Steps
- Ask students to share their previous experiences with large research projects, (even if they have very little.) What has worked well for them? What aspects do they struggle with?
- Show students this video of general advice for large projects: Top Tips to Help Complete Long Term Projects (2 minutes)
- Lead a discussion about the suggestions in the video. What pieces of advice seemed most helpful? What are students skeptical about? What barriers do they see to implementing this advice and how can those be overcome?
- Finally, ask every student to pick one or more strategies from the video to focus on to help improve their experience with an aspect of research project planning that they have struggled with in the past.
Considerations
- In lower level classes there may be quite a few students who do not have much or any experience with large research projects. Often students think they are the only one in this position and are quite relieved to hear other students share their lack of experience.
- Students themselves have likely developed their own strategies for planning and executing research projects. This activity can be used to pull the knowledge students already have out into the open. Students are often more receptive to advice from their peers.