Today we talked through the process for developing your research plan and for scheduling conferences and data collections sessions; we also reviewed what was due and when. This Blog is a summary of what we talked about, and for Blog 14 you will write any questions or confusions that still need to be resolved.
Writing to develop research question. Points 1, 2, & 3 on the handout for developing a research plan list the reading/thinking/writing activities you should go through to develop your research plan. The purpose of this writing is for you to communicate to me what you have read about your research question and information about how you plan to go about collecting data/gathering information to answer that question. I can then provide you with feedback so you can develop your formal research plan (point 4). This writing does not need to "polished" or formal as I will not be grading the form. It is supposed to show your in-depth thinking about your project - so I can respond to you and work with you on developing a strong plan for research. As you look for references - be sure to check out the journals listed at the foot of this blog.
Writing to develop research plan due: as a .doc sent in email on Monday, Nov.4.
Class Monday: We will meet at CAS on Monday. You will spend from 9:30-10:00 setting up your schedule for observing + tutoring, and from 10-11 you will have sessions either with students or with one another.
About observating tutoring sessions: You will need to observe a minimum of 5 sessions (not conducted with each other) to gather data for your projects. On Monday, Nov 3 we will check at the front desk for tutors who work at times when you are available to observe, and you should contact those individuals prior to observing any of their sessions. You should let them know they will need to sign a permission form, and let them know you will do nothing but sit there and take notes. Give them your name and information about the course, and ask where they usually tutor so you will know where to find them.
Scheduling your tutoring sessions: If we are unsuccessful scheduling sessions for Monday 10-11, you will need to arrange for 5 sessions when you work with students at CAS. You are required to create a reflective entry in your writing journal for each of these sessions. You cannot observe your own tutoring sessions (eg take notes as you tutor) but you are allowed to re-construct your experience in a very general way and may use information from your writing journal - so long it is not specific and does not identify particular students - as part of your research.
If it turns out that you need to schedule data collection + observations NOT during class time, we will reduce the number of class meetings to make sure you have enough time to do your observations. If we substitute time in CAS for Monday classes, I will always be available in CAS on Mondays to work with individuals on their data, on tutoring, or on writing.
Review of due dates and assignments
Blog 13: Comment on the "real" first 5 minutes as you experienced them / observed them in your sessions today - versus what Newkirk suggests. Are his ideas realistic? Could you use them? WHich parts of his essay applied to your session?
Blog 14 Post questions/requests for clarification - or confirmations that you know what is expected - in reply to this Blog.
Critique of Newkirk Due before class Monday, Nov. 3. As an attachment, by email.
Writing to develop your research question: Monday, Nov 3.
Annotated bibliography: Monday, Nov 10. In class, on Wednesday, Nov 5, we will work together to make sure each of you has references s/he needs for her/his project. Each of you will describe to the class what you will be researching and the references you have found so far. At that point your classmates and I will offer suggestions for additional references for your project.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 27
You worked in CAS and got some more experience gathering data. Use your Blog to comment on the "real" first 5 minutes as you experienced them / observed them in your sessions today - versus what Newkirk suggests. Are his ideas realistic? Could you use them? WHich parts of his essay applied to your session?
Work on your research question writing (see the directions I sent in the feedback to your blogs) and email your writing to me as an attachment for Wednesday.
Bring your notes and after making sure everyone is caught up and on their way with their research plan - we will start some whole class work on analyzing data.
See you Wednesday.
Work on your research question writing (see the directions I sent in the feedback to your blogs) and email your writing to me as an attachment for Wednesday.
Bring your notes and after making sure everyone is caught up and on their way with their research plan - we will start some whole class work on analyzing data.
See you Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 22
Today was question day, and we spent the first half of class talking about your research questions and how to develop and organize your research project.
There are two handouts on the research project posted on this blog: the handout on Developing a research plan, and the Assignment sheet. The Handout provides a step-by-step process for developing your project; and the Assignment sheet is a list of the criteria and the important dates. You will notice that writing for components 1,2&3 of Developing a research plan is due on Wednesday, along with 2-3 pages of notes from your observations of tutoring sessions. This work is so we can assess: 1) whether you have a viable project, and 2) whether you are taking the kind of notes that will give you a basis for a research project. With respect to the notes it is not so important that you are taking noted ON your topic, as it is that you are writing down detailed observations that can support analysis => objective statements about actors, actions, interactions + context.
We also talked about the overall organization of your paper. If you read through the sample research papers posted at your site and in your text book you will notice that they have the following general form.
