Explore and formulate questions

• 1.1. Thinking about a topic or problem
• 1.2. Exploring a topic
• 1.3. Identifying a situational problem
• 1.4. Formulating a hypothesis
• 1.5. Problem-solving using scenarios or activities

• 1.1. Thinking about a topic or problem 

A problem is always more meaningful if it is anchored in students’ reality. Preferably, the problem selected should touch students on an emotional level by addressing issues they are interested in or concerned about. Problem-solving is an aspect of all human activity. When faced with a problem, we all look for answers and formulate hypotheses in order to make choices.

Are we objective in our attempts to find answers? Do we sometimes have a misguided perception of reality? It is important to first consider our perceptions of the world.

The student and the world
Guide the student to understand how each of us sees the world through our own eyes, through our own interpretations.

Students’ perceptions of the world
Encourage students to understand that everyone sees the world through their own eyes and interprets it accordingly.
(Click image for flash presentation.  French only.)

Students and the Internet
Encourage students to question what they find on the Internet. Who, what, how and where: everyone has their own view of things on the Internet. 

Web Awareness Canada
http://www.education-medias.ca/english/special_initiatives/web_awareness/index.cfm
Web Awareness Canada is a program developed by the Media Awareness Network that provides teachers and parents with practical information and hands-on activities to help give students the “ cyber smarts” they need to make wise, safe and responsible online decisions.

Using ICT to get students thinking

Brainstorming
Use a word processor  *   and a search for online images (using Google Images) to brainstorm on a given topic.
(Click image for sample in PDF form)
 

Photo analysis
Photo analysis enables students to develop their sense of observation, encourages them to formulate questions and make interpretations, and sharpens their critical faculties.
(Click image for more info)

Mind mapping
A mind map can be created using mind mapping software such as Inspiration  or FreeMind, which is free.  Online alternatives like Gliffy and Bubbl.us are also free.
Click here for examples of mind maps created using Inspiration.

Using news to get students thinking

Use the following print media sites to get students thinking about current events. 

Good News Network
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
Site that gives a perspective on how negative news dominates mainstream news services.  "Our mission is simple. Lots of people hunger for positive news in their lives and sense this need in society as well. The birth of positive news programming was inevitable in today's media landscape and it will become a permanent fixture in the culture of the 21st century." 

CBBC Newsround
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/
News geared toward children, including entertainment, science, and sports for the U.K.

NewsHour Extra
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/
NewsHour Extra provides students and teachers with quality educational resources based on current issues and events. Students will find features that make connections between the news and the world around them. They can also speak out on important issues and share their experiences with other young journalists.

Canada.com network
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/index.html
As part of CanWest Global Communications, the canada.com network offers online content from several of Canada’s leading newspapers including the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, The Gazette (Montréal), The Vancouver Sun, the Edmonton Journal and the Calgary Herald.

Student Connections (grades 6 to 12)
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/index.html
Student Connections is part of the New York Times Learning Network, a free service for students, their teachers and parents.

Time for Kids (grades K-6)
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/
Time for Kids is a weekly classroom news magazine that motivates kids to read. Issues cover a wide range of real-world topics kids love to learn about.

Google News
http://news.google.com/news?ned=ca
4500 news sources updated continuously

CBC News
World headlines [ http://www.cbc.ca/world/]
Canada headlines [ http://www.cbc.ca/canada/]
Schedules: CBC Radio [ http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/radio/] + CBC Television [ http://www.cbc.ca/television/]

Images and the news (geography)

Certain geography-related images can be interesting to examine as news topics in class:

Satellite images [ http://en.allmetsat.com/index.html]
Satellites images of weather-related phenomena around the world

Google Maps [ http://maps.google.ca]
A free online map service provided by Google that offers a map of the whole world

IRIS Seismic Monitor [ http://www.iris.edu/seismon]
Earthquake data from the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center

• 1.2. Exploring a topic
  

Encarta
http://encarta.msn.com/
Subscription-based encyclopedia that offers some texts for free

 
Fact Monster
http://www.factmonster.com/
Almanac, atlas, dictionary and encyclopedia for students aged 6 to 14

Information Please
http://www.infoplease.com/
An online resource containing answers to all kinds of factual questions

The Canadian Encyclopedia
http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/
A comprehensive source of information on Canada for students, readers and scholars across Canada and throughout the world

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
A free encyclopedia that anyone can edit



Other helpful multimedia reference tools may be available in the library:

•    Encyclopedias on CD-ROM (Canadian Encyclopedia, Britannica, Encarta, World Book, etc.)
•    Virtual news libraries such as the Newscan.com Virtual News Library [http://www.library.newscan.com/Biblio/intro.asp].

