Don't forget about TED talks...

www.ted.com

ALL ARTICLE SUMMARIES ARE DUE THE CLASS AFTER BREAK. Here is the format:

MLA citation:

SUMMARY of the text Focus on the claim statement (if there is one) and the topic sentences in each paragraph. Try to summarize each paragraph in a sentence. Go through the original again, this time crossing out any underlined material that you realize is not essential. Draft your summary in your own words.

KEY WORDS:

Tentative planner for FEBRUARY

February

			1 MEDIA CENTER unless otherwise noted Library orientation	2 MEDIA CENTER unless otherwise noted Library orientation
5 Library orientation, day 2 What assumptions do you have about the education process? Develop research question	6 Library orientation, day 2 What assumptions do you have about the education process? Develop research question	7 SNOW DAY	8 Search  Lesson on databases  Homework: Journal:  MLA citation, summary, and keywords for each piece read	9 Search Lesson on databases Homework: Journal:  MLA citation, summary, and keywords for each piece read
12 Database search / journal check Journal:  MLA citation, summary, and keywords for each piece read due 2/27	13 Database search / journal check Journal:  MLA citation, summary, and keywords for each piece read due by 2/26	14 Continue searching, reading, and annotating	15 CLASSROOM (math test) Continue searching, reading, and annotating	16 Continue searching, reading, and annotating
WINTER VACATION:  Journal due upon return--
26 CLASSROOM Collect COPY  of research journal--  Next steps... In class writing:  work through the Stasis Theory worksheets in your green packet	27 CLASSROOM Collect COPY of research journal Next steps... In class writing:  work through the Stasis Theory worksheets in your green packet	28 Work day

Considering an INTERVIEW for your project?

Your interview should have a clear purpose. The purpose might be gaining the perspective of an expert, explaining a technical issue, or providing the reader with information normally unavailable in database articles. You may need to find the interview subject early in the writing process and set up the time in advance. It is sometimes more convenient to arrange for the interview to take place over the phone or via e-mail if that is preferable to both parties.

REMEMBER:

Prepare your questions in advance before meeting with the interviewee.

This interview is for academic purposes.  Collecting sound bites is not your purpose here. You are not inflating your project with neat-but-empty catchphrases; you are seeking to understand something better as a part of your argument. You are seeking to become an expert on the subject at hand.

WHEN YOU FIRST CONTACT THE INTERVIEWEE TO SET UP THE INTERVIEW:

1. Explain who you are, why you want to talk to them, and what you wish to find out. The purpose of that interview should be made clear to the interviewee before you meet them.

2. The interviewee should know in general what sort of questions they will be asked, and approximately how long the interview will last.

3. Arrange a time to meet, a time to call them on the phone, or a date for an e-mail exchange.

4. Ask to obtain permission in writing to quote the respondents, to cut-and-paste e-mail responses they write, or to use a tape-recorder during the session if you will be doing any of these activities. Here is an example:

"I [respondent's name] hereby give my permission for [student's name] to interview me and quote my responses in a scholarly research paper. I understand that this research paper will be submitted to a teacher at Niskayuna High School. I understand that I waive any claim to copyright to this material should the student ever publish it in a scholarly journal or in electronic format online. I understand that the author [will / will not] maintain my anonymity as a part of this interview. I hereby give my permission in the form of my signature below." Signature______________________ Date___________________________

5. Ask if the interviewee has any questions to ask before you begin.

WHEN PREPARING THE INTERVIEW

1. Plan to wear appropriate apparel for the interview.

2. Prepare a list of questions in advance. Decide if you want an informal, chatty interview (which often puts interviewees at ease), or a more formal, structured interview (which often is more time-efficient and covers material more completely).

3. Be prepared to record responses in some way. Take a notebook for jotting down answers, or, even better, bring along a tape recorder and ask permission for the interview to be recorded (see note above).

WHEN YOU FIRST MEET THE INTERVIEWEES:

1.    Explain any issues of confidentiality. Explain who will get access to their answers and how their answers will be analyzed.

2. If these comments are to be used as quotes, get written permission to do so.

3. Explain the format of the interview. Explain the type of interview you are conducting, its purpose, and its nature.

4. Explain how to get in touch with you later if necessary.

WHEN ASKING QUESTIONS:

1. Ask only one question at a time. Don't jumble the response by trying to combine multiple questions at once.

2. Attempt to remain as neutral as possible. Often researchers suggest that the interviewer should not show any strong emotional reactions to their responses to avoid altering the responses.

