Family Resources - Advanced Academic Programs

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.
Zora Neale Hurston

Teaching children how to research is a critical skill that can start early and serve them for a lifetime.  In today’s world, where there is so much information readily available at our fingertips, it is never too early to teach children how to search with a "critical eye."

Opportunities to conduct in-depth research allow children to discover and explore a wide range of topics that connect to personal interests and encourage inquiring minds. As they search for knowledge and data about topics connected to real-world issues, personal interests, and relevant concerns, children learn the value of searching for information through a wide variety of resources.  They also discover and practice investigative and formal research techniques that train them to develop abstract ideas, use inductive thinking, see connections, and solve problems. 

The research process teaches them to organize, apply, and evaluate information and data, which they can collect from multiple sources. Then, they can use that information for a project, a purchase, a personal goal, or to help solve a real-world problem.  To strengthen and refine their thinking and communication skills, children need opportunities to explore topics of interest and share what they learn with others. 

Journaling

The first step in this process can begin with a journal. This can be online or in a notebook and is a place where children can record the journey of their search for information. Make it personal and suggest they write in the first person point of view. This way it becomes a story of their search and they can record what they do, what they learn, and what they think about the information as they learn it. 

They can also write down new questions that surface as they record and think about what they learn. They not only gain an understanding of their topic from many different sources, they gradually formulate their own opinions based on evidence as they become personally involved in the quest for knowledge.

Choosing a topic is an important next step.  Maybe your child has expressed interest in a topic either out of curiosity or because they want to make a purchase. This could cover a wide range from soccer balls and bicycles to solar-powered vehicles. Or maybe they question why there are so many snakeheads in the Potomac River.  Deciding what to research can prompt thinking and discussion as children consider different options.  

It is important that your child searches for information on a topic that he or she truly cares about. Encourage your child to record in a journal what he or she would like to learn more about and why it is important to them. They should record not only why they chose their topic, but also what sparked their initial interest.

For example, one child who decided to investigate snakeheads wrote in her journal, "I was fishing with my dad in the river and I caught a large fish that looked different from any fish I had ever seen before.  When I asked my dad what it was, he explained that it was a snakehead and they were an invasive species. I wanted to learn more so we took a picture of the fish and this is how my research journey began . . . One of the things that puzzled me was that this fish was an invasive species and I wanted to know more about that ... Where did they come from? Who brought them here?"

Mind Mapping

Next, ask your child to record everything they already know about the topic and make a list of questions or areas of interest they would like to pursue. One strategy that can help children organize information and ideas in unique and personal ways is a mind map. Mind mapping is a lot of fun. Your child can write a word or draw a circle in the middle of a page. Next, ask your child to draw lines and new circles to ideas and words or pictures that connect to the original word.  

Maybe your child is interested in space. Together you could create a mind map of all that your child knows about space and then add things your child wants to investigate. Mind mapping also gives children an understanding of the breadth of a topic and it can help them narrow down their research to one or more specific areas. As they map out their thinking they can see connections among related ideas.

This thinking skill is especially important for visual learners and may be used throughout the research process as children gain more in-depth knowledge of their topic. A good book for learning more about mind maps is Mind Mapping for Kids: How Elementary School Students Can Use Mind Maps to Improve Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking by Toni Krasnic. 

Once the search begins, children will need help and guidance in finding sources of information. These sources should be a combination of books, site visitations, online research, letter writing, interviews, and any other resource that would provide facts and data about their chosen topic. As they learn information, encourage them to record what they learn and list new questions as they surface. If they like using a mind map, the mind maps can help to illustrate their search and the connections they make.

Encapsulation

Keeping a journal and recording their search also gives children an opportunity to encapsulate or practice putting what they learn into their own words. Encapsulation is the art of sharing ideas or information as precisely as possible.  It is the ability to share “the bottom line” or the essence of a story, experience, or other information in a concise, precise form. 

