Research as Authentic Inquiry

  • Sam Fisher
  • Grate 10 students
  • Read the book and Watch the movie

The MTV's 3 out of ten girls in the US will get pregnant at least once before age 20. 1 out of 6 girls will be a teenage mom.Only about 1% of 10 girls who give birth choose adoption for their babies.

The Beauty Standards: Dove "Real beauty", Harper's Bazaar "Pregnant Britney Spears", Pink "Stupid girl"

Honoring what students know

For today’s teenagers who got used to be in media spheres, it is significantly interesting watching different reality shows that have authentic conversations about teen pregnancy, sexuality, power and so forth. (16 and pregnant, The Crucible, etc.)

But Mr. Fisher wasn’t quite sure that it is appropriate for language classrooms. However, it helps to activate students’ prior knowledge and he decided to give them the list of various TV reality shows while students had to give them description in the writing form.

The assignment worked

Students wrote descriptions and the room was quite and intense that Mr. Fisher was astonished.

Then, he asked students to pair up and discuss the similarities and differences between their descriptions.

Energy in the room was intense because they immediately started to discuss the theme.

Teaching contemporary drama

Through exploring drama and theatre students develop interpersonal skills

Mr. Fisher noticed that the were engaged into the discussion of those TV reality shows.

By letting students bring in their own rich media experiences with the blurring of drama and life, their English teacher had made a connection that had relevance and meaning for them, helping them engage with a classic work of American drama, examine the psychological and social functions of drama, and reflect on their own view.

Opening Up or Closing Down Discourse

Teachers don't need to display either their expertise or their lack of knowledge when popular culture texts are being interrogated. Listening and asking questions are the most important practices that activate critical thinking in the high school classroom

Digging Deeper: What Counts as Knowledge

Verification of online information.

Verification involves

finding multiple sources,

identifying the author or purpose, or
examining the quality of evidence used.

It is not easy to find credible sources of information and critically assess any information from whatever source.