1) Introduction, overview of problem/issues; =>statement of your research question
2) Background information, review of the research literature (what others have written about your question)
3) Methods: description of how you collected your data, what methods for analysis you used to evaluate your data, explanation for why your methods are appropriate to your work.
4) Presentation of data + analysis
5) Conclusions
During the second part of the class we talked about how to write a critique - a literary form frequently assigned. Handouts from this discussion are in my box if you missed class.
For Monday:
1. Read Newkirk, "The First five minutes: Setting the agenda in a writing conference."
2. Post a critique of Newkirk on your blog.
Also - work on your research question & other writing due for your research project (due on Wednesday =>see the Assignment Sheet for the Research Project & Developing a Research Plan Handouts posted on the site).
I will be providing feedback on your blogs over the weekend - so make sure you have an up-to-date version of what you want me to read about your research questions. Have a good weekend and see you at the CAS on Monday.
There are two handouts on the research project posted on this blog: the handout on Developing a research plan, and the Assignment sheet. The Handout provides a step-by-step process for developing your project; and the Assignment sheet is a list of the criteria and the important dates. You will notice that writing for components 1,2&3 of Developing a research plan is due on Wednesday, along with 2-3 pages of notes from your observations of tutoring sessions. This work is so we can assess: 1) whether you have a viable project, and 2) whether you are taking the kind of notes that will give you a basis for a research project. With respect to the notes it is not so important that you are taking noted ON your topic, as it is that you are writing down detailed observations that can support analysis => objective statements about actors, actions, interactions + context.
We also talked about the overall organization of your paper. If you read through the sample research papers posted at your site and in your text book you will notice that they have the following general form.
1) Introduction, overview of problem/issues; =>statement of your research question
2) Background information, review of the research literature (what others have written about your question)
3) Methods: description of how you collected your data, what methods for analysis you used to evaluate your data, explanation for why your methods are appropriate to your work.
4) Presentation of data + analysis
5) Conclusions
During the second part of the class we talked about how to write a critique - a literary form frequently assigned. Handouts from this discussion are in my box if you missed class.
For Monday:
1. Read Newkirk, "The First five minutes: Setting the agenda in a writing conference."
2. Post a critique of Newkirk on your blog.
Also - work on your research question & other writing due for your research project (due on Wednesday =>see the Assignment Sheet for the Research Project & Developing a Research Plan Handouts posted on the site).
I will be providing feedback on your blogs over the weekend - so make sure you have an up-to-date version of what you want me to read about your research questions. Have a good weekend and see you at the CAS on Monday.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monday, October 20
Today you had a practice run-through for taking notes on tutoring sessions. We met in the CAS and you broke into groups with one tutor, one student, and one researcher. From walking around observing - it seemed like you are finding yur feet. Good work.
For Blog 12 - reflect on what you learned about how the data-taking sessions are going to go. For those of you who were students and tutors, provide some feedback/reflections on how the data-taker's introduction of the permission form + observation affected your session. Think about your plans for taking data. Hopefully next week you will have some "real" students.
Also - read Murphy, "Freud in the Writing Center," 296 in Barnett and Blumer & review body language, 28-30 in McAndrew and Reigstad.
For Blog 12 - reflect on what you learned about how the data-taking sessions are going to go. For those of you who were students and tutors, provide some feedback/reflections on how the data-taker's introduction of the permission form + observation affected your session. Think about your plans for taking data. Hopefully next week you will have some "real" students.
Also - read Murphy, "Freud in the Writing Center," 296 in Barnett and Blumer & review body language, 28-30 in McAndrew and Reigstad.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 15
Yes, we covered a lot of material today. Glancing through your blogs I can see that you are starting to think about what kind of research you might do for the course. Keep working on this in Blog 11- add to your list of questions, do some brainstormy listing and associating - then write 3 short paragraphs - one for each of three different projects (they can be related). Hopefully this writing is going to open you up even more - though in today's class discussion you seemed to be thinking in some depth about particular projects.
The writing on how to develop research questions is there for you - if you get stuck (though most of you seem to have the idea)- or if you have problems with being objective or "sensitive". Keep your lists of assumptions and check back on it and add to it as you begin to gather ideas. Your assumptions shape what you see - and the better you get at stepping outside your assumptions the more you will see.
We looked (briefly) at the assignment sheet for your research project, and the IRB forms for collecting data. Read over the criteria for the research project, the sample research papers (posted here as well) and think about any questions you have about how to get started with your project.