Encapsulation requires that the creator use as few words as possible and at the same time not lose the intention of the original idea. As children write about what they learn in their own words, this gives them important writing practice and not only strengthens their confidence to express ideas in their own words, it also helps them understand the essence of an idea or information.

Encourage your child to express how they feel about the information and their search as it progresses. For example, they may write a letter or email to a person, expert, or organization whose work focuses on their topic. When they receive a response, they may be excited because it includes lots of new information and answers a lot of their questions, or they may be disappointed because they received a form letter or no response at all.  Reflection is an important part of the research process. Encourage your child to note their surprises and disappointments as well as how their thinking changes as they learn and reflect upon that learning.

Interviewing

Conducting research also helps develop self-confidence. Your child may need help finding someone to interview; however, the process of conducting the interview will strengthen their confidence as well as their communication skills. Encourage them to write down their questions ahead of time and then practice the interview with you or another member of the family. During the actual interview, they may take notes or record the interview. 

Sometimes a site visitation can be combined with an interview. For example, one child heard his parents talking about how the county wanted to build a road through a wetlands area and some people were against this idea.  He wanted to learn more so he asked his parents to take him to the wetlands, where he could interview a ranger. This led to more interviews and he interviewed a local official, a transportation expert, and some commuters. Through the various interviews, he learned the importance of having good information and considering different points of view from multiple stakeholders.  

He also read newspaper articles and editorials about the controversy. As he learned about the wetlands, he decided that more people needed to be educated about this important part of the ecosystem that is often not valued or understood. This allowed him to learn how citizens become involved, and the different forums that could be used to share what he learned.  It also gave him a better appreciation for the complexity of real-world problems and the importance of gaining knowledge to inform your opinion.

Share Findings

The final phase of the research process is an opportunity for your child to share their findings and take action with the information that she has learned. She may want to write letters, create a video, construct a model, or make a picture collage to inform and share what she has learned with others. If your child is researching a product they would like to purchase such as a new computer tablet or lacrosse equipment, he can select and justify which brand he wants to purchase and why.  It is exciting to watch and encourage children to develop their own thoughts and opinions as they become better informed.  As long as the topic is one in which they have a strong interest, children will spend a tremendous amount of time and energy researching, reflecting, and finding ways to share and take action with their new information.

The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.

This quote by Albert Einstein highlights the importance of teaching children to think creatively so that they will be prepared to cope with the complexities of our modern world and face situations that do not have one clear answer.

What is creativity and why is it important? How can it be nurtured? How have creative thinkers changed our lives and shaped our ever-changing world? These are just a few of the questions that may be used to start the conversation and raise awareness of creativity and its connection to innovative solutions.  

There are also children’s books that share the stories of children who have solved everyday problems with innovative ideas. One of my favorites is The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer and Elizabeth Zunon, an inspiring story of a young boy in Malawi who used scrap metal, tractor parts, and pieces of old bicycles, to create a crude yet operable windmill to bring electricity to his village. Additional recommendations include The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle by Don L. Wulffson and Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change: Courageous Actions Around the World by Garth Sundem.

Although it is often associated with art, creativity is a dynamic process that relies on an inner resource that will produce as long as the environment stimulates ideas and encourages risk-taking. The environment is a critical component, and it must be one in which children feel free to take risks to explore and discover their own ideas, insights, and solutions.  

Children should be encouraged to observe and notice things, play around with their ideas, see patterns and connections, and explore unique applications of their ideas to real-world problems and situations. Creativity is nurtured in a home that provides a safe environment for investigation, instills the value of learning from mistakes, and fosters respect for individual ideas and differences. Children need rich and varied opportunities to think about possibilities, experiment with ideas, test their ideas, and reflect on the results.

Creative Problem Solving is one strategy that nurtures the creative thinking skills that are needed to come up with unique solutions to any problem. This strategy promotes the development of fluency and flexibility (the ability to generate many ideas and see different possibilities), originality (the ability to combine ideas in new ways or come up with unusual ideas), and elaboration (the ability to further develop ideas to evaluate them for feasibility). 

