Using Think Alouds, Think Afters, and Think Togethers to Research Adolescents’ Inquiry Experiences

• Main Author: Branch, Jennifer L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alberta 2006
• Subjects: Northwest Territories; Inuvik; Territoires du Nord-Ouest
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ajer/article/view/55153

This article presents three research methods—Think Alouds, Think Afters, and Think Togethers—as ways of gathering data to describe the experiences of adolescents during instructional activities. These verbal report methods were used in two studies that examined the information-seeking processes of adolescents in Inuvik, Northwest Territories and Beaumont, Alberta. The first study revealed that participants needed both mediation (instruction and support) and practice to develop the skills and strategies needed for full-text searching of electronic encyclopedias. The second study revealed that students needed mediation (instruction and support) throughout an inquiry-based learning experience and that using Kuhlthau’s (1993) Information Search Process model as a guide for cognitive and affective mediation was useful. The Think Alouds, Think Afters, and Think Togethers allowed the researcher to collect data about the adolescents’ experiences of information-seeking; the data-gathering processes also provided the participants with a deeper understanding of their own experiences of instructional activities. I conclude the article with recommendations to enhance researchers’ use of verbal report methods with adolescents. Cet article présente trois méthodes de recherche – Think Alouds, Think Afters et Think Togethers (Réfléchir à haute voix, Réfléchir par la suite et Réfléchir ensemble) – comme façons de recueillir des données pour décrire les expériences que vivent les adolescents pendant des activités pédagogiques. Nous avons employé ces méthodes basées sur les rapports verbaux au cours de deux études portant sur les processus de recherche d’information auxquels ont eu recours des adolescents à Inuvik, aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest et à Beaumont, en Alberta. La première étude a révélé que les participants avaient besoin de médiation (directives et appui) et de pratique afin d’être en mesure de développer les habiletés et les stratégies nécessaires à faire des recherches en texte intégral dans des encyclopédies ...