Encouraging and Supporting Student Inquiry: Researching Controversial Issues
Assignments that engage students in inquiry topics of their own choosing contribute to motivation and thus to learning. Very often the topics chosen (particularly by high school students) are considered controversial by school administration, parents, community organizations, and others. This practical book discusses the processes, actions, and policies needed to support and encourage high school students in that type of inquiry. Building trusting relationships over time with administration...
Search in google:
Assignments that engage students in inquiry topics of their own choosing contribute to motivation and thus to learning. Very often the topics chosen (particularly by high school students) are considered controversial by school administration, parents, community organizations, and others. This practical book discusses the processes, actions, and policies needed to support and encourage high school students in that type of inquiry. Building trusting relationships over time with administration and the school community will be stressed as a way to build a community of true inquiry in your school and library. Classroom teachers and high school librarians will value the advice and scaffolding techniques presented that will enable their school and high school library to become a safe place for student inquiry into issues of their own choosing— controversial or not. The author draws on her 30-plus years as a high school librarian, deeply concerned with the intellectual freedom of the researchers in her library media center and with offering help and reassurance to those trying to implement school library programs that allow all voices to be heard. Grades 9-12. Assignments that engage students in inquiry topics of their own choosing (often controversial) contribute to motivation and thus to learning. This practical book will discuss the processes, actions and policies needed to support and encourage high school students in that type of inquiry. School Library Journal Selverstone gives sound advice for advocating inquiry-based research, especially for hot topics that are most interesting to students. She advises library media specialists on what constitutes controversial topics, how to collaborate with teachers to foster critical thinking, and how to gain administrative support for this kind of program research. Most of the suggestions stem from Information Power and how to incorporate it into library programs. The author includes models of inquiry-based research techniques that allow students to enrich their curriculum study as well as develop their understanding and respect for different viewpoints. The rest of the book is divided into nine broad categories, and, within them, more specific topics that suggest journal articles, Web sites, and books to direct students to unbiased information that presents both sides of the topic. For example, "Biology/Health" has sections on abortion, birth control, cloning, evolution, and medical marijuana. Selverstone includes an introduction to the topic for library media specialists and collaborating teachers. She stresses the importance of having access to all types of information like unfiltered accounts for accessing the Internet as well as books and databases; while unfiltered accounts may be out of reach for some libraries, the philosophies and ideas presented make this book an ideal purchase to promote and foster collaboration with the school communities in which many of us work.-Lori E. Donovan, Thomas Dale High School, Chester, VA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
Acknowledgments xiIntroduction xiiiControversial Issues: Definition xvStudent Assignments xviAdministrative Support xxiiiPublic Relations: Necessary for Support of Programs xxviiiTeaching, Learning, and Student Inquiry during the Research Process xxxvControversial Issues: What Are They? xliiiResearching Controversial Issues xlviiPresentation of Controversial Issues xlixBiology/Health 1Abortion 3AIDS Reappraised and AIDS, the Epidemic 6Alternative Medicine 10Birth Control 12Circumcision 15Cloning 18Cryonics 20Eugenics 22Euthanasia 24Evolution and Creationism 26In Vitro Fertilization 29Medical Marijuana 32Mind Control 35Overpopulation 37Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Sports 39Psychoactive Drugs 42Race and Intelligence 45Racial Profiling 48StemCells 51Tobacco Smoking 54Transracial Adoption 57Entertainment 61Entertainment Software Rating Board 63Media Bias 65Media Restrictions 68MPAA Film Rating System 71Environment 75Acid Rain 77Global Warming 80Nuclear Power 83Ozone Depletion 86Pesticides 89Geography 93Israeli-Occupied Territories 95Persian Gulf 98Puerto Rico Self-Determination 101United States-Mexican Border Dispute 104History 109Apartheid in South Africa 111Cyprus Dispute 114Genocide 117Holocaust Revisionism 120Roswell UFO Incident 123Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) 126White Supremacy 129People 131Salvador Allende 133Yasser Arafat 136Cesar Chavez 139Hugo Chavez 142David Duke 145Galileo Galilei 147Malcolm X 150Martin Luther King, Jr. 153Politics 155Anarchism 157Black Separatism 160Communism 163Fascism 166Feminism 169Gays in the Military 172Gun Politics 175People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) 178Public vs. Private School Education 181USA Patriot Act (H.R. 3162) 184Religion 187Anti-Semitism 189Atheism 192Fundamentalism 195New Age Spirituality 198Opus Dei 201Scientology 204Sharia 207Sexuality 211Homosexuality 213Polygamy 216Pornography 219Same-Sex Marriage 222Index 225
\ From the Publisher"Selverstone gives sound advice for advocating inquiry-based research, especially for hot topics that are most interesting to students. She advises library media specialists on what constitutes controversial topics, how to collaborate with teachers to foster critical thinking, and how to gain administrative support for this kind of program research….[t]he philosophies and ideas presented make this book an ideal purchase to promote and foster collaboration with the school communities in which many of us work."\ -\ School Library Journal\ "Librarians will find this resource useful both for setting up lessons and inquiries into the topics listed and as a model for helping students to research other topics….Selverstone's guide is a sound purchase for school librarians and for public libraries serving high school populations."\ -\ VOYA\ \ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalSelverstone gives sound advice for advocating inquiry-based research, especially for hot topics that are most interesting to students. She advises library media specialists on what constitutes controversial topics, how to collaborate with teachers to foster critical thinking, and how to gain administrative support for this kind of program research. Most of the suggestions stem from Information Power and how to incorporate it into library programs. The author includes models of inquiry-based research techniques that allow students to enrich their curriculum study as well as develop their understanding and respect for different viewpoints. The rest of the book is divided into nine broad categories, and, within them, more specific topics that suggest journal articles, Web sites, and books to direct students to unbiased information that presents both sides of the topic. For example, "Biology/Health" has sections on abortion, birth control, cloning, evolution, and medical marijuana. Selverstone includes an introduction to the topic for library media specialists and collaborating teachers. She stresses the importance of having access to all types of information like unfiltered accounts for accessing the Internet as well as books and databases; while unfiltered accounts may be out of reach for some libraries, the philosophies and ideas presented make this book an ideal purchase to promote and foster collaboration with the school communities in which many of us work.-Lori E. Donovan, Thomas Dale High School, Chester, VA\ Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.\ \
