Research Strategies

When I think about doing research, I get really nervous, I don’t know where to start. This class is really helping me by giving me a starting point. The book for this class is awesome, I’m keeping it for personal use, even after the class is over. I see it as a school bible...okay, you get the point. I do enjoy reading it though, and what works for me, is highlighting the information that I find the most useful. I also put sticky notes on pages with little information about why I put that sticky note there. So next time I’m looking for help on a certain area, I can go back, and find what I’m looking for. When doing my research for the two e- books, what also worked for me is in class, I wrote down step by step, what the teacher said about finding the e-books. I know sometimes we think we have it down in our brain, but when we get home it’s like, what the heck did the teacher say? So writing notes works for me the best, it refreshes my memory. I’m also a visual learner, so I like to print out all the information that’s due for that week, and due dates for our assignments. As soon as I’m done with the assignment, I cross it out, and go on to the next. When I got home yesterday, I looked through my notes and found the books that had the best information for my research right away, thanks to my notes and the Leatherby Library. My topic is on the dual immersion program, it’s a topic that is pretty popular since many schools have it. I was lucky to find many books to choose from. Applying the craap test is helpful as well, we need to make sure our information is valid. I really like the Leatherby Library, now that I know how to use it. On this assignment I chose two e-books,  Language and Identity in a Dual Immersion School, by Kim Potowski, and Second Language Teacher Education: International Perspectives by, Diane J, Tedick. This was my second time using the Leatherby Library, and I must say it was successful. I'm getting much more comfortable when I use it now, I'm starting to feel like a pro! The two books I researched really helped me gain knowledge in different areas that I hadn't thought about when I first chose this topic. What stood out the most to me is reading about the teachers capability when teaching children, they also need to be taught about the importance of giving their best, to teach the children. Good information.