Students complete a handout that asks them to match descriptions of how hypothetical students use sources with explanations of the BEAM Model’s purposes or features of types of sources. Then the instructor leads a discussion about the answers.
Activities in this series: Activity 13A, Introduction to the BEAM Model.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Associate the four parts of the BEAM Research Model with their own actions with sources their actions with sources.
Relevant Threshold Concepts
- Research as inquiry.
- Searching as strategic exploration.
Suggestions for Use
- This activity should be helpful in classes where students will be searching for various types of information sources and identifying how a given source fits into their research process.
- The BEAM Research Model, developed by Joseph Bizup at Columbia University (2008), offers students a method for determining an information source’s purpose, helping them organize their research efforts.
Pre-Class Preparation
- Read Chapter 13, Roles of Research Sources, of Choosing & Using Sources, if you haven’t already.
- Review the handout and answer key for this activity.
- Review In-Class Procedure below.
- Decide whether you want students to complete Handout 13B-1 on paper or electronically.
- If you decided on electronic handouts, put Handout 13B-1 in your learning management system.
- If you decided on paper copies, print Handout 13B-1 (1 copy per student and 1 for yourself) and Answer Key 13B-1 (1 copy for yourself).
- Assign students to read Chapter 13, Roles of Research Sources, of Choosing & Using Sources before class.
In-Class Procedure
- If you’re having students use printed copies of Handout 13B-1, pass it out or set it where students can pick it up as they come in.
- If you’re having students use an electronic Handout 13B-1, tell them how to find and open it.
- Introduce students to the activity by telling them you’re going to be talking about the BEAM Research Model, which focuses on the ways sources can be used. If you have talked about the model before, says something to connect students with that earlier experience. Tell them that this activity is designed to help them connect the actions they take with sources with what the BEAM Model says should go on. In other words, understanding the BEAM Model will help them select sources to accomplish specific things in their term papers.
- Ask students to complete Handout 13B-1 for the next 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, briefly go over the answers with students, beginning with asking students what BEAM purpose they associated with Sandra’s actions.
- Conclude the discussion after all answers have been covered.
Relevant Choosing & Using Sources Chapters:
Chapter 13, Roles of Research Sources.
Credit: Bizup, J. (2008). BEAM: A rhetorical vocabulary for teaching research-based writing. Rhetorical Review, 27(1), 72-86.
