High school is an essential time to build life skills. One of those core skills is a research mindset that is essential to academic success, personal development, and career paths. Here are ten concrete tips, presented with clear subheadings and in-depth paragraphs to help students start establishing a research mindset.
1. Embrace Curiosity and Ask Questions
Curiosity is what drives the research process. When students are empowered to ask questions about the nature of the world around them, they are able to grow a natural curiosity to continue learning. When students are comfortable with asking a question, regardless of it's challenge, an expectation of finding the answer is created.
Teachers/mentors have an important role to play in fostering curiosity. They can create an environment where asking questions is encouraged, explored, and ultimately a development of learning identity as curiosity. For example, when students begin a new project focused on climate change, they are able to develop their research questions. This could include, "How do human activities change, or contribute to, global temperature?" and "What solutions have the most efficacy to reduce carbon emissions?" The students participate and take ownership of this learning activity while remaining curious about the question.
2. Develop Critical Thinking Through Research
At the centre of a research mindset is critical thinking. With research assignments, students must often explore information and synthesize it by analyzing information, weighing evidence, and considering the different viewpoints prior to forming conclusions. In doing so in a research context, we are teaching students to think critically, which internalizes a process for reasoning toward solving problems.
Students who engage in research develop a way to determine fact as opposed to opinion, identify biases, and synthesize information from a variety of sources. For example, a student researching the effects of social media on mental health may compare studies from multiple countries, assess the credibility of each source, and may have very nuanced conclusions. Over time, students will make these social and critical thinking processes so systematic, it becomes second nature and allows them to continuously learn over time.
3. Foster Independence and Self-Directed Learning
A research mindset is based upon independence. Students who learn to research well begin to engage in self-direction and go out to find the information independently and new discourses as they desire.
To build independence, educators can also provide options where students can choose their research topic or develop their research questions. This will increase motivation and promote greater engagement. Educators can also assist students in learning how to professionally make use of digital tools and databases to better facilitate their research and evaluation of information, so students are better prepared for the challenges upcoming in higher education and society in general.
4. Utilize Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning (PBL) is a productive way to facilitate movement into a research mindset. In PBL, the motion is invoked creatively through solving real-world problems. Students take ownership of their learning while the teacher maintains an active facilitative role of student inquiry, collaborative interaction, and creative production.
PBL promotes the collaboration of knowledge in all disciplines and encourages students to work creatively with things that they will apply in new situations. To give an example, in a project about sustainable social housing, students may need to research environmental science, economics, and the social sciences. So while PBL reinforces research skills, it prepares students for the wicked problems that come with the messiness of real-world problem solving.
5. Practice Spaced Repetition and Retrieval
Research in cognitive science shows that both retrieval practice and spacing are effective in bolstering long-term retention and understanding. Spacing of activities involves recalling information over increasingly longer breaks. Retrieval practice is best known as the act of recalling information that has been learned. Have students implement these strategies for study and retention. To do this, students can schedule review sessions, use flashcards, use self-tests, etc. For example, after gathering information for reports or projects, a student tests their knowledge weeks later. This helps reinforce memory pathways and, in the end, further helps to keep what they have learned all the better.
6. Engage in Active Learning
Active learning requires students to connect with the content rather than swallow the content whole. The use of the active learning techniques of hands-on experiments, group discussions, role-playing, and problem-solving not only aids in building meaning but also helps students retain the information. We all know the experience as learners when we hold a small solar panel in our hands, discuss it with our peers, and are responsible for our research on renewable energy. Sharing and making meaning of the experience helps students reinforce their knowledge and create critical thinking levels that they may not have recognized before. Learners enjoy their learning and develop their knowledge most effectively when they can 'teach' students or apply their knowledge learned through an interactive or tactile learning experience.
7. Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Believing in a growth mindset – the belief that your abilities can grow over time with effort and perseverance – is important to research. Students who have a growth mindset are more willing to engage with challenging tasks, are more likely to persist when it gets tough, and are more likely to view their mistakes as learning opportunities.
There are plenty of ways in which teachers can foster the growth mindset, which include: normalizing struggle, allowing students to struggle with challenging tasks, and emphasizing the importance of effort over talent. For instance, teachers can praise the process by praising students for their persistence, strategy, or improvement, rather than praising them for intelligence. This will promote resiliency in students as they become increasingly willing to work through challenging research questions.
8. Use Multiple Sources and Evaluate Information Critically
Meaningful research involves sourcing multiple information locations and assessing the quality of information you have found. Students should be shown how to find books, articles, websites, and primary or original information, like an interview or a survey. Using multiple information sources allows students to develop multiple perspectives and allows them to validate information.
Students should be encouraged to ask questions about their information, such as, Is this source current? Or is the author an authority? These sorts of questions help students develop critical thinking approaches to analyze reliable information versus misinformation. For instance, a student may be researching space exploration history, which could involve conducting a search in a textbook, in academic journals, and in an interview with a scientist.
9. Organize and Synthesize Information
Many students will have spent a considerable amount of time during their research project, organizing and synthesizing their information. As students are constructing their learning, it is important to consider encouraging them to keep quality notes and outlines and also try a variety of ways to organize their information such as mind maps and even digital organizers.
Students will be beginning to clarify the connections between their ideas and start to synthesize their work into a cohesive understanding of their research topic. For instance, a student looking at technology in the classroom, may now be able to separate out different technology to examine the different effects on student learning through mind mapping. The research project has been taken apart into more manageable pieces so that students can now represent their thinking in a clear and effective way.
10. Reflect on the Research Process and Outcomes
Reflection is essential to having a research mindset. Nearing the end of a research project, students should be given time to reflect on everything they learnt, the barriers they encountered, and the processes they used to work through their challenges.
Educators can make reflection part of the research process, by asking students to write, talk with peers about their new learning, or by using "success folders" to keep track of evidence of success. For example, a student may keep track of summaries of work completed; documentation of their new learning; an explanation of new learning or concept; and they could write about where they think they are in their learning to progress toward a few weeks in their success folder, just to keep a not of their learning, document their thinking, and build their self-efficacy. When students notice their improvement, it is easier for students to desire to in learn and think about it for life.
If you are a high school student pushing yourself to stand out in college applications, RISE Research offers a unique opportunity to work one-on-one with mentors from top universities around the world.
Through personalized guidance and independent research projects that can lead to prestigious publications, RISE Research helps you build a standout academic profile and develop skills that set you apart. With flexible program dates and global accessibility, ambitious students can apply year-round. To learn more about eligibility, costs, and how to get started, visit RISE Research’s official website and take your college preparation to the next level!
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