Chapter 9 Learning Activities

Stevy Scarbrough

1 Chapter 9 Learning Activities

Stevy Scarbrough

The purpose of these activities is to develop your research, writing, and citation skills, key competencies for academic success. These activities will guide you through practical applications of research techniques, proper citation practices, and effective use of campus resources to improve your writing assignments. These activities will help students meet the following learning objectives:

LO1. Conduct a search for appropriate resources and references for a writing assignment in one of your classes

LO2. Demonstrate how to write references in MLA and APA using Noodle Tools [or other citation program].

LO3. Schedule an appointment with (or walk in to) the tutoring/writing/success center and get feedback on a writing assignment you have for one of your classes.

LO4. Use the chat function of the Library’s website to speak about resources with the library staff.

LO5. Discuss strategies for completing group-based academic assignments and career field projects.

Activity 9.1 Conducting Research

Choose a research paper assignment for one of your classes that requires you to use references or cite sources. (If you do not have an assignment to use, please ask me for one.)

What class is your assignment for?
What are you being asked to do in your assignment?
How long does your paper need to be?
How many sources do you need to cite in your paper?
What other major requirements does your paper have?
Conduct a search using the [include a link to your school’s library] Library’s online database for sources that you will cite in your paper.
What keywords will you use for your search?

Activity 9.2 Noodle Tools

[Instructors: Tailor this activity to specific citation tools that are most common at your institution. Have example assignments, videos, etc. that students can practice using to help familiarize them with those tools. I have included the tools that are most common at my institution below as an example.]

Go to the Noodle Tools page on the [your school] Library’s website. Create an account and follow the tutorial videos on how to use Noodle Tools. Create a project title for the assignment you are researching sources for. Then follow the steps to create citations for each of sources you will be using for your assignment. Make sure you have met the minimum requirement for your assignment. Create one set of citations in MLA and one set of citations in APA.

Paste a screenshot of your MLA citations.

Paste a screenshot of your APA citations.

Activity 9.3 Outline Your Paper

Now that you have a list of sources and their citations, create an outline of your paper.

Paste a screenshot or type your outline below.

Activity 9.4 Write Your First Draft

[Instructors: Students often get confused about this activity and hand in their complete first draft. Make sure to reiterate that students are submitting the feedback they received and their plan to address the feedback as evidence that they know where to go to get writing help and how to use the help they receive]

Write a complete first draft of your paper following the assignment parameters and suggestions in the readings for structuring your paper, then schedule an appointment with the Writing/Tutoring/Success center to get feedback on your draft. Make sure you bring the complete draft with you, this worksheet, and the assignment instructions with you to your appointment.

List all of the feedback you received about your paper at your appointment below:

How will you address this feedback in your revision?

Activity 9.5 Library Chat Service

[Instructors: If your school does not have a chat service with the library, have students go to the library or otherwise get in contact with library staff so that they are aware of how to use the library as a resource.]

Go to the [your school] Library’s website and click on the Library chat button. Submit a question to the chat related to the services offered at the library, the tutoring center, or any other question you have that you think the library staff may be able to help you with.

Paste a screenshot of your chat conversation below.

Activity 9.6 Strategies for Group Work Discussion

Share an experience you’ve had working on a group assignment. What actions did you and/or your group members take that helped the group do well? What actions did you and/or your group members take that made it more difficult for the group to do well?

Do a Google search and share another tip you found online for working in groups successfully. Make sure you include the link. Discuss why you think this will help lead to successfully completing work as a group.

Read the initial post of three of your peers, then add your reply by clicking the reply button. Please make sure you follow the Netiquette guidelines post that you read in the Course Info page. Your replies should be thoughtful, encouraging, and between 50-150 words in length.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License