Inquiry Research Roadmap on Harmful Short Videos
A research project roadmap with a source evaluation worksheet for 11th grade and up, in which students investigate either a harmful TikTok trend or the effects of short-video use on attention and learning. It builds inquiry, source evaluation, evidence gathering, and argument writing across four sequenced phases with a pacing guide, and it includes key-term definitions to anchor the research vocabulary.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the roadmap at the start of a multi-week research unit, and have students pick their direction (a specific harmful trend or the cognitive effects of short video) before moving into the source evaluation worksheet.
- Discussion question: How can you tell whether a study about 'TikTok brain' measures causation or only correlation, and why does that distinction matter for your argument?
- Scaffold for students who struggle: provide a short list of vetted starter sources and a completed sample row of the source evaluation worksheet so they can model the criteria before evaluating their own.
- Extension for advanced students: have them compare conflicting findings on attention and inhibitory control and write a paragraph explaining which methodological differences account for the disagreement.
- Plan roughly 3 to 4 weeks of class time, with the pacing guide setting deadlines for each of the four phases.
Inquiry Research Roadmap on Harmful Short Videos
A research project roadmap with a source evaluation worksheet for 11th grade and up, in which students investigate either a harmful TikTok trend or the effects of short-video use on attention and learning. It builds inquiry, source evaluation, evidence gathering, and argument writing across four sequenced phases with a pacing guide, and it includes key-term definitions to anchor the research vocabulary.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Introduce the roadmap at the start of a multi-week research unit, and have students pick their direction (a specific harmful trend or the cognitive effects of short video) before moving into the source evaluation worksheet.
- Discussion question: How can you tell whether a study about 'TikTok brain' measures causation or only correlation, and why does that distinction matter for your argument?
- Scaffold for students who struggle: provide a short list of vetted starter sources and a completed sample row of the source evaluation worksheet so they can model the criteria before evaluating their own.
- Extension for advanced students: have them compare conflicting findings on attention and inhibitory control and write a paragraph explaining which methodological differences account for the disagreement.
- Plan roughly 3 to 4 weeks of class time, with the pacing guide setting deadlines for each of the four phases.