The idea of research as "weaving a thought cloth" comes from Sandra Kirby and Kate McKenna's 1989 book: "Experience, Research, Social Change: Methods from the Margins", Published by Garamond Press, Toronto.

How often do we see students who appear to be engaged in researching a topic, but when we look further into their activities, they are "mindlessly" taking notes while engaged in other conversation, or simply copying material directly out of a resource,, or are not thoughtfully engaged in the topic (visualizing, questioning, following tangents...)? Weaving a Thought Cloth is one way to ensure complete engagement and to avoid "cut and paste" researching. Weaving a thought cloth is an effective way to begin a unit of study, or can be added to the beginning of any research project.

Deepening Initial Understanding of a Research Topic by...

Weaving a Thought-Cloth

What is a thought-cloth?

A fabric is made up of threads that are woven together.  Some fabrics are loosely woven and are fragile to stress, while other fabrics are woven tightly, and are resilient to strain and challenge.  When you weave a cloth made of thoughts, you need an initial structure (or plan) for the fabric.  Once you have your initial structure, the more threads (or information) you weave into the cloth, the more resilient your ideas about a topic to challenge and the more uses you will have for your understanding.

Some students begin researching a topic by taking notes on details.  Some students are not even engaged in their topic while they are taking notes, and if you asked them to share their understanding, they often cannot do so.  When students begin to take detailed notes on a topic before developing some understanding (structure) of the topic, the results may at first appear pleasing, but very soon, it is evident that there is little depth to the understanding of the topic; the integrity of the fabric quickly breaks down to challenge or stress.

How do we weave a thought cloth?

1. Begin by writing down what you know about the topic (accuracy is not important)
2. Survey numerous resources on the topic (books, Internet, reference books…),
1. and without writing things down, try to get a picture of the topic.  If you are working on Ancient Egypt, you might follow your interests and scan numerous sources.  For example, if you are interested in war, or art, or how people live, then you would seek out information on the topic and follow your mind where it wants to go.  If you are scanning information and pictures on how people live, and find yourself gazing with interest at the architectural wonders of Ancient Egypt, then you would follow your nose.  This is an active type of scanning, where you are trying to find general threads of understanding about the civilization.
2. At the end of 30 minutes of browsing, close out all resources and quickly write (in point form if you wish) about the areas you looked into and the basics of what you learned.  The first couple of times you do this, you might find it difficult to remember details, but you will soon become quite good at remembering quite a bit at the end of your session.  It is not uncommon for students to be able to write 500 to 1000 words after a “weaving session”.
3. Meet with a small group (or the whole class) and begin conversations about what you have learned.  This is not a presentation…this is a conversation, in which you support and challenge each other’s findings.
4. After three to four sessions, you should begin to have a general picture of your topic; a basic structure to the thought-cloth that is now ready for more detailed work.
3. Now that you have the major threads of a thought-cloth in place, it is time to choose what you will work on.
1. What aspects of the main topic will you focus on (if not all aspects)?
2. What will you do with the information you find (Web page, PowerPoint Project, Hyperstudio Project, Newsletter, Essay, Television Broadcast, historical fiction story…)?
3. What information do you need to weave a strong thought-cloth?
4. Write down some big idea questions that you will focus on in your research. Here is an example based on the following project:

                                                               i.      A short story about a young boy who enlists in the Egyptian Army because it is the only way he can get close enough to an evil general to kill him for revenge.  For this project, you might have the following “big idea” questions:

1.      How were young men treated in Ancient Egypt?

2.      What was life like for soldiers in Ancient Egypt?

3.      When and where would this story take place?  What would life be like in that time and place?

4.      What would a young soldier see, feel, hear, taste touch in his everyday life?  Who would he talk to and how?

4. Use a variety of resources to find out information that answers your big idea questions.  As more questions come out of deeper research, change and add to the questions above.  Here are the rules about note-taking:
1. You may not look at any resources while you are writing.  How do you do this?  Well, you read and view resources for a while, the way you did when first starting your thought cloth; then, you put the resources aside and write down notes about what you read. 
2. Notes must be very brief and be in your own words and in your own voice
5. Regularly check the information you are gathering with other students.  Talking with others about what you have found is a good way to help you weave your understanding effectively.  Also, comparing notes with others allows you to:
1. Ensure your understanding is based on accurate data.  If you and another student disagree about an event or a detail in the research, it is a good opportunity to find out which is the accurate data.
2. Obtain other ideas regarding areas to research and resources to find information.

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Last Updated on October 7, 2001, but still...