-Monday 11/7... after 3:00
-Tuesday 11/8... anytime between 12:00 - 6:00 but please call or email first as I may be on the other side of campus
Remaining Classes: Please note the changes here.
-Class #8 will meet on Monday, 11/28 from 4:30-7:10 in Enterprise 420.
-Class #9 will meet on Wednesday, 12/7 from 4:10-6:50 in Enterprise 420.
-Alternate meeting for Class #9 is on Wednesday, 12/7 from 7:20-10:00 in Enterprise 174.
Reading Assignments:
-Craft of Research chapters 14-16.
-You may also find it helpful to review They Say I Say chapters 7, 8, and 10.
-Research Log #7 is the anonymous mid-term evaluation given in class this week. If you were absent from class, the survey is here.
-Research Log #8 is an "anything goes" blog entry that you should complete prior to your personal conference... I see it serving as an ice-breaker.
Big Writing Assignments:
-If you haven't completed the annotated bibliography (10 entries), the background literature review (1st draft), or the methodology (1st draft), those take priority.
-The deadline to expand your annotated bibliography to 25 sources is Wednesday night 11/2. (15 for creative projects.) This assignment will be graded.
-The deadline for revising/expanding your background literature review is Monday night 11/7.
-We will then add two further pieces as we continue to work our way to a completed proposal. The deadline for both of these will be Sunday night 11/13 at 8pm.
-The first addition is a section that is officially known in the BIS program as the "evidence" section (for investigative projects) or the "technique" section (for creative projects). I prefer to think of it as a hypothesis and outline section, because I feel calling it anything else is really premature. The main function it serves is to help you create a mental plan for what is going to go in the main body of your essay next semester once you start carrying out your research methodology. So my requirement is a 2-4 sentence (hypo)thesis and then a 3-6 roman number or bullet point outline of potential ideas, sections, or arguments. Remember, this will be the content that follows your background literature review and methodology section, so no need to duplicate those. For creative projects, I would suggest this deadline as an opportunity to rewrite your separate technique section or the more technical elements of your methodology section.
-The second addition is a project timeline. The starting date should be "12/21 - proposal approved" and the ending date should be "5/9 - final presentation." All the dates in between are yours to determine according to the needs of your project. (Note that that approval date is very pessimistic and it will probably come much earlier. And that the presentation date is more of a ballpark estimate.)
Mark Your Calendar: BIS 490 fall capstone presentations will be held in the Johnson Center's 3rd Floor Meeting Rooms on Thursday, December 15, 2011, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., with refreshments to follow. Attendance is strongly recommended for 390 students.
I just noticed the time change for the Wed. Dec 7th class. Did you intend to post an earlier time or is this a typo?
ReplyDeleteThat's the right time; it's when they gave me the room. We probably won't do much before 4:30 just to allow everyone to get there.
ReplyDelete-Aaron
Well in that case I guess the time works out just fine. btw- what's up with the profile picture...I'm sure there's a story behind it. lol
ReplyDeleteI would like to meet with you on 11/7 at 4:15p
ReplyDeleteNever mind I can't I forgot I'm in an all day trn, sorry.
ReplyDeleteLog #8. Looking forward to the discussion on moving forward. In particular my (AB/BLR/Methodology), and my history tie-in to education.
ReplyDeleteLog #8
ReplyDeleteI've found the written requirements of this course very useful in creating a solid project but the level of specifics needed for the methodology at this time, for a creative project, is unreasonable. It is important that I list what I need and as much as I know but to outline how high the table will stand or what brand of emulsion I will use is unnecessary, at this point in the planning. I may decide that digital photography will be all I need and that shadow art can be better created in a digital way. My process is not as well defined yet- I still need time to investigate and experiment especially since I have not created this work before. yet this investigative process is OK with my mentor.
My project still involves creating and finishing the sculpture that I will ultimately use to create the spin-off/derivative art- I anticipate finishing by January. I plan to work closely with professors to achieve my vision.
Alice... the intent is partly to determine whether the resources are available, within reasonable limits of time, space, and money. One emulsion versus another is not likely to be pertinent at this point, but consider that some students might be choosing between two materials, locations, etc. that might vary in more significant ways. The other part is probably just to encourage you to do whatever thinking you can on the front end rather than later, but as you say, there is a limit to what you can know now.
