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Research!

10/31/2017

 
I am home today with a sick and cranky baby.  Read carefully for important announcements and what you should be doing today!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
  1. Wednesday Schedules:  From here on, we will meet as a full senior class during 2nd and 3rd periods, and then will have Senior project work time during 4th period.    We have a little over three weeks to pull this together, so we'll need all the time we can get!
  2. Book Seminar:  We will seminar on your books on Thursday, 11/2.  Be ready!  Be finished!

Work Priorities Today:
  1. Interview Follow Up:  If your interview has not been scheduled yet, follow up with the person you are interviewing.  If you haven't heard back from anyone, contact someone else.  Make sure our Class Project Framework document is fully updated with interview subject, time, and your interview partner (if you have one).  Stuck?  Talk to Kyle.
  2. Interview Done?:  If you have completed your interview, type up your interview in the research notes format (see below).   This counts as one of your sources.
  3. Research Notes:  Find and read sources that address your question, type up notes in the format below.  ALL notes are due at the start of class on FRIDAY.  Yes, you will probably need to do some homework this week.

Research Notes Format and Instructions
You must have notes for 3-5 sources by next Friday.  One of those sources should be an interview. 

HONORS:  You must do at least 5 sources.  At least one of your sources must be an academic journal article.  Now is when your public library card would come in handy!  Use it to access the jstor database through the library website!

HOMEWORK:
Research Notes.  DUE:  Friday, Start of Class.

Interview Preparation

10/26/2017

 
By the end of class today, you should have...
  1. Updated class document with interviews
  2. Written your interview questions
  3. Received feedback on your interview questions from a classmate
  4. Conferenced with Lori for interview question feedback

Document Updating and Clean Up!
First, go into the Class Project Framework.  Get your interview information in there!  Makes sure that you include as much of the following information as possible:
  1. Full name
  2. Organization/job (if applicable)
  3. Date and time of interview (once you have it scheduled)
  4. Interview partner (if applicable)

Starter 30:  Interview Guidelines
Read through the documents (Interview Strategies and Questions to Avoid) I gave you with guidelines and questions to avoid.  List for me:
  1. The three most important tips you want to keep in mind when you are writing your interview questions.
  2. The three most important tips you want to keep in mind when you are interviewing.

Question Writing
Now, let's finish your question lists.  Your interview question document should include...
  1. Warm up/background questions
  2. 2-4 broad themes you want to address, with questions under each theme
  3. Closing question

Question Critiques
Once you've finished writing your questions, swap with someone.  Have them check your questions for:
  1. Open-ended
  2. Short/clear
  3. Sequencing
  4. Question types to avoid

Conferences with Lori
Revise, then sign up on the board for a conference with me!  You MUST do this before you leave class today!

HOMEWORK:
NONE!  Have a great 4 day weekend.  :)

Research Interviews

10/25/2017

 
Question Updates
First, before you do ANYTHING ELSE, make sure that your research question is updated in the Class Project Framework.  Let's clean this up, and put your question into the tables I created!  Make sure you have the revised question we talked about yesterday .  If your question for my class and Kyle's class is the same, just type SAME in the space for Lori's question.

Starter 29-
Based on your new and revised research question, what types of sources do you think you will need to answer this question?  Think about the kind of data you need, where you might find it, and if you need to branch out beyond articles and studies.

Now, think about the interview component.  What types of people would be helpful for you to interview?  What are some key questions that you need the person to address?

GOALS TODAY: 
  1. Choose interview subject
  2. Contact them to schedule an interview
  3. Write interview questions

Interview Requirements
  1. Can do interview individually or in pairs
  2. Can do interview with someone from another exhibition group, if it makes sense for you
  3. Will need to make sure that we aren’t double-contacting the same person

Interviews
  1. Interview choices--  Who do you want to interview?  Put it on the board and in the class document.
  2. Interview contacts- Call or write the email!  HAVE LORI PROOFREAD BEFORE YOU SEND!
    1. Important things to include:
      1. Polite salutation
      2. Who you are
      3. Brief explanation of project (essential question + your question), and what we’re doing
      4. What you would like, how long it will take, topic of interview
      5. How they can reach you
      6. Your timeframe and availability (needs to be completed by next Friday, can interview before/after school, during Humanities class)
  3. Interview questions
    1. Opening questions:  (Name, profession, education, other background information)
    2. Major themes
    3. Follow up questions
    4. Write more questions than you think you need!
  4. Quick Tip:  Record the interview.  As you are interviewing, write down the time and topic anytime you change topics.

