Reviewing the Literature: What We Know About Vampires or Zombies

Abstract

Reviewing the existing literature is a key step in developing a research project. Yet, courses rarely focus on how to do this effectively. As a result, undergraduate students often produce an awkward document that summarizes one article at a time until they reach the number of required citations. In this collaborative classroom activity, students get...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Research Methods, Teaching and Learning in Sociology

Resource Type(s):

Class Activity

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

This activity could be used in any subject course. The activity itself fits easily within a single class period (40-55 minutes), and can be adjusted depending on the amount of time spent brainstorming in Step 1 and organizing in Step 2.  It can be adapted to online asynchronous classes by having students brainstorm what they know about vampires (or...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Goal 1: Students come to understand the structure and purpose of a literature review.
2. Goal 2: Students demonstrate proficiency in employing the techniques learned in this activity to organize an outline and translate their outline into prose.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Assessment 1: Students contribute to the collaborative construction of a literature review about zombies or vampires in class. Indicators of success may include: (1) student verbal contributions focus on information about vampires/zombies, instead of on movies/books/TV shows, (2) student suggestions for thematic sections in Step 2 demonstrate awareness of...
2. Assessment 2: During Steps 2 & 3, students create a thematic outline for a literature review on zombies/vampires and a prose paragraph that incorporates information from multiple sources related to a single theme. These in-class assignments can be assessed using the following criteria:
   o To what extent does a student’s outline demonstrate their...