Multigenre+Research+Project



**Directions:** //As a team, you will be responsible for compiling the information below about your inquiry strategy. Next week, your group will provide a 5-7 minute overview of your strategy for the class.//

** Name and Description of your strategy (mention any variations of your strategy as well): **

The Mutligenre Research / Writing Project is an alternative to a traditional research paper. It includes excerpts from papers and reflective comments from students who can select their topics based on their interest. This type of inquiry research looks at various descriptive works relating and pertaining to the student's chosen topic. These pieces of evidence can be connected by the students through their person journal entries, newspaper articles, timelines, and other personal methods. As Tom Romano states: "[Multigenre papers are] not a seamless narrative. Not an expository biography. The [work] contain[s] songs, thumbnail character sketches, poems, a comic book excerpt, narrative, stream-of-consciousness passages, newspaper interviews, even photographs and drawings" (Blending Genre, Altering Style pg.3).


 * Inquiry Process associated with your strategy: **

Steps to an Effective Multigenre Project


 * 1) Prepare the Students: Approximately a month before the students complete their final project, they need to come up with a topic of their choice to base their research on. It is generally more fascinating and easier for the student to choose people or an event for their topic.
 * 2) Keep Organized: Throughout all their research, it is best to keep track on how they are progressing. An organized notebook is an effective method of preparing for the end result. One source even went as far to name off the sections in the notebook that best keeps the project organized -
 * Section 1: Used for keeping different kinds of writing
 * Section 2: All the drafts of the student's writing
 * Section 3: Research notes and printouts on topic
 * 1) Parent Outreach: It is suggested that a letter be sent to parents informing them of the importance and tasks associated with this lengthy project. Ask for their assistance in anyway possible and discuss computer use within school and at home.
 * 2) Expectations and Guidelines: Give students a timeline on what is to be expected each week up until the due date of the final outcome. Give them a chance each week to use the library and computers at school to help keep students at a similar pace throughout the process.
 * 3) Keeping Track: Do not only look at the end result as a way to measure the student's progress. Every so often, have them complete a survey discussing how they are managing with the project and what they are gaining from it. It would be helpful to have the students keep a homework composition that they can write in weekly describing their accomplishments of the week.
 * 4) At-School Computer Use: Make sure to schedule time for students to use the computers at school. This will give students a chance to stay on track and ask questions when needed. It is also a good time for students to help each other through the research project.

** Description of the Product or Products resulting from the inquiry process associated with your strategy: **

A multigenre research project can take many written forms. It is for the student to decide how to best represent the information they have collected and researched. It is important to note that with all of this information, the student needs to create a "flowing" connection. There are different ways of doing this:
 * Chronological Order
 * "Dear Reader" Letters
 * Journal Entries
 * Lyrics and Stanzas
 * Interviews
 * Table of Contexts
 * Divided Research Pieces
 * Opening Research Piece
 * Genre Sections
 * Artistic Connections
 * Oral Presentation

** Descriptions of Examples and Links to examples when possible (when you include a link to an example, provide a brief annotation / description of the example -- not just a link): **


 * [|Miami University] This student of Miami University uses letters to the reader and journal entries to connect her information on mythology vs. reality.
 * [|Jane Austen Project] This English education teacher organized her Jane Austen multigenre project online.
 * [|Randall T. Shepard Academy] This academy of law and social justice created a site with examples of multigenre projects to aid their students through the process.

** Resources consulted related to your strategy (both hard copy and links): **

Online: Books:
 * http://shepardacademyjuniorblock.weebly.com/examples-of-multigenre-projects.html
 * https://sites.google.com/a/weberschool.org/jane-austen/
 * http://www.users.muohio.edu/romanots/pdf/mythologytoreality.pdf
 * //Blend Genre, Altering Style// by Tom Romano
 * //The Multigenre Research Paper// by Camille Allen

** ADDITIONAL KEY MULTIGENRE RESEARCH PAPER RESOURCES (DR. Y): **

 * [|Multigenre: An Introduction]-- Perspectives from a teacher with links to student projects
 * [|Multigenre Writing] -- Tom Romano's multigenre writing website with extensive resources
 * [|Multigenre Paper Examples] -- from Tom Romano's site
 * [|The Multigenre Web] -- A detailed resource and guide
 * [|Multigenre Research Project Blog Post] -- from the teacher who created the Jane Austen Project example linked above

** 1-2 additional inquiry-based learning strategies we like, value, want to try, have experienced in a positive way, etc. (name and describe briefly): **

__**Cyclic Inquiry Model**__

The cycle of inquiry has 5 steps -> Ask, Investigate, Create, Discuss, Reflect.

These five steps are a continual cycle where students can continue to refine their original questions as much as they want. The main idea of this model is to have students ask and answer questions, and based on the information gathered to answer these initial questions allows students to create new ideas and concepts of their own.

__**Problem-Based Learning**__ Consists of 7 steps
 * 1) Explore the issue
 * 2) List "What do we know?"
 * 3) Develop/write out, the problem statement in your own words
 * 4) List "What do we need to know?"
 * 5) Research!
 * 6) Write up conclusions with supporting documentation
 * 7) Present information