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Research

Cornerstone Research Skills

We believe that 6-12 aligned research and information literacy skills are critical to supporting our Peak to Peak vision of inspiring students’ academic dreams for college, and to prepare students to be ethical consumers and producers of information as responsible citizens of an interdependent world.  In alignment with Colorado State research standards in social studies and reading, writing, and communicating, Peak to Peak’s research model aims to provide our students with high level research skills in a way that is accessible to all students and staff, aligned 6-12, and transferrable across disciplines in order to ensure our students exit Peak to Peak with the skills necessary for any collegiate and professional research challenges they face.

"source evaluation & citation" with an icon of a globe that says 'www' representing the internet

 

Source Evaluation and Citation: All seniors will be able to access and intuitively evaluate web/print/database sources, based on a 6-12 scaffolded approach to examining the Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose of web and print materials (CRAAP).  Seniors will also be able to accurately cite all materials in-text and in a formal Works Cited page.

 

"search terms & topic narrowing" with a magnifying glass hovering over a globe

 

Search Terms and Topic Narrowing: By senior year, students will have mastered the use of search terms and Boolean operators to narrow to the most relevant materials.  Students will understand the differences between Google and databases in terms of search language (natural language processing vs. structured query language) and be able to use each effectively for concise searches.

 

"paragraph & paper structure" with clipart of a pencil writing lines on a piece of paper

 

Paragraph and Paper Structure: Every existing senior will show proficiency-level execution of a MEAL (main argument, evidence, analysis, link) formatting of research-based paragraphs in support of a thesis-driven extended research argument.

 

"media literacy" with clipart of a folded newspaper

 

Media Literacy: Seniors will be able to understand the psychology behind how individuals interact with information they consume (including on social media) and the resulting human behaviors in order to better identify and mitigate the perspective and purpose of sites.

 

"artificial intelligence" with a picture of half a brain, with the letters AI on top of it

 

Artificial Intelligence: Seniors will be able to communicate why it is essential to build research, writing and analysis abilities throughout middle and high school in order to use AI with purpose, skill, and transparency later in their academic and professional careers. Students will also be able to discern and understand how AI produces information (sometimes inaccurately and/or with bias) and the ethical/environmental impacts of use. 

 

"research design" with clipart of a magnifying glass, various data charts, a gear, and a paper

 

 Research Design: Seniors will be able to evaluate the quality of research designs as well as build and execute a research design following best practices.