3. Don't let the respondent stray to another topic; gently steer them back to the topic at hand with your questions.

4. Phrase your questions in such a way as to ensure an open-ended response.

5. Keep questions neutral in tone. Avoid judgmental wording or language.

6. Word the questions clearly. Make them concise.

7. Use caution when asking "why" questions. This type of question suggests a cause-effect relationship that may not actually exist. These questions may also invoke a defensive response, e.g., the interviewees may feel they have to justify their response, which may inhibit their responses to future questions.

AFTER YOUR INTERVIEW:

1. Go over your notes and make sure you can read your writing while it is still fresh in your memory.

2. It is polite to send a thank-you card or letter expressing your gratitude to the individuals interviewed and offer them a copy of the final paper if they wish to have one.

3. Be sure to include an entry for the interview in the Works Cited page of your final essay.

Considering a SURVEY for your project?

Here is a link to SurveyMonkey

Think about the scope of your survey-- how many people would you like to survey?  How will you interpret the data?

Mrs. Favata may be a good person to ask about that...

Using THE METHOD to analyze texts (THE MODEL)

MLA (8) citation: 

Turner, Cory. “School Vouchers 101: What They Are, How They Work - And Do They Work?” NPR, NPR, 7 Dec. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/12/07/504451460/school-choice-101-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-does-it-work. Accessed 8 Mar. 2017.

Use The Method to help you “control in condensed form a wealth of information.”  

Apply "The Method" to the text.

Step 1:  Locate exact repetitions—identical or nearly identical words or details—and note the number of times each repeats (x 3, for example).	School choice:              7 Civil rights:                   2 Voucher:                      16 Federal:                         5 State:                             7 Research / evidence:     5 Money (variations):      10 Low-income:                 4 Race:                             3
Step 2:  Locate repetitions of the same or similar kind of detail or word—which we call strands—and name the connecting logic (comparison, cause and effect, classification and division, etc.)	Money / Federal / State:  Classification and division Voucher / School choice:  Definition Low-income / Race / Voucher:  Cause and effect Research-evidence/ School choice / Voucher:  Analysis
Step 3:  Locate details or words that form or suggest binary oppositions, and select from these the most important ones, which function as organizing contrasts.	Idea of school choice (voucher) / Funding Vouchers  / State and Federal laws Research / Voucher system
Step 4:  Rank the data within your lists to isolate what you take to be the most important repetitions, strands, and binaries.  Then write a paragraph—half a page or so—in which you explain your choice of one repetition or one strand or one binary as central to understanding whatever you have been observing.	One of the most important binaries is that of school choice VS funding. According to the article, “Trump has pitched repurposing $20 billion in federal education dollars, distributing them to states as block grants. States can then pass the money on, as vouchers, to the nation's 11 million students who live in poverty…Trump has said he wants parents to be able to use these vouchers at the school of their choice, even if that school is private and/or religiously affiliated.” Many questions remain:  where will students go, if not to a private / religiously affiliated school?  Public schools have finite resources and space, not to mention teaching staff.  The idea of “choosing” a religiously affiliated school seems to fly in the face of the separation of church and state.  And what will happen to schools where students are leaving to attend other schools?  Will they be able to stay open?  There is much tension with this binary.
Step 5:  Search for anomalies—data that do not seem to fit any of the dominant patterns.	None.
Observations--- Ask "SO WHAT?"— these are the IMPLICATIONS:	The article, while from NPR and relatively unbiased, does imply that the Federal government cannot cover the costs of school choice.  States cannot make up the difference as they are still trying to recover from the Recession.
Implications--- Ask "SO WHAT?" again— these are your CONCLUSIONS	The voucher system will not work and should not be attempted in its current state, if at all. The research cited in the article from the Rand Institute, Micah Wixom, Josh Cunningham, and the Center on Education Policy supports this.

Infographic generator

https://blog.bufferapp.com/infographic-makers

https://venngage.com/

https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/

HOMEWORK for the weekend of 2/10: read the articles you find

You can't move forward until you READ the articles you find.  Read them for information and understanding.  Develop KEYWORDS for further research.

