Reserch Question 2 (In Class 2/7/13)

How is glacial melting affecting penguins in Antarctica?

Now, this question does require more depth of thought.  The first thing that I notice is that it needs more than a simple, "yes" or "no" response.  The student must really dig deep into the topic to describe how this is happening. The first issue for me, is that the student must really prove that glacial melting is, in fact, affecting the penguins.  There are some who would argue that glacial melting is not affecting the penguins and that global warming is not a problem.  Research would have to be done in order to first prove that it has become a problem.  From there, the student could go on to describe how penguins directly are affected.  Some of the research may include all wildlife in general, but the student would be expected to look more specifically at how pengins are affected. Students may ask, Is glacial melting really a problem?  Are penguins really affected and how?  What are the effects on the habitat?  Is this a result of global warning?

Reserch Question 1 (In Class 2/7/13)

The first question I chose is:  Is there an association between breast cancer risk and cigarette smoking.  This question can be answered with a simple, "yes" or "no", so it is not a more complex question.  The person who responds to this may already have an answer in his or her head and no further explanation is required.  I would think, though, that a student would try to find research the association between breast cancer and cigarette smoking in order to prove his/her side.  It does not really require much analysis besides that, though.

Week 3: Podis vs. Lindemann

In my opinion, Podis viewed writing as more of a structured, logical process.  While there is some room for students to move away from the patterns, a good writer should be able to establish a coherent pattern in writing.  This is a more practical approach to writing, and there is not much ‘wiggle room’.  After reading this article, I must state that I was somewhat taken aback by the condescending tone.  The author assumed that teachers did not teach anything regarding arrangement, and they somehow need help in understanding better teaching methods.

Lindemann’s view was that arrangement is a series of choices that students make with respect to writing, while remaining within general guidelines.  Form has a definite pattern and good form helps the writer to engage the audience; however, a writer should avoid becoming so engrossed in the form to where the substance of the material is lost.  Instead, arrangement or form is something that the writer discovers as he or she moves through the paper and makes decisions about how the content is organized.

I appreciated the diverse and numerous examples in both articles.  The grouping in Podis’ article was somewhat common sense, but when it was related to writing, it helped to clarify the main point.  This article was a great refresher for me.  In past years, I have taught the chronological and spatial forms of writing, but the patterning was confusing to me.  I feel that because I am not a formal English teacher, the patterning method is something that I may have missed.  The basic patterns were understood, but when C was introduced, I started to lose my train of thought (even after re-reading it several times).

In Lindemann’s article, the blocking example was new to me and I learned a lot just by reviewing the aerobic essay example.  The tenets of this article were new to me, but I appreciate that the article allowed me to feel freer to go off of my instincts and move away from the basic, 5-paragraph essay.  I felt a sense of freedom when Lindeman mentioned that this structure survives in English classes more so than anywhere else.  I had to laugh out loud on this one!   This article gave me a choice and I believe that it will allow me to try some new things and become a better teacher.  While Lindemann definitely has respect for form, there is room for the student to grow as a writer.

Week 3: Resources

Source	Type	Why Used?
Liu, Y. (2005).  Effects of online instruction vs. traditional instruction on Students’ Learning.  Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/journal/mar_05/article06.htm	Popular?	Journal with lots of tables that looks at the research from multiple viewpoints. Lots of resources in bibliography.
Bernard, R.; Abrami, P.C.; Lou, Y.; Borokhovski, E.; Wade, A.; Wozney, L.; Wallet, P.A.; Eiset, M.; Huang, B. (2004).  How does distance education compare with classroom instruction?  A meta-analyisi of the empirical literature.	Scholarly	Peer-reviewed; lots of good research.
Debate.org (n.d.) Is online instruction as effective as online schooling?  Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-online-education-as-effective-as-traditional-on-campus-schooling	Popular	Will likely find many different viewpoints that may lead to further research.
Koeler, M.J., Marsha, P., & Hershey, K. (2004).  With a little help from yur stdents:  A new model for faculty development and online course design.  Journal of technology and teacher education, 12 (1), 25-55.	Scholarly	Contains some helpful teaching strategies.
Sapp, D.A., Simon, J. (2005). Comparing grades in online and face-to-face writing courses: Interpersonal accountability and institutional commitment.  Retrieved from http://www.sarasotaintranet.usf.edu/ir/documents/distancelearning/sapp.pdf	Scholarly	Directly related to topic.

