Hi, I'm Ms. Finnigan
I want to accompany your student on an exciting journey!
We live in an age when powerful interests aim, by their own admission, to shape the information environment. It is for this reason that we must treat all information, whether seen on the nightly news or on our favorite "red pill" website, with a healthy does of skepticism, to look at it with a critical eye.
I want your student to develop a sense of intellectual curiosity and to learn:
- to ask good questions,
- to approach things with an open mind,
- and to use real-world tools that will empower him or her to seek the truth.
I'm excited to offer some enhancements to the course text with the aim of putting the emphasis where I believe it should be in a research course: on using critical thinking skills and seeking out good information.
In this class, I'll be teaching researching and writing, with a touch of media studies.
This course teaches students how to write a research paper in our day and age: a time when there has never been greater access to information -- nor a greater effort to control it.
Hopefully the lessons learned will be useful for a lifetime!
In this class, your student will be able to pick the topic and set the pace, while receiving guidance, feedback, encouragement, and accountability from an experienced teacher.
The course teaches:
- how to choose a research question/topic
- why it's important to have intellectual curiosity and keep an open mind
- the challenges of living in the "Age of Information," with some case studies to demonstrate the difficulty in finding reliable, unbiased information
- guidelines for vetting sources
- the drawbacks of online research
- why libraries are still incredibly important, and useful
- how to tell the difference between a primary source and a secondary source, news and narrative, fact and opinion
- how to search for information without interference from corporate algorithms
- how to take notes, draft your paper, integrate quotes, and document sources
This course comes with:
- 10 auto-graded quizzes to check for understanding and mastery as the student progresses through the steps
- 10 "milestone" assignments which can be turned into the teacher for feedback, including the final paper
- Supplemental, explanatory videos, including two interviews with "real world" researchers
- Office Hours with Ms. Finnigan for 3 months
Recommended for students in grades 10-12.
Course Text
Must be purchased separately.
Writing a Research Paper (Third Edition)
Hands-on parents may wish to purchase the Teacher's Edition as well (but it is likely not necessary).
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