Once you have a focus (before vacation) you will begin to annotate the articles using your research questions.  Those lessons will take place before February vacation.

Anatomy of a Scholary / Research / Journal Article

http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/scholarly-articles/

Summarizing (from Purdue OWL)

A summary should be a short version of a longer original source. Its main goal is to present a large amount of information in a short and concise text that includes only the most important ideas of the original text.

Example

Original sentence:

“The movement toward education by computer is developing fast. Massive Open Online Courses, called MOOCs, are changing how people learn in many places. For years, people could receive study materials from colleges or universities and take part in online classes. But such classes were not designed for many thousands of students at one time, as MOOCs are.” (MOOCs Are Moving Forward, Voice of America, learningenglish.voanews.com)

Inappropriate summary:

Voice of America website:

“Computer education is growing fast. MOOCs are influencing how we study. People received materials from universities for a long time to be able to take classes online. MOOCs are the only ones thousands can take at a time.”

The inappropriate summary is almost as long as the original text, which is a characteristic of a paraphrase. A summary needs to be concise.

Appropriate summary:

 According to a Voice of America article, a fast-growing MOOCs movement allows thousands to take online classes at once, changing how we learn.

The appropriate summary keeps the original main idea and it is much shorter than the original text.

Some "stuff" I found:

from EDWeek:

Authentic Engagement vs. Compliant Engagement - In order to get students to a level where they are assessment capable learners (Hattie) which has an effect size of 1.44 (well over the hinge point of .40 which equates to a year's worth of growth for a year's input) we need to involve students in more authentic learning experiences. Compliant learning will take a backseat to more authentic experiences where students have a voice in their own learning.

School Climate - In order for any initiative to be successful, the school climate needs to be supportive and inclusive. Why? A positive school climate, where there is a sense of collective efficacy, can help eat away at a school culture that blocked authentic learning experiences for all students. Schools face tough circumstances... and in order to address those issues effectively, they will have to foster a school climate where stakeholders want to be a part of the process.


Social and Emotional learning:
https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2018-01-26/the-kids-are-not-alright-the-push-for-social-and-emotional-learning


Testing:
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/articles/2017-11-28/be-wary-of-overpromises-for-what-school-testing-can-measure-and-accomplish

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/articles/2017-09-15/stop-pretending-that-high-stakes-testing-is-making-schools-better

Link to the Niskayuna Media Center page

http://niskyhslibrary.weebly.com/

Use your BLUE BOOKMARK or the DATABASE PAGE on the Media Center page for resources and passwords.

Countering moves and sentence frames

COUNTERING MOVES

Here are some ways you can take an opposing claim and argue against it.  You can….

·         Point out problems or errors with the evidence used by the other side.

·         Point out limitations of the evidence used by the other side by talking about what it doesn’t show, prove, or take into account.

·         Acknowledge the data or evidence the other side presents, but offer an alternative way of interpreting that evidence.

·         Identify holes in the thinking or logic of the other side’s argument.

·         Make a concession—allow that the other side has a point, but that there are still problems or short-comings with that argument.

·         Point out the problems or limitations of the examples used by the other side—and provide a better example.

·         Offer a different way of interpreting the opposition’s evidence.

·         Give evidence that disproves the opposition’s point.  Discuss a study or data that suggests something different than what the opposition claims.

·         Include a quote from an expert or a voice of authority that contradicts the opposition.

·         Acknowledge the opposition’s point but suggest that it misses the bigger picture or the more important point or issue.

Countering sentence frames

While it may be true that _________________, that doesn’t necessarily mean that _______________.

While it may be true that ________________, we also must remember that ____________________.

It’s easy to think ______________________.  However, when you look at the facts                                  .

While _____________ provides evidence that ____________________, research conducted by

____________________ is more convincing.  Then go onto discuss that study/evidence/data.

The problem with this example is _________________________.  A better example or way to look at this would be__________________________.

Someone who has extensive knowledge in __________________ is ________________.  They said/noted, “_______________________________.”  This shows that _____________________.

This claim rests on the questionable assumption that ________________________________.

(The author) contradicts himself, saying ___________________________ while also saying ______________________________.

By focusing on _________________________,  she overlooks the deeper or more important issue of ___________________________.