For Monday:
Bring some writing to class - in case we have no students you can tutor one another. For later sessions we will have an "evaluation" form for students to complete - but for this session I think you have enough on your hands.
We will spend the first half hour going over how to set up data collection and reviewing how to take notes. For your first session - don't worry so much about writing "on your topic" as taking lots of descriptive notes that give the details of what happens. As presented in the reading assignment - your research question will take shape through your analysis of your data. Make sure you collect rich enough data to give open up your ideas. Regardless of the focus of your study you might want to do some reading/thinking about what kinds of student-tutor interactions indicate that a session is going "well" or "badly" as this information may be what you need to evaluate the focus of your study (e.g. how eye contact influences tutoring sessions).You will conduct sessions and take data from 10-11.
For Wednesday:
Read Murphy in McAndrew & Reigstad. This essay is short - and provides information about how students "feel" that should be relevant to many of your topics. It says on the calendar that we will look at some videos + code body language - but in class today we decided we would devote the first half of class (or as much as you need) to answering questions, filling in information you might be hazy on, and giving some clear direction for setting up your projects.
As I mentioned in class - my intention is to get back to your blogs - but I will be out of town this weekend and it will depend on whether I have an internet connection in my hotel. If I don't have feedback for you by Sunday night - you will have it by Wednesday.
Have a great weekend and see you in CAS on Monday.
The writing on how to develop research questions is there for you - if you get stuck (though most of you seem to have the idea)- or if you have problems with being objective or "sensitive". Keep your lists of assumptions and check back on it and add to it as you begin to gather ideas. Your assumptions shape what you see - and the better you get at stepping outside your assumptions the more you will see.
We looked (briefly) at the assignment sheet for your research project, and the IRB forms for collecting data. Read over the criteria for the research project, the sample research papers (posted here as well) and think about any questions you have about how to get started with your project.
For Monday:
Bring some writing to class - in case we have no students you can tutor one another. For later sessions we will have an "evaluation" form for students to complete - but for this session I think you have enough on your hands.
We will spend the first half hour going over how to set up data collection and reviewing how to take notes. For your first session - don't worry so much about writing "on your topic" as taking lots of descriptive notes that give the details of what happens. As presented in the reading assignment - your research question will take shape through your analysis of your data. Make sure you collect rich enough data to give open up your ideas. Regardless of the focus of your study you might want to do some reading/thinking about what kinds of student-tutor interactions indicate that a session is going "well" or "badly" as this information may be what you need to evaluate the focus of your study (e.g. how eye contact influences tutoring sessions).You will conduct sessions and take data from 10-11.
For Wednesday:
Read Murphy in McAndrew & Reigstad. This essay is short - and provides information about how students "feel" that should be relevant to many of your topics. It says on the calendar that we will look at some videos + code body language - but in class today we decided we would devote the first half of class (or as much as you need) to answering questions, filling in information you might be hazy on, and giving some clear direction for setting up your projects.
As I mentioned in class - my intention is to get back to your blogs - but I will be out of town this weekend and it will depend on whether I have an internet connection in my hotel. If I don't have feedback for you by Sunday night - you will have it by Wednesday.
Have a great weekend and see you in CAS on Monday.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wednesday, October 8
We "experienced" minimalist tutoring today. After a brief overview of Brooks' article and the Rutgers video - you tried out some minimalist tutoring with your classmates. We then did some reflecting on how it works, when it might be a better idea to switch to more directive techniques and why. I was very impressed with you work as tutors!
I also gave a very brief and moderately confusing introduction to some of the techniques you will use to analyze the notes you will be taking on students at the center. We will be discussing the two handouts on Wednesday - when you come back after your Columbus Day break. We will also be discussing two examples of writing center research from your book: Anne DiPardo's "Whispers of Coming and Going": Lessons from Fannie' (p 350 in Longman); and Julie Neff's 'Learning Disabilities and the Writing Center' (p. 376 in Longman). These are both interesting reads and will give you an idea for how you will be using your notes in your research paper.
As noted on the calendar - even though you don't have class on Columbus Day I will be looking for a post. So you will be doing two blog posts.
Blog 9: Write your position on when to use minimalist techniques & when to conduct mor teacher centered approaches. How does this fit with your personal style? How will your approach shift with different students? with different assignments?
