After spending many years as a reference and instruction librarian I became involved in the collaborative development and teaching of research methods in a "gateway" class for business majors.  As a reference librarian I knew how difficult it was for some students to gather information, and most of them clearly did not know how to use what they found, or when to stop looking. The business class had four or five sections each semester, and it became my laboratory for developing this unusual model for working with information—the part that comes between gathering information and presenting it as a report, PowerPoint, speech, poster session, etc.  Once they knew how to work with information, students found the hunting and gathering of information became much less difficult (and for some, enjoyable).  In the last several years this model has been adapted by others at ASUW, and in 2001 we introduced it to freshmen in the hope of building on these skills as their academic work progresses.
 

This model...
 

• starts in the middle of "the research process"—learners aren't ready to learn about information sources if they don't know what information to look for, or how that information will be used.

• uses a topic that is engaging and detailed, that learners all know something about—so they can go right to work analyzing, synthesizing, and organizing the information as though they had already gathered information and were working with their own notes.

• introduces learners to synthesizing and organizing "granular notes" (3-5 words, one thought, fact, or idea—not a whole card full of notes) into "concepts" by using their own prior knowledge, their preferences, and their imaginations.

• shows learners how to take "granular notes" from published information.

• uses non-traditional learning styles—visual-spatial, motor, kinesthetic—that students say is an energizing and stimulating way to learn.  It is also hard to disengage or fall asleep during this process.

• gives students a simple, practical alternative to "copy and paste" plagiarism.

• gives students a strategy for group research projects.

Concept Synthesizing

The model we are using to teach information skills for research can best be described as concept synthesizing. It might be familiar to people who have used concept sorting or concept mapping techniques, so we can begin there in explaining our new strategy.

Concept sorting is a method used in business, public administration and other fields as a means of group input and decision making. Participants write their thoughts or suggestions on small pieces of paper, then the papers are collected and sorted by grouping similar items together. This is also a good way to determine the outcome of a brainstorming session--by looking for patterns or main ideas from numerous suggestions.

Concept mapping is a technique widely used in education to introduce a subject or to assess what students (mis)understand about a subject. Teachers present maps or students create maps by writing concept words and diagramming how they relate to one another. This technique is particularly effective with groups for producing a shared meaning of concepts and practicing with new vocabulary.

The known drawbacks of concept sorting and concept mapping are sensory overload and the inability to modify, copy, transport, sort, and retrieve the resulting maps. Electronic concept mapping programs solve most of these problems but they can be costly and inconvenient, and they require training to use. With computer programs you lose the spontaneity of the dialogue on shared meaning and the in-depth discussion that takes place in group learning projects.

Concept synthesizing is different from concept sorting and concept mapping in several ways. With this technique…

• Students create 3-5 word notes, not from their opinions or ideas, but from ideas and concepts they extract from reading research articles. Symbols or colors of the notes plus page numbers identify the sources of the information.
• Students begin to construct "a whole" by grouping similar items into clusters. Clusters are not hierarchical (as an outline or a concept map)--they are not even connected to one another. This is very different from creating a hierarchical content and organization before research is undertaken.
• Clusters are analyzed individually for a better grasp on the common theme of the cluster, its completeness, and its connection to the whole. Focusing on one cluster at a time helps combat sensory overload.
• At this time students are focusing on, and finding meaning in, the authors' ideas and concepts rather than the authors' words.
• The granularity of using 3-5 word notes to represent a concept ("story") not only makes it easy to combine items into clusters, but also pulls students away from copying the authors' prose, and frees them to tell the "story" in their own words. In sorting and combining the items into clusters, students find that words become subordinate to the concepts that they represent.
• Students can keep track of information they have, how it fits in the "big picture", what they still need, and what they can discard.
• Students can see the "big picture" and then select appropriate clusters to use for retelling, writing, or creating posters or computer presentations (PowerPoint, multimedia).
• Students can select the most important ideas and the most appropriate sequence to meet the needs of the situation--audience, communication medium, limits of time, and other resources.

Concept synthesizing complements all of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences as well as other recognized learning styles. This new technique uses elements that are especially effective with visual-spatial, tactile, and kinesthetic learners. Studies have shown that these are the preferred learning styles of several ethnic groups, women, and early (young) learners.

Notes + labels + sequence = original process

These are some of the original features of concept synthesizing:

• New kind of notes use "granularity" (3-5 words represent a single concept), making notes easy to sort and combine, and pulling students away from authors' prose.
• Using a highlighter to select words, concepts, and ideas from research articles makes it easier for review, "making meaning", referral back to the source for clarification, and finding details forquotes, and footnotes.
• Synthesizes shared meaning of new, unlearned information.
• Organizes group research project and divides the work equitably.
• Enables students to narrow or re-focus the research topic while viewing the "big picture" and seeing how the revised topic relates to other segments.
• Enables students to see what information is present, and to keep that information organized.
• Enables students to determine when there is enough information and when to stop looking.
• Enables students to determine what information to discard and the consequences to the "big picture" of that omission.
• "Nickname" labels are used to organize the sequence to tell the story.
• "Nickname" labels are used to weight the most important sub-topics to emphasize in visual presentations (web pages, posters, PowerPoint, multimedia)

A selected bibliography and more information can be found at http://www.west.asu.edu/johnso/synthesis/synthesis.html