Some Suggestions for Active Learning Exercises for Freshman Composition
1. Student will investigate an unfamiliar word or allusion and report back to the class. Submit a paragraph about discoveries.(objective: familiarize students with the academic language while using the appropriate dictionaries and reference books.
2. Student will identify a specialized encyclopedia covering a selected topic. Read relevant articles and write brief summary or annotation. Include evaluation of source. (objective: understand the value of reference books in the research process.)
3. Student will find website on the same topic. Write a brief summary or annotation. Include evaluation of the source. (objective: understand the value and possible pitfalls of using the Web for research.)
4. Student will compare the encyclopedia article above with the website above. (objective: with luck , identify the difference between the two.)
5. Student will use the Library of Congress Subject Heading volumes and the USA Catalog to identify authoritative subject headings and relevant call numbers for some aspect of the student's topic. (objective: begin to understand the function of controlled vocabulary)
6. Student will browse the relevant call number area to identify other books on this topic, touching the books, seeing which seem to be well used and checked out frequently or new undiscovered items. (objective: learn the value of browsing and hands-on evaluation)
7 Student will find one article from a magazine and one from an academic (peer reviewed) journal about his/her topic. Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting them.(objective: learn the difference)
8. Student will use the bibliography of the peer reviewed journal article to identify another source relevant to your topic. Can he/she actually find the item in the library?(objective: demonstrate the value of bibliographies for identifying other sources of information.)
8. Student will find a government document in some way related to his/her topic. Do another evaluative annotation. (objective: understand that information comes in different forms and from different sources and is stored in different places in the library.)
9. Student will search for an historical document, treaty, diary or national news story or stories related to his/her topic. Can s/he find a copy? If not, can s/he find out where it is kept, an archives, another library? (objective: discover the value of primary sources in academic research and the fact that much information has to be sought outside of a library.)
10. Student will write a proper citation in MLA or APA format for the encyclopedia article, a book, the journal article(in print or online?) and the webpage. (objective: practice the mechanics of citation writing separate from the research paper)
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Last updated: 01/29/04. js
http://www.usouthal.edu/univlib/sauer/Faculty/suggestions.html