Blog 10: Read+ comment on classmates blogs & begin an exploration of what kinds of research on tutoring writing interests you. What would you like to study? Are there any aspects of learning through f2f talk about writing that you think are poorly understood and that need further study? Does any of it seem important to you? If you could invent any project you wanted to (you don't have to do this one) to study how and what students learn in writing centers - what would you do? Check out some of the research reported in the journals linked to this blog.
Turn in your Analyses of North (the BAD assignment experiment) by Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Thanks for your good work today - and see you in a week.
I also gave a very brief and moderately confusing introduction to some of the techniques you will use to analyze the notes you will be taking on students at the center. We will be discussing the two handouts on Wednesday - when you come back after your Columbus Day break. We will also be discussing two examples of writing center research from your book: Anne DiPardo's "Whispers of Coming and Going": Lessons from Fannie' (p 350 in Longman); and Julie Neff's 'Learning Disabilities and the Writing Center' (p. 376 in Longman). These are both interesting reads and will give you an idea for how you will be using your notes in your research paper.
As noted on the calendar - even though you don't have class on Columbus Day I will be looking for a post. So you will be doing two blog posts.
Blog 9: Write your position on when to use minimalist techniques & when to conduct mor teacher centered approaches. How does this fit with your personal style? How will your approach shift with different students? with different assignments?
Blog 10: Read+ comment on classmates blogs & begin an exploration of what kinds of research on tutoring writing interests you. What would you like to study? Are there any aspects of learning through f2f talk about writing that you think are poorly understood and that need further study? Does any of it seem important to you? If you could invent any project you wanted to (you don't have to do this one) to study how and what students learn in writing centers - what would you do? Check out some of the research reported in the journals linked to this blog.
Turn in your Analyses of North (the BAD assignment experiment) by Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Thanks for your good work today - and see you in a week.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday October 6, 2008
Here is the link for the minimalist tutoring video. You can skip through the music + salemanship sections. Some of it is minimalist + some of it is not.
You each made a list of your assumptions about how people learn and communicate and then we put them up on the board and did some thinking about how to keep from getting stuck in our assumptions about how to communicate. In other words, you did some reflecting on how to keep from making incorrect assumptions about how others learn, think and communicate. My longterm goal as I planned this class was to have you work in groups to develop a checklist for conducting tutoring sessions; this checklist would set up guidelnes and strategies (like the checklist for working with developmental writers on page 92 in the reading)to help you: 1) keep from projecting your learning style onto your students; 2) be aware of and keep from falling into stereotypes for the different kinds of learners we put on the board; 3) base your tutoring in interactive/adaptive/personalized patterns for communication that respond to the individual needs of individual learners.
In class we got through identifying our own learning style, listing different identity groups and some of the stereotypes regarding how they learn, and we came to two realizations: 1) sometimes group identity/membership can provide a clue to those patterns; and 2) it is truly an individual's experience that determines his/her learning style/patterns for communication - so while noting or hypothesizing group identities - tutors always need to respond to students as individuals.
For Blog 8: develop a checklist/guidelines to help you remain aware of and be responsive to the conflict at the center of these two realizations. Your list should provide a series of suggestions for what(and how) you need to notice about your students' learning & writing, as well as some general practices for conducting sessions that will help your find out what you need to know and respond to it.
In class on Wednesday you are going to conduct minimalist tutoring sessions + take notes on those sessions. In response to a unanimous request from the class, you will be tutoring you revised North essays - which will then be due on Monday, October 13. Bring your drafts to class for your sessions.
We will also (briefly) discuss Shamoon and Burns (225 in the Longman text). See you Wednesday.
You each made a list of your assumptions about how people learn and communicate and then we put them up on the board and did some thinking about how to keep from getting stuck in our assumptions about how to communicate. In other words, you did some reflecting on how to keep from making incorrect assumptions about how others learn, think and communicate. My longterm goal as I planned this class was to have you work in groups to develop a checklist for conducting tutoring sessions; this checklist would set up guidelnes and strategies (like the checklist for working with developmental writers on page 92 in the reading)to help you: 1) keep from projecting your learning style onto your students; 2) be aware of and keep from falling into stereotypes for the different kinds of learners we put on the board; 3) base your tutoring in interactive/adaptive/personalized patterns for communication that respond to the individual needs of individual learners.
In class we got through identifying our own learning style, listing different identity groups and some of the stereotypes regarding how they learn, and we came to two realizations: 1) sometimes group identity/membership can provide a clue to those patterns; and 2) it is truly an individual's experience that determines his/her learning style/patterns for communication - so while noting or hypothesizing group identities - tutors always need to respond to students as individuals.
