Blog # 16

Today I was able to interview Mark B. I went into the interview with questions that I knew I already wanted to ask. As I began asking the questions to Mark the conversation began to flow. Although I was able to ask the questions that I planned on asking, I also asked questions that came up in the conversation as we continued. I asked Mark about 7 different questions about his experience of 9/11. He was very open with me and was willing to describe his experience in detail. While Mark answered the questions I recorded him with my phone, I also took notes on the side on important facts that I knew I wanted to remember from his story. The use of technology in this activity word very well, I was able to listen to the story being told as well as write down key facts about it.

As I was being interviewed I felt very  comfortable. Mark asked me the same sort of questions that I had asked him and I too was willing to share all details about my experience on 9/11. The conversation went very well and flowed into each question. Both of our experiences were very different but we were able to relate to one another through out feelings from the event.

It was great practice interviewing. I feel like I have a good start on the interview process but one think I would change would be to make sure we are both comfortable physically and mentally. I would also get some background information on the person I am interviewing just to get a better understanding on what questions to ask.

Blog # 15

Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is to identify if and how the way a classroom is set up can influence a childs learning experience. The purpose is to analyze a second grade classroom and determine whether or not the way the classroom is set up has an influence on the childs education. Whether it be a positive or negative effect, I will be studying the classroom to determine the outcome.

Detailed research question: My research question is, how does the set up of a classroom influence a childs learning experience? This research question is aimed toward the physical and verbal set up of the classroom. I am looking to see if the way the classroom is set up has any influence on the childrens educational experience.  

Preliminary Sources:
-The teacher is the second grade class.
- Employee of Project Read.
- Research paper on classroom set up.

List of information I need:
-Interview with teacher of second grade class( how she sets up the classroom, is it effective, her results).
- Information about Project Read( what the program is about, how they implement reading and classroom set up, if their program is effective).
- Research paper about classroom set up( techniques used by other teachers, studies done with results of classroom set up effectiveness)

Plan for gathering information:

- I will be studying a second grade teacher to see how she feels about the effectiveness of the way a classroom is set up can influence a childs learning experience.
- I will also be communicating with an employee of Project Read to see their goal of influencing a childs learning experience through changing how the classroom is set up.
- I will collect my information at the Elementary School the teacher works at through an interview.
-I will be studying three subjects, the teacher, the employee of Project Read, and the students to see if the efforts are effective.
-I will be using an interview and observations.

Blog # 14

I am interviewing a teacher to hear her thoughts about a program that was set in place to change the way a classroom is set up in order to influence a childs learning.Therefore, some interview questions I might ask her would be:

1) Where did you go to college?
2) What was your major?
3) What grades have you taught?
4) How long have you been a teacher?
5) Do you have any success stories about lessons you have taught?
6) What were the reasons for why the lesson worked so well?
7) When did Project Read join forces with the school you work in?
8) How are you transitioning to the new standards of the classroom set up?
9) What changes have they made to your classroom?
10) What stayed the same?
11) Do you feel that it has helped you with instruction?
12) Do you feel that it is a successful program? If yes, How so?
13) How have the students acclimated to the changes?
14) Would you change anything on your own about the way your classroom is set up?
15) Do you think there is more that can be done in the classroom to influence your students learning?

Blog # 13

* The transcript that I choose to use is the chat Room. After analyzing the conversation I was able to determine that S was the person who was interviewing A. S did not have to say much, it must have been a entertaining interview because it seemed as though A was willing to share a lot of information with S. S would say one question and A would continue on and on about a story. Because both S and A were using past tense I was under the impression that the events that they discussed occurred in the past. The spoke about events that happened to A in younger grades in his/her life which led me to the impression that A is long out of college. S is also very laid back as an interviewer. At one point S tells A that he/she will be careful what to put in the interview just incase A didn't reveal certain information to his/her parent. After analyzing the conversation I came to the conclusion that the dominant discourse that both A and S would be involved in would be social media specifically chat rooms, which they referred to as web tv. Every time S would ask a question A would provide a full and complete answer. Maybe it was the type of questions that S was asking but it seemed as though A was very comfortable with sharing information with S. The conversation stays on topic most of the time speaking about chat rooms and the experience A has had with them, whether they were good or bad. The conversation is guided due to the mutual discourse that both A and S are familiar with.

* Research question:
1) Did the tone of the conversation shape how A responded to the questions from S? Why? How?

* Supportive Evidence:
- multiple times S laughed which made the conversation more relaxed.
- S only asked 9 short questions where as A spoke about 18 times about his/her experience. This proves that A is comfortable with S.
- Both S and A were using past tense which indicates that these events took place in the past.
- S is a laid back interviewer, laughing and giving A time to answer the question. S only has to say a few words at a time for A to give a full answer.
- Both A and S are involved in some sort of social media related discourse, specifically chat rooms. Both A and S use the term chat room. As well as A telling stories that happened to him/her about experiences in the chat rooms specifically called web tv.
- They both have a general understanding of other computer programs that came with the older computers. Such as paint, emails, and messaging systems.

