing a connection between the type of information needed and the source most likely to contain it will make students better online searchers as well as better researchers and will save them time
• professors don't talk about research as a process in their classrooms

FB Goals

• recognize the kind of information available in the catalog
• face their prior knowledge about the organization of the library
• become aware of eBooks
• sign up for eBook accounts
• hear about what books are good for

FB Assumptions

• students don't like using books for research
• students don't realize we have eBooks
• students think this workshop is a waste of time

FA Goals

• know about the databases
• understand how they're different from google
• have basic search syntax
• know how to access from off campus

FA Assumptions

• students are more comfortable searching google than the databases
• students can find some kinds of information more easily by using the databases rather than google
• students won't really know whether or not they know how to use the databases until they're actually searching them