For Blog 8: develop a checklist/guidelines to help you remain aware of and be responsive to the conflict at the center of these two realizations. Your list should provide a series of suggestions for what(and how) you need to notice about your students' learning & writing, as well as some general practices for conducting sessions that will help your find out what you need to know and respond to it.
In class on Wednesday you are going to conduct minimalist tutoring sessions + take notes on those sessions. In response to a unanimous request from the class, you will be tutoring you revised North essays - which will then be due on Monday, October 13. Bring your drafts to class for your sessions.
We will also (briefly) discuss Shamoon and Burns (225 in the Longman text). See you Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday, October 1
We reviewed + discussed processes and forms for some of the common genres for academic writing that you will be working with as you tutor students: summarizing, responding and analyzing. Other common writing issues you will want to feel prepared to work on are developing arguments and research papers, and developing effective reading strategies. For detailed notes on the specifics of this discussion - check Nick's blog (thank you, Nick).
The second half of class we talked about how you will take notes on sessions that you observe at the CAS. Because of confidentiality issues, you will not write the student's name in your notes. You will want to provide descriptive writing about the setting, actors, interactions, and outcomes. We discussed the difference between observations, impressions, and interpretations. Observations are what you can see. "the tutor asked the student for the assignment sheet. The student does not look up, she is sitting with her elbows on the table, her head in her hands, and her notebook closed." Impressions are your feelings - what seems to be going on, "the student seems to be discouraged." Interpretations are statements where you speculate about relationships - particularly causality. They generally draw from a large number of interpretations and "make sense" of what otherwise might seem to be unrelated information.
The notes you take on your session should be primarily observations. After your session is over - it is a good idea to jot observations you did not have time to write down + impressions in the margins. Make sure to distinguish between what you observed, and what you felt. Your interpretations will be the result of your analysis of the data; interpretations need to be supported by observations. Stating that the student from the example is ashamed for not bringing her assignment sheet is an interpretation. In general, interpretations are short-hand - they synthesize lots of unstated observations, impressions + assumptions. We will talk more about when and whether to include interpretations in your notes as you begin observing at the center. The more observations you have - the more material you will have for your analysis /exploration of your research question.
For Monday:
Blog 7: What do you think are the most important features of effective tutoring? Describe anything you would like to discuss/practice in class to improve your tutoring.
Read: McAndrew and Reigstad, 89-102, "Tutoring different people," & in Longman, "Minimalist Tutoring" by Jeff Brooks, 219-224
Write: Revise essay on North in light of today's discussion.
I will be reading over your blogs and you should have some feedback on entries 3-6 by Sunday night.
Have a good weekend and see you on Monday.
The second half of class we talked about how you will take notes on sessions that you observe at the CAS. Because of confidentiality issues, you will not write the student's name in your notes. You will want to provide descriptive writing about the setting, actors, interactions, and outcomes. We discussed the difference between observations, impressions, and interpretations. Observations are what you can see. "the tutor asked the student for the assignment sheet. The student does not look up, she is sitting with her elbows on the table, her head in her hands, and her notebook closed." Impressions are your feelings - what seems to be going on, "the student seems to be discouraged." Interpretations are statements where you speculate about relationships - particularly causality. They generally draw from a large number of interpretations and "make sense" of what otherwise might seem to be unrelated information.
The notes you take on your session should be primarily observations. After your session is over - it is a good idea to jot observations you did not have time to write down + impressions in the margins. Make sure to distinguish between what you observed, and what you felt. Your interpretations will be the result of your analysis of the data; interpretations need to be supported by observations. Stating that the student from the example is ashamed for not bringing her assignment sheet is an interpretation. In general, interpretations are short-hand - they synthesize lots of unstated observations, impressions + assumptions. We will talk more about when and whether to include interpretations in your notes as you begin observing at the center. The more observations you have - the more material you will have for your analysis /exploration of your research question.
For Monday:
Blog 7: What do you think are the most important features of effective tutoring? Describe anything you would like to discuss/practice in class to improve your tutoring.
Read: McAndrew and Reigstad, 89-102, "Tutoring different people," & in Longman, "Minimalist Tutoring" by Jeff Brooks, 219-224
Write: Revise essay on North in light of today's discussion.
I will be reading over your blogs and you should have some feedback on entries 3-6 by Sunday night.
Have a good weekend and see you on Monday.
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