This album is a collaborative effort between Sarah Westbrook from the Right Question Institute and Ann Canning from the TPS Eastern Region Program at Waynesburg University. We wondered what would happen if we combined the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) with TPS Primary Sources and the LOC Analysis tool. Our goal was to create a model for Student Driven Inquiry in which research questions are generated by students and research paths at loc.gov are followed by students supported by their teachers experienced with TPS resources. The resulting QFT+TPS MASHUP is a mix of these two inquiry tools that both include questioning and reflection and together create a powerful way to put students in charge of their own learning! The process for the MASHUP is both a switch and an extension of the Observe•Reflect•Question process of the LOC/TPS Analysis Tool. The sequence is switched to Observe•Question•Reflect and we extended the inquiry to include Corroboration•Keyword Searching and more Reflection.
The first role of the teacher in our model is to select a LOC primary source for the Question Focus (QF) and a LOC Primary Source Set, Exhibit, and other LOC collections related to a chosen curriculum theme as a scaffold to give the students a jump start for their personal inquiry journey. The second role of the teacher in this model is to provide directions and clarification for students as they move through the QFT and the TPS Analysis Tool.
We piloted the QFT+TPS Mashup with Melissa Lawson 's 7th grade Advanced English Class in Folson Middle School, California and with a group of educators who attended the TPS ER 2020 Conference. Both these groups worked on the MASHUP remotely using Padlets to post their observations, questions, reflections, keywords and additional primary sources they found. You may preview the padlets and even remake them to use as a template with your own students.
Mrs. Lawson's Middle School Mashups: Japanese American Internment
#1 Observe-Question-Reflect
#2 Corroborate
#3 Searching for Primary Sources at LOC.gov
TPS ER 2020 Conference PD Mashups: A Tale of 3 Lenses
Group #1 Toyo Miyatake's Story Part 1
Group #2 Toyo Miyatake's Story Part 2
Group #3 Ansel Adams' Story Part 1
Group #4 Ansel Adams' Story Part 2
Group #5 Dorothea Lange's Story Part !
Group #5 Dorothea Lange's Story Part 2
The QFT+TPS Mashup is still in the pilot phase. We are looking for TPS educatos to try it out either with a Japanese American Internment Question Focus or with a different primary source theme as the QF. We are eager to see what works and what doesn't work when we add the QFT to the TPS primary source analysis tool. Contact either Ann Canning and Sarah Westbrook if you would like to try a MASHUP with either K-12 students or educators.