Work Time
  1. Research
  2. Final essay revisions

HOMEWORK
  1. FINAL Difficulty/Curiosity Paper:  Thursday, 10/26, Start of Class.  Must be PRINTED with documentation of Part 2 attached.  Please print before class!

Class and Inequality Research

10/24/2017

 
NO STARTER TODAY

Research Question Critique and Revision
  1. Goal today is to take the research questions you came up with last Wednesday, and make them more usable and specific.
  2. This is the same process we go through when we start to develop a research question for your senior thesis--the goal here is to start developing your sense of what makes a good research question.
  3. The question for my class and Kyle’s can be the same--if this is the case, in Kyle’s you’ll be running the correlation, and in mine you’ll be doing background research and/or social science research (interviews, observation, etc.).  If this doesn’t work for whatever reason, the questions you are investigating can be slightly different, but should both still be related, and should still be working to answer your group’s essential question.

Critique and Revision Process


  1. Review criteria on handout- evaluate your current version of your research question.
  2. Review sample questions
  3. Complete question critique
  4. Get revised question checked by Lori
  5. Put final question into Class Project Framework

Research Process
You must have notes for 3-5 sources by next Friday.  One of those sources should be an interview.

HONORS:  You must do at least 5 sources.  At least one of your sources must be an academic journal article.  Now is when your public library card would come in handy!

WORK TIME:
  1. Research.  Get at least one source found and read!
  2. Revise Difficulty/Curiosity Paper

HOMEWORK
FINAL Difficulty/Curiosity Paper:  Thursday, 10/26, Start of Class.  Must be PRINTED with documentation of Part 2 attached.  Please print before class!

Social Mobility and Essay Critiques

10/23/2017

 
Social Mobility Jigsaw
  1. Get in groups with at least one person from each group represented.  
  2. Each person shares their poster, talks about major takeaways.
    1. Others take notes on that factor and how it influences social mobility
  3. Discuss:
    1. What surprised or stood out to you about what you learned here?  What new things did you learn about social mobility?
    2. What connections do you see between these different influences (education, parenting, geography, social capital/networks)?  How do they challenge or reinforce each other?
    3. Which of these factors is easiest to address/change?  Which is hardest?  Why?
    4. Knowing what you know now, if you had one piece of advice for someone trying to achieve social mobility, what would it be?
  4. Turn posters back in- Lori will hang the best ones!

Essay Peer Critique, Parts 3 and 4
Trade essays with a partner from another table.  
  1. Read Part 3
  2. Comment on Part 3
    1. Where is a place in here where they could be more specific and/or add more detail about HOW their strategy created new understanding?  What kind of specifics or detail would you like to see?  Make at least one comment addressing this.
    2. Do they clearly address new insights they gained into specific parts of the text (these parts should be quoted or paraphrased)?  How could they add to this discussion?
    3. Do they clearly address new insights they gained into the book as a whole?  How could they expand here, or make it more clear or specific?
    4. Check their quotes:  Are they set up correctly, using one of the three methods from the handout?  Do they have a good follow-up to each quote?  If not, make a comment of what they need to fix, or what they could write for a follow up.
    5. Are any quotes or paraphrased areas cited correctly using MLA format?
    6. Edit for proofreading/clarity
  3. Read Part 4
  4. Comment on Part 2
    1. Where is one place in here where you feel like they very clearly described something larger they learned from this assignment or process?  Compliments!
    2. Where is one place in this section where they need to go into more detail or expand on what they learned from this assignment or process?  Give a specific suggestion.
    3. Edit for proofreading/clarity

Essay Revision Time
Some things to think about…
  1. Writing Technicalities:  Even if you didn’t attend the workshops, I will still be expecting you to have correct MLA citations, a Works Cited page in MLA format, and to set up and follow up your quotes correctly.  See handouts if you are confused- there are hard copies in my room, or they are linked at the top of the Documents page.
  2. Cohesion:  Make sure that parts 1, 2, and 3 are cohesive.  The difficulty or curiosity in part 1 should be clearly connected to the strategy you use in part 2, and both your difficulty/curiosity and the strategy should be clearly connected to your new understandings in part 3.
  1. Documentation:  Make sure you have clear documentation of your strategy you used in Part 2.  Not sure how to do this?  Come talk to me!

HOMEWORK
  1. FINAL Difficulty/Curiosity Paper:  Thursday, 10/26, Start of Class, PRINTED.