Blog # 12

The gaming script speaks about how people already have the basic functions to interpret and unknown program. CH is writing in a very laid back tone, which implies that he/she is just trying to make B feel comfortable and to understand that he is capable of learning more about these programs. Although both involved in this conversation are a part of the video game discourse community they use different language when communicating with one another. B is more questionable when he/she speaks and is more reserved, at one point he even tells CH that he/she is laughing. Where as CH is straight to the point and comes across more knowledgeable of the topic at hand. The gaming script was a conversation between two people, CH and B. It is clear that they are part of the video game discourse community. I noticed that they used specific terms to describe different programs that they both had knowledge of, such as fontpage, powerpoint, and excel. They also offer one another pointers on how to navigate different programs in a way that people with no video game experience would not understand.

Some research questions that I might ask about the transcripts are:

* Did the relaxed tone of the conversation alter how the conversation went?
* Is one person in the conversation more knowledgeable about the discourse?

Blog # 11

My name is Debra and I am a student at Kean University studying to become an Elementary School teacher. My research project will be focused on how the set up of a classroom can influence a childs learning experience. The research will be conducted in your classroom. I am aware that the school you work at is teamed up with Project Read which purpose is to have each classroom in the school set up with specific standards in order to ensure every student learns to the best of their ability. I will research other papers that involve this topic as well as get information from your classroom, also how your students react to this programs changes to the classroom will also be used as evidence whether or not the program is effective. I will also be analyzing if the changes to the set up of the classroom are effective. I will ask you questions about the program and see how you feel it has effected her classroom. My professor and classmates and  will be seeing it. This should take a school days worth of time. Thank you for your time.

Blog # 10

Data Set 4.1 (Describing a Discourse Community)

-Global Comments:
* Positive feedback
* More general comments
* Correlates with bubble comments

-Bubble Text:
* Positive feedback
* Organized and direct.
* Not overwhelming
*Provides insight on exactly what to work on
* Correlates with global comments

Research Question:
* Do the close similarities between the global comments and the bubble texts effect the way the student chooses to revise the paper?

Data Set 4.2 (How to Guide: Argument)

-Global Comments:
* Straight forward
* Slightly unorganized
* Lists exactly what teacher would like to see in paper

-Bubble Text:
*Positive Feedback
* Straight forward
* Encourages students to think outside of the box
* Asks further questions to guide students thought process

Research Question:
* How does the directness of both the global comments and bubble texts effect the students revisions?

Data Set 4.3 (Plagiarism)

-Global Comments:
* Informs student what they did correctly
* very positive
* Lists three specific suggestions teacher would like student to incorporate into paper

-Bubble Text:
* Asks questions to encourage student to think more about topic
* Questions specific areas in students paper
* Not formal

Research Question:
* Does the informal demeanor of the comments make the writing process more or less challenging for the student?

Data Set 4.4 (Analysis of a Writers Process)

-Global Comments:
*  Provides direct positive feedback
* Clear on what teacher is looking for
* Correlates with bubble texts

-Bubble Text:
* Provides accurate feedback on what teacher is looking for
* Provides suggestions in a formal way
* Correlates with global comments

Research Question:
* Could the comments from the teacher subconsciously change the original viewpoint of the writer?

Blog # 9

1. Identify your focus.  This is a general statement of what you are interested in.
 
*My research paper will be on identifying how a classroom set up can influence a child's learning.

 2. Identify your research question:  What in particular do you want to find out?  State your question in as specific terms as you can: the age/identity of your subjects, the location of your study, the particular activities/features you will focus on. 

*How the set up of the second grade class at the Elementary School in Perth Amboy NJ influences the students learning.

3. Who has studied this question and what do they say.  For this prompt - mention any article that you have read where researchers have explored answers to your question.  If you can't find any articles - tell me something about what you searched for and what you found (even if it wasn't right).
* I do not have an essay to research yet.

4.What do I need to find out to answer this question?  This prompt is to help you clarify and deepen your research question.
* I need to find out the different techniques that are used to set up a classroom for the best learning environment.
* I need to find out the school policy of how the classroom should be set up.
*I need to find out what learning styles the children have in the classroom (multiple intelligences) in order to set up the classroom so each student can learn to the best of their ability.

 5.  What do I need to do to gather information that will answer my question?
 This prompt is to help you think about how to design your study.  Who will you work with?  Where?  what will you do together?

*I need to research essays or articles about this topic.
* I need to interview someone within the school district that has prior experience setting up a classroom.

What I need to do is speak with my cooperating teacher and speak with the specialists on how they go about setting up their classrooms and the school standards for how the classroom should look.

I need from my professor to help with research essays online.

Blog # 8

1) When students entered the program they were not sure what field to use their degree in. The graduation survey showed that most of the graduating students were eventually able to determine where they wanted to use their field of study. As shown in the responses, the answers are more specific instead of just general responses.

2) As far as confidence in student writing they are more confident in their abilities in their writing when they leave. For Example, they are able to write a 25 page paper, they are able to write a primary research paper, and they are more confident in using their writing in their future profession.

3) Their knowledge of writing studies theorists increased. Peter Elbow went from 33% to 100%. Also, the students started out having knowledge about five particular theorists and as they came closer to graduating the students had obtained knowledge of nine of the theorists.

4) When the students are asked if they would like to take any additional courses one students said "no" and others had a vague idea of what courses reflected on the program. As the graduating student they were more aware of what programs would correlate with their study and also they had a better idea of what they would like to learn in addition.

5) When the students first entered the program they had no knowledge of the research paradigms. All sections (positive, social constructivist, liberatory, pragmatic) were filled out "I don't know". It is clear that along the way the students gained knowledge of the research paradigms, all of the boxes for social constructivist were filled out, one for positive and liberatory and three for pragmatic were completed.