Assignments that Work
Super Conference 2008
Extension of Assignments Worth the Effort :Questions are
Key, Teacher Librarian February 2007
Carol Koechlin & Sandi Zwaan
Focus Questions
• Why do many students make a less than
stellar effort on research tasks and
assignments?
• As we move from the Information Age to
the Knowledge Age how can we take
advantage of real world technologies and
processes to enrich the research
experience for students?
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Youth perspective
• Why must I find answers to already
answered questions when I have
questions that have not yet been
answered?
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
The New Literacies
http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1292&pf=1
• Students are immersed
in 21st century "new
literacy" technologies,
but are schools
preparing them for the
future?
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• "The Digital Disconnect:
The Widening Gap
between Internet-Savvy
Students and Their
Schools," students are
spending 27 hours a
week online at home,
compared to an average
BY ZACH MINERS AND ANGELA
PASCOPELLA October 2007
of 15 minutes per week at
school.
• "One of our goals is for
students to read better
Koechlin and Zwaanonline."
Super
Conference 2008
Reading on the Internet
No other tool will help the Internet reader as much
as the right question, asked at the right time and
in the right way. Intelligent readers of the Internet
begin by asking questions even before they log
on, and they continue to ask questions during
their search. By asking questions repeatedly and
deliberately, students become thoughtful
readers, developing "habits of mind" that they
can then generalize to other situations or tasks
– (Costa & Kallick, 2000).
– http://www.i-learnt.com/Thinking_Habits_Mind.html
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Well designed assignments:
Build character
development
• Curiosity and wonder
• Responsibility
• Motivation and effort
Meet the learning
needs of today’s
students
• Critical thinking
• Innovation and
Problem solving
• Teamwork skills
• Global awareness
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Designing Assignments that Work
Establish a ‘culture of inquiry’ with teachers and students.
• Select a Think Model
• Plan needed library
interventions
• Differentiate Instruction
• Design collaborative working
times/spaces
• SPARK the inquiry
• Get assignments and support
to students 24/7/365
• Make them think, question
and reflect
• Guide and assess throughout
the tasks
• Review academic honesty
• Provide access to the best
resources and technologies
• Ensure authentic audiences for
sharing
• Design a BIG THINK
– So What?
– What Next?
• Assess gather evidence of
success and set new goals
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Establishing a Community of Learners
Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century by C.Kahlthau,
L. Maniotes & A. Caspari
• Model personal
connections
• Create a safe atmosphere
• Encourage students to
speak freely
• Accept varied viewpoints
• Listen to ideas
• Consider students’ ideas
carefully
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Create a desire to know
Motivate and challenge with the unknown or
the perplexing
– artifacts both real and virtual
– historical photos, cartoons, posters
– quotations
– film clips
– discrepant events
Puzzle them First: Motivating Adolescent Readers with Question-Finding By A. V. Ciardiello
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Make then think, question, and
reflect…..
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Inquiry questions
De Bono’s Six Hats
Blooms Taxonomy
Problem Based
Learning
• Invention and
innovation
• Creation – the arts
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Research journals
Graphic organizers
Peer conferencing
Self assessment
Goal setting
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Review Academic Honesty
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Organization
Time management
Quotations
Paraphrasing
Referencing
Copyright
Note-making
Analysis techniques
• Build academic
honesty into
assessment tools
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Models for successful learning
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
The Think Models:
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apply critical and creative thinking.
build cross-curricular literacy skills and new literacies.
are engaging and effective.
empower students to build deeper understanding.
are knowledge building learning experiences.
are a framework for designing successful
assignments.
• effectively utilize information and technology-rich
learning environments.
• provide opportunity for differentiated instruction.
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Education is about learning!
Integrating Differentiated Instruction +Understanding by Design
Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe
- Classroom teachers can
work to the benefit of
many more students by
implementing patterns
of instruction likely to
serve multiple needs.
- Provide many paths
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Differentiated Instruction in the Library
• content (what students learn
and the materials that
represent that)
• process (activities through
which students make sense of
key ideas using the essential
skills)
• product (how students
demonstrate and extend what
they understand and can do as
a result of a span of learning)
• learning environment (the
classroom conditions that set
the tone and expectations of
learning)
Tomlinson and McTighe
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Getting Assignments to Students
24/7/365
• Link assignments
from your School
Library Homepage
• Set up a blog calendar, RRS feed
• Create a wiki collaborative work
space
• Use Google Docs and
Spreadsheets (FREE)
• Advantages
– Often free
– Projects stored on a
remote server
– Usually more reliable
than local networks
– Available from any
computer 24/7/365
– Meet with students in
their world
In Command! by R. Williams and
D. Loertscher
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Inspire students with E-Projects
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Pathfinders
Guided Tours
Scavenger Hunts
Virtual Tours
Interactive Video
Conferencing
On-Line Projects
Blogs
Wikis
Web Quests
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Consider designing your
WebQuest using a THINK model at the
Processing Stage
• Introduction
• Task
• Process
• Information Sources
• Evaluation
• Conclusion
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Sample High Think Web Quests
Bully Grades 4-8
Problems Possibilities
JigSaw Model
• How can students
take a stand on
bullying?
Messing with Mother
Nature Grade 9-12
Take a Position Model
• What’s the harm in
genetic modification
of plants?
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
What about a wiki?
• Design collaborative
workspaces for
students based on the
THINK models.
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
The Big Think 
• Elevates projects
• The product isn’t the
end, it is the beginning!
• Transform learning into
something new
• Collaborative knowledge
building
• Bottom line –Build on
student understanding to
keep the thinking flowing!
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Conduct active discussion
Present a problem
Challenge with a new question
Invite students to create new
questions
Write about larger ideas,
concepts and process of
learning
Collaboratively build charts,
diagrams, maps etc.
Interact with an expert
Take action
Take part in the real world
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
So What Works?
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Establish learning communities (teacher and student)
Motivate students and get assignments to them 24/7/365
Fuse inquiry and content learning
Differentiate instruction
Prepare students for learning for life
Utilize a variety of rich resources and technologies
Honour collaborative knowledge building
Connect students to the world
Make them think, question and reflect
Value process and product and academic honesty
Share responsibility for learning
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Keys to Success
Design assignments that move from
TRANSPORTATION of data to
TRANSFORMATION of information.
Focus on KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION
rather than product construction.
Don’t abandon students during the
process.
Based on Ross Todd workshops and writings.
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008
Bottom Line
Design Assignments that Work to
demonstrate that :
Collaboration in the Library is the Best
Teaching and Learning in the School!
Koechlin and Zwaan Super
Conference 2008