Social Mobility Posters and Essay Writing

10/20/2017

 
Starter 28
  1. What points does he make about financial literacy?
  2. What was interesting to you about this talk?
Social Mobility Posters
You are now going to create a poster based on the article you read yesterday.  Your poster must include:
  1. Title:  Clearly states the focus of the poster
  2. Summary:  One sentence summary of how this factor impacts social mobility
  3. 2-4 Important Points:  Each one needs one sentence of explanation and a relevant symbol/visual
  4. Proposed Solution:  1-2 sentences describing a proposed solution and a relevant symbol/visual
  5. Size:  11 x 8.5".  Regular printer paper size.
  6. In Color?  Email to me and I will print it.  
  7. By Hand or Digital:  Your choice, but it needs to look polished and professional

Essay Parts 3 and 4
When you are done with the poster, work on your rough draft of essay parts 3 and 4.

HOMEWORK:
  1. Rough Draft Essay Parts 3 and 4:  Due start of class Monday, 10/23.  Digital copy is fine- no need to print.

Social Mobility

10/19/2017

 
Starter 28: JD Vance TED Talk
  1. What barriers to upward social mobility does Vance talk about?  List them.
  2. What are the factors he talks about that helped him become upwardly mobile?  List them.
  3. Discuss:  What implications does what he said have for improving social mobility?  If his experience is not unique, what strategies do we need to help people become more upwardly mobile?
Social Mobility Factors Jigsaw
You are going to become experts on one aspect of social mobility.  
  1. In your group, you should meet and choose what resource you would each like to do.  All resources are linked on the documents page of my DP.  If your topic has sub-topics, there must be at least one person for each sub-topic.
  2. For your chosen resource, read and take notes on:
    1. Main ideas of the text
    2. How and why this factor impacts social mobility
    3. Solutions or programs proposed
Tomorrow you will create posters that clearly lay out what the issue is and how it impacts social mobility.  More details on this tomorrow!

Work Time
  1. Read and put strategy into place
  2. RD of essay parts 3 and 4  (Reminder...you will be expected to have complete and correct in-text citations and a Works Cited page, and to be setting up and following up quotes correctly.  If you're not sure how to do this, see the resources on the handout table!)
​
HOMEWORK
  1. RD Difficulty/Curiosity Paper Parts 3 and 4:  Due start of class, Monday, 10/23.​

Essential Questions Brainstorm

10/18/2017

 
ANNOUCEMENTS:
  1. If you want to attend the Fort Lewis application day, you must sign up TODAY!
  2. Gradebook has been updated to reflect new all or nothing grading policy.  You either have full credit or no credit.  If an assignment is not up to par, you will be required to redo or revise it in order to achieve full credit.

Our Document:  Class and Inequality Project Framework
This is where you will eventually record your essential questions and sub-questions.

Interview Possibilities
​
Your next step is to identify people in Durango who can help you answer your essential question.  The goal here is to get local, and to help you better define the issue as it plays out in Durango, see what kinds of local actions/resources are there, and gather ideas for projects.  You should have one interview per 3 people in your group.  You could use people from the list below, or find others.  We will have time next week in Humanities to contact them and schedule your interviews, and to write questions.
  1. Laurel Rodd or Christine Imming (Can speak to inequality issues in AHS)
  2. Aliza Cruz (Works at a school for homeless youth in San Diego)
  3. Wendy Javier (Trio program for middle and high school students)
  4. Jenn Wagnon (Trio program for FLC)
  5. Axis Health/Jeff King (Focuses on healthcare, Jeff can put you in touch with other colleagues)
  6. Companeros (Works with immigrant population)
  7. Durango Food Bank
  8. Manna Soup Kitchen
  9. Police Officers/Firefighters (See me for specific contacts here)
  10. Christina Rinderle (wealth/housing issues)
  11. Anthony Nocella (Sociology professor at FLC and diehard social justice activist in our community 970-247-6950). 
  12. Bruce LeClaire (Director of Ignacio’s Boys and Girls Club and a former 9-R Native American support specialist in our community: (970) 563-4753.  He serves on multiple boards and has a wealth of experience and true depth of knowledge about class, race, and education in our community.) 
  13. Fort Professors (Sociology, Economics)
  14. Ashley Hein (wealth)
  15. Housing Solutions (non-profit in Durango focused on affordable housing)
  16. La Plata Youth Services (see Lori or Kyle for specific contacts here)
  17. Durango Community Homeless Shelter
  18. La Plata Family Centers Coalition
  19. Tri-County Headstart (Early childhood education and preschool for low-income families)
  20. Big Brothers Big Sisters
  21. Any relevant program from this list:  Low Income Resources
  22. City Council (could speak to inequality, mobility, and issues of class in Durango, as well as potential policies and solutions)

HOMEWORK:
  1. Read and put your reading strategy into place!
  2. Essay Parts 3 and 4:  ​Rough draft due Monday, 10/23.  Digital copy is okay. ​​

Social Mobility Intro and Reading Time

10/17/2017

 
WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE- PERIODS 3 AND 4 ONLY!
This Wednesday the Senior class will be meeting in the Commons for periods 3 and 4 to continue developing ideas for our project.  That means you do NOT have class 1st and 2nd.  Be here from 10:15-12:02.  Our rooms will be open during 1st and 2nd for quiet work time.