Week 3: Choosing an Issue

The issue that I have decided to research is whether online students receive the same quality of writing instruction as traditional students.  I have a ‘vested’ interest in this issue.  I teach in both online and traditional settings, and I struggle internally to make sure that students are receiving the same quality of instruction in both formats.  For example, if a student takes my online Professional Development class, I try to assign the same assignments, lectures, and other handouts as I would assign in a traditional course.  In short, I believe that instruction should not suffer just because the instructor is not face-to-face.

Over the years, I have found the teaching of writing in an online setting to be quite challenging.  Before online education became popular, I was accustomed to marking the students’ papers with red ink and then talking with them about any issues.  Given the fast pace society that we live in and the sheer nature of online communication, teaching writing has become a tedious enterprise.  While I use Microsoft Word to make comments in each paper, I continuously struggle to devote the same amount of time and quality feedback to each assignment given.

Another issue that I encounter is when a student asks a difficult writing question online.  While I try my best to provide a clear response, I sometimes wonder if the student truly understood my answer.  The student may reply with a, “Yes, thanks,” but sometimes the final draft will show that the student may not have completely understood my instruction.  Furthermore, if a question cannot be handled in one or two responses, I find that the ultimate answer can become lost in the email chain.

The Hermagorian approach to invention (as a result of the readings) unquestionably helped me to solidify why I was interested in the topic.  It also helped me to specifically state which groups of students I was most interested in discussing.  The journalizing that we did in class was probably the most helpful exercise for me in that it allowed me to just write down thoughts without judgment or other concerns.  The homework assignment for this week was like the ‘nail in the coffin’ in that I was able to stand on a firmer question.  In the past, I would merely pick a topic and begin research without truly investigating my approach to the issue.  As a result of this method, I have gained further insight into the research techniques that I could use to aid with the discovery process (articles, interviews, teaching strategies, etc.) .

Week 3: 1st Issue

After examining the first issue for the research paper, I decided that it would be best to formulate my questions as a thesis.  My stasis focuses more specifically on the quality, and I would like to research whether online writing instruction is equivalent to traditional instruction.  More specifically:  Do students in online classes receive the same quality of writing instruction as their counterparts in traditional classes. I am looking specifically into my teaching processes in general as opposed to the entire campus.

My proposition is that students receive better instruction in the classroom because a teacher is readily available to answer specific issues that may arise in writing.  To further investigate the research, I could discover whether ALL students benefit from being in a traditional classroom, or do some benefit more in an online setting?

Overall, the process of formulating better questions was somewhat difficult, but well worth it.  I spent some time thinking about the different ways that Crowley investigated the hate speech issue and I used that as a model to formulate my questions for my research paper issues. This issue seems to be the most compelling to me as I am eager to see the results.

Week 3: 2nd Issue

My second issue of research is the issue of plagiarism and to reduce it on campus.  Specifically, I may ask: How can plagiarism be reduced on campus? This is more of a procedural stasis where I would investigate both punitive and non-punitive methods for reducing plagiarism in college.  I may also look at current policies that regulate plagiarism and investigate how they could be changed.  The position that I take is that it is a serious issue and there needs to be more stringent education and procedures to counteract plagiarism.

In this case, the process of formulating better questions was also challenging; however, I appreciate that the procedure forced me to think deeply about the issues and it gave me the opportunity to approach both topics from several different vantage points.