Fluency and flexibility open up many possibilities and originality and elaboration stretch the uniqueness of their ideas. These thinking skills are based on the work of Alex Osborn, an advertising executive, and Sidney Parnes, a college professor, both of whom did extensive research on how creative people solve problems. It is a great strategy to use with children as it teaches them to consider multiple ideas as they search for creative solutions to a variety of problems.

Step One:  Identify a Problem or Challenge

Every problem is a gift - without problems we would not grow.  Anthony Robbins

Walk around the house or yard with your child and talk about things that could be improved e.g., the garden, the play area, their room and how it is organized. Ask your child to choose one and brainstorm ideas for improving it. How could it be better?

Step Two: Fact Finding

Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes. Jawaharlal Nehru

This is the stage where children practice their research skills, ask questions, and gather information.  Once they have selected their problem area, discuss the following with your child the following: 

• Who else could you talk to?  
• What might you observe? 
•  Where do you want to go to learn more? 
• How will you record your information?  

For example, if your child decides to focus on an overgrown garden, she may need to visit a nursery or a garden center to learn about the different plants, the space and sun that they need, and other factors that must be taken into consideration to have a successful and productive garden. If the problem is a messy, disorganized room, you may suggest that he look at magazines for ideas that can be used to organize space, visit a container store, or research online.

Step Three: Identify Problems

A good problem is something you don't know how to solve. That's what makes it a good puzzle and a good opportunity.   Paul Lockhart

Encourage your child to review the facts and think about the situation from as many angles as possible. Use smaller problems to identify the parts of the bigger problem.  Select and state a manageable problem that will invite solutions. In the example of the garden, some of the problems may include:

• Too many weeds
• Squirrels or deer eat plants
• Not enough rain
• Not enough sun
• Space is too small
• Soil is too hard

Step Four:  Generate Ideas!

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. Oliver Wendell Holmes

Encourage creativity and ask your child to list all the ways she might improve her garden or room based on the problems she identified. Stretch her imagination and remember, at this stage, nothing is judged! No idea is too crazy or silly. You might suggest that they start their list with “In what ways might I … .” or “How might I … .” Share ideas among members of the family and listen to each other’s ideas.  You can combine ideas and — most important of all — come up with lots of ideas!

For example, to improve a garden, the list might include:

• Put down plastic to keep weeds from growing
• Put newspapers on the soil to prevent weeds
• Move the garden to another area of the yard
• Create a patio garden in containers
• Add earthworms to break up soil
• Add an alarm system to keep animals away
• Dig irrigation ditches
• Chop down trees that are blocking the sun

Step Five: Create a Solution

In the book of life; the answers aren't in the back.  Charlie Brown

Now is the time to review the list of ideas and decide which ones might work. Ask your child to look at the ideas realistically and evaluate the ideas against some measures. The goal is to select an idea that has the best chance of succeeding. In the case of the garden, the measures your child might choose could include cost, time, location, and soil preparation.  For example, if your child decides to move the garden to another part of the yard with more sun, what will it cost, how long will that take, is there a space that would work, and what kind of soil preparation is needed? Create a chart and rate each idea objectively.

Step Six: Solve the Problem!

You can't plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind.  Gordon B. Hinckley

Now is the time to have your child make an action plan. Help him determine what needs to be done, assess the challenges that might arise, and prepare a plan of action. Work as a team and draw or design a model of what the solution will look like. Label parts and write down details that will help your child implement the plan.

When Creative Problem Solving is practiced and applied, it becomes a way of thinking about problems that can be adapted to multiple situations. When children are encouraged to apply the creative process to a problem, they also gain a greater appreciation for the important contributions made to our world by creative individuals who took risks, experimented with ideas, and solved problems through real-world applications of their unique ideas. Through the practice of Creative Problem Solving children will be empowered to face any problem and to search for unique solutions to improve their world not only for today but for future generations as well.