Project Changes!

Take a look at the revised Class and Inequality Project Framework.  Feel free to comment with suggestions or ideas- no critiques unless you have a solution or idea to fix it!  ​
Starter 26- Social Mobility
  1. As you watch, write down three interesting things that you learned from this video.  Just list them.
  2. When the video is over, what surprised or stood out to you?
  3. What kinds of policies, programs, or solutions could make our society more socially mobile?  Brainstorm 3-5 in your group.

Intro to Social Mobility
Read the following resources:
  1. Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs- A short article from NYT detailing the problems with US social mobility
  2. Understanding Mobility in America- A list of key findings

As you read the NYT article, annotate for important ideas.  When you are done, jot down notes on:
  1. What is the thesis of this piece, summarized in one sentence?
  2. What explanations did this give for America’s limited social mobility?  List them.  You should have at least five.
  3. After reading both, write down three questions you have about social mobility.

Discuss in groups:
  1. What new information did you gain from these pieces?
  2. What were the most surprising or interesting things you learned about social mobility?
  3. What questions do you have now?  How could you answer those questions (go more in depth here than just "research".  What kind of research?  What kinds of sources?)?

Essay Work Time
Work on putting your strategy into place, and writing Parts 3 and 4.

HOMEWORK
  1. RD Difficulty/Curiosity Paper Parts 3 and 4:  Monday, 10/23, Start of Class (digital copy is fine)
  2. Read:  Finish book by Tuesday, 10/31, Start of Class

October 16th, 2017

10/16/2017

 
WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE- PERIODS 3 AND 4 ONLY!
This Wednesday the Senior class will be meeting in the Commons for periods 3 and 4 to continue developing ideas for our project.  That means you do NOT have class 1st and 2nd.  Be here from 10:15-12:02.


Starter 25

Lori presents Class and Inequality Project Framework, explains why we’re probably going down that road.  Students, in their starter, answer the following questions:
  1. Make at least one comment on the document with a suggestion, question, or concern.
  2. As of right now, which working group do you think would best fit you?  Why?  (Art, performance, advocacy, experience, conversation)
  3. What ideas do you have for that particular group?  What would you like the focus of that group to be?  What question  should that part of the exhibition answer for people?

Essay Peer Critique- Parts 1 and 2
Trade essays with a partner.
  1. Read Part 1
  2. Comment on Part 1
    1. Where is a place in here where they could be more specific and/or add more detail about their difficulty?  What kind of specifics or detail would you like to see?  Make at least one comment addressing this.
    2. Do you clearly understand what is happening in their head when they read these quotes or passages in the book?  If not, what could they do to make it more clear?
    3. Label or highlight the part after each quote that discusses WHY it is difficult or WHY it sparks curiosity.  If this is missing or hard to find, please comment so they know to fix it.
    4. Edit for proofreading/clarity
  3. Read Part 2
  4. Comment on Part 2
    1. Label their strategy with a comment.  Are there other strategies you think they should consider?  Does their strategy seem like it will effectively address their difficulty/curiosity?  If not, why not?
    2. How could they describe their strategies in a more in-depth and specific way?  What information could they add?  Make a comment with at least one suggestion for this.
    3. Do they fully explain why they chose those particular strategies, and what they hope to gain?  If not, make a note of it so they can fix it.
    4. How could they document their strategies?  Make a comment with some ideas.
    5. Edit for proofreading/clarity

Writing Workshops:  MLA Citations OR Setting Up and Following Up Quotes
  1. MLA Citations: 11:00, 1:30
  2. Quotes: 11:30, 2:00

Work Time
  1. Revise parts 1 and 2
  2. Put strategy into place, and document it!
  3. Read your book

HOMEWORK
  1. RD Difficulty/Curiosity Paper Parts 3 and 4:  Monday, 10/23, Start of Class (digital copy only is fine)
  2. Read:  Finish book by Tuesday, 10/31, Start of Class
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