A teacher asked what to do with a “boring research report.” The basic idea is:
Students research an animal and answer the question, “How does your animal use its adaptations to survive?”
I had done things just like this with my students. Most of my “research reports” were really just “restate rewrites.” Students would look up already-known information and paraphrase it. This is down at maybe Apply on Bloom’s Taxonomy? Certainly in the low-end of our thinking skills.
So, what could we do differently?
Start Low, But Know Where You’re Going To Go!
Now, starting with a low-level task is perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with researching an animal’s adaptations.
But we must know where we’re going to go next. I never want to write a one-step task or ask a single question. We have to develop sequences of questions or we’re guaranteed to have the dreaded “early finishers”.
The Renovation
1. Understand Your Animal
So, first, my students will understand how an animal’s adaptations fit a particular environment. I’d use a kangaroo rat as my model. I’d explain how its adaptations help it to survive in a dry and often hot environment.
But we’re not going to stop there! This just sets the stage.
2. Research A Second Animal and 3. Compare and Contrast
Now we move up to Analyze. To me, the Analyze level of Bloom’s is critical. I wrote more about that here. Many of my tasks never reached this level or skipped it entirely, leading to fluffy “creative” tasks. Once students start comparing, contrasting, and categorizing, it’s an easy transition into Evaluate and Synthesize.
Now, my first thought for Analyze is to “compare this animal’s adaptations with another creature’s adaptations.” But I’ll sharpen it a bit, and set up the next step. I want this second animal be related to the first animal, but live in a different biome.
I’ll model with a rainforest rodent (like a flying squirrel or agouti) to compare with my desert rodent, the kangaroo rat. See how, by making the instructions more specific, we’ll push students to a more interesting analysis. We’re not comparing an octopus and a kangaroo rat! That would be super boring. The animals are way too different. Instead, we’re looking at how two similar rodents have different adaptations for two different environments.
If we want students to go deep, we have to get specific with our questions and instructions. Sharpen those questions!
4. Switch and Evaluate
Now it gets juicy! We’re going to switch the two animals’ biomes and decide which creature’s adaptations would work best in the second environment. For example, put the desert rodent in the rainforest. How would their adaptations fail them? How would they succeed? Then, put the rainforest rodent in the desert. Which creature would do better?
Students have moved up to a seriously interesting Evaluate-level question. I sincerely look forward to reading their thoughts – whereas reading yet another restate rewrite would make me tear my eyebrows out.
5. A Dual Environment Critter?
But we won’t stop there! Evaluation naturally sets up a Synthesis step. Students will design a new rodent that has adaptations for both biomes. Can they create a rodent that will be at home in both the rain forest and the desert?
Then, let’s evaluate some more. Students will consider what problems they ran into while trying to make an animal fit two different environments. Are there too many compromises? Is it better to be super-specialized or to be flexible? Think about all the thinking students can do here! I’m excited just writing about it.
Now, here’s my favorite thing about developing a sequence. Once we reach this point, it actually sets us up for more learning. For example, students could drop back to the lower levels and research existing animals that actually do live in two different biomes.
Original versus Renovation
So here’s our new version:
- Research the animal’s adaptation
- Research a second, related animal’s adaptations for a different biome.
- Compare and contrast how similar animals have different adaptations
- Switch the biomes and decide which animal will survive
- Develop a biome creature who could survive in two biomes
- Evaluate: is it better to be specialized or flexible?
- Research animals that actually do live in two biomes…
See how it can keep going and going? Compare that to my original:
Research an animal. How does your animal use its adaptations to survive?
I was leaving so much on the table.