Directed research
Teachers may want to provide younger students with bookmarks to direct them to sites that will not only encourage them to think about various issues, but also make it easier for them to collect data on a given topic.
Bookmarking sites are very interesting in an academic setting where students do not always have access to the same computer. These sites can be used to share bookmarks with or among students:

del.icio.us
http://del.icio.us/

iKeepBookmarks.com
http://ww2.ikeepbookmarks.com

MyBookmarks
http://www.mybookmarks.com

Email and online forums

Finally, email and online forums allow students to clarify questions, gauge the level of interest in an issue and discuss ideas among peers and other people. Some sites offer online forums focusing on current issues such as:

Epals.com
http://www.epals.com/projects/thewayweare/topics.tpl
A global classroom exchange project focusing on various topics



YouthLinks
http://www.youthlinks.org/index.do
High school students connect on global issues and Canadian history.



NewsHour Extra (Speak Out)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/students/
NewsHour Extra provides a place where students can also speak out on important issues and share their experiences with other young journalists.

RDI Junior [French only]
http://radio-canada.ca/jeunesse/rdijunior/question_semaine/aveu_generique.asp?SECTIONOUVERTE=OUI
On sollicite votre opinion sur des questions de tous genres.

Ados Radio [French only]
http://radio-canada.ca/jeunesse/adosradio/
Chaque jour, une nouvelle question pertinente à répondre et à discuter.

Cybersciences – junior [French only]
http://www.cybersciences-junior.org/accueil/index5.asp
Le site jeunesse du magazine Québec Sciences. Discussions sur l’environnement, la géographie, l’histoire, la nature, la société, etc.

1.3 Identifying a situational problem

Having read up on various issues in the previous step, students are now in a position to identify a situational problem, which includes facts, events and actors.

Here are some important elements of a situational problem:

•    Make sure the situational problem leads to a question. Students should be facing a problem they will have to analyze. This conflict should raise questions for them.
•    Make sure the students are given the context they need; the teacher must prepare the way.
•    Make sure the situational problem reflects students’ actual interests and preoccupations.

Situational problems must reflect conflicts that engage students; they should therefore use students’ ideas as their starting point. Situational problems challenge students’ values or the way they see the world and force them to re-examine their ideas (e.g., about the concept of freedom).

Situational problems may also take the form of a mission or examine two different explanations for the same event. Humans deal poorly with lack of coherence or meaning.

Situational problems may point towards an explanation or comparison but should never make value judgments.

1.4. Formulating a hypothesis

Now that students have a general sense of the issue they are interested in and have defined their situational problem, they must formulate a hypothesis, which represents a tentative answer to the problem:

“The [situational] problem leads to the formulation of a research hypothesis. In fact, the hypothesis is a tentative answer to the question posed. It attempts to make connections between significant facts and enables [the student] to interpret them. For the research to be valid, however, a hypothesis must be specific, plausible and verifiable.” [translation]

Source: Service des bibliothèques de l’UQAM, www.bibliotheques.uqam.ca/InfoSphere/sciences_humaines/module8/hypotheses.html

1.5. Problem-solving using scenarios or activities

The following are some examples of problem-solving scenarios. They do not necessarily use situational problems as their starting point; however, they can challenge students to re-examine their perceptions.
 

Engaging Students in Problem Solving using a WebQuest

Joan Berger's scenarios and more created by her teacher trainers
(Source:  Integrating the Internet into the Classroom)

McCord Museum Web Activities - Various "inquiry ideas" are amongst this large variety of approaches to learning.

In French only:

Missions virtuelles
Scénarios d'apprentissage en univers social avec une démarche d'apprentissage qui suppose un questionnement.
http://www.csduroy.qc.ca/mission/

Le village prologue
Projet d'échanges avec des personnages virtuels. Quelques scénarios en résolution de problème qui peuvent stimuler le questionnement de l'élève.
http://www.prologue.qc.ca

Scénarios du récit
http://www.recitus.qc.ca/index.php?item=62

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