ReplyDeleteResearch log # 8
ReplyDeleteI would like to share with you my deep frustration this week in both computer labs on campus. The one in JC not only crowded always but very loud, and interestingly enough the people who talked the most were the ones working there. In the Innovation hall, same issue, though it is big, it seemed like there were loud mouths in every strategic place and no matter where you moved to, you were in bad shape. I tried going to our small lab one night hoping I would find bliss... wrong again, the girl who made a point in me signing in (I didn't since there were no pen and it was empty) she kept talking and talking, and after i kindly asked her to lower her voice (mind you it says quiet study all over the wall) she kept making remarks to others, though she lowered her voice, still made me feel really uncomfortable. Finally I remembered to buy earplugs!! Not worth the trip here without them. And I don't go to a public library because they give you in increment of 45 minutes... our work takes (at least for me) much longer than that!
Research log #8
ReplyDeleteI met with my mentor today for help with framing my argument in a way that relates directly to the disciplinary standards of my area of concentration. She was very helpful in discussing my project with me and making recommendations for additional sources of information. My argument will center on the economic and political factors involved in creating populations of women used as capital that foster transnational flows of immigration.
Research log #8
ReplyDeleteProfessor Winter,
When I started BIS390 in early September until two to three weeks ago, it took me a while to get an understanding of your requirements were and how I was going to complete your assignments. I could not tell the difference between statement of interest, research logs, project description, etc. Also, I could not understand what had happened to me because all the terminologies sounded the same. But, then I started remembering that the last time I heard those terminologies was back in September 2008 when I took BIS300. Obviously three years had gone by because I was taking my regular IT classes. Nevertheless I think I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is much clearer now. I think the BIS classes should all be taken back to back to back to get more out of them and ease the homework assignments. I spent my entire weekends writing and I have to say it is not as easy as I thought this would be. But then again who said this would be easier although I was hoping it would be.
Hector,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting suggestion and I would be eager to hear the opinion of your fellow students. The difficulty is this... the 300 course serves as an introduction to the program as well as a sort of personal discovery & advising session that helps you plan the remainder of your courses at George Mason. 390 and 490 are designed to be taken back to back (or almost back to back) right before you graduate. So to push all three of them together would rush you into decisions for 390/490 that you are not prepared to make yet after 300 and take away the benefit of all the course learning you did in the intervening semesters after 300 that you could then apply to your 390/490 project, or it would alternately delay your 300 course and therefore take away the benefit of the curriculum planning you need to choose your concentration courses. So the whole thing is a dilemma with no perfect solution, as I see it.
Post #8
ReplyDeleteI have had some anxieties this semester as well, I'm sure many of us have. I think my worries have benefited me in couple of different ways. First, it kept me constantly thinking and revising certain areas of my research and second, it averted my need to have everything in place with a known outcome. In other words I learned to live in the moment and appreciate where I am and what is happening now. I also took the BIS 300 course over a year ago. I think having a break between 300 and 390 is a benefit. It allows time to take additional courses that were added to the new contract, find a faculty mentor and seriously think about the research topic. For me, BIS 300 was more of a writing review and introduction to the things to come as well as what should be considered in moving forward. I can remember my instructor telling the class on the first day, “if you’re good writers now, you’ll be great writers when you leave this course”.
Log #8. Tom R.
ReplyDeleteI like the timeline exercise and concept. I broke it into ten day spans and started in the middle. I spent some time on it an feel pretty good about using it to stay on track.
Oy, where has the semester gone?? I am feeling okay with the time table in having everything completed by the end of the semester. I am still working on the timeline for next semester and also the hypothesis outline, which I am trying to not just keep repeating the project desciption. I am anxious to hear the comments on my literature review as it was hard to incorporate new sources into the first draft; but as Tim Gunn says "make it work." I am looking forward to the meeting tomorrow so I can get an idea of where I stand and what I need to focus on for the remaining of the semester.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Joel, where has the semester gone? Putting together the timeline for next semester made me realize how quickly this process is going to come to fruition. I'm pretty comfortable with where I am right now, just need to reorganize and edit.
ReplyDeleteTime is definitely winding down. I'm working on pulling everything together for the human subject review board. The good thing is my research does not require a full review so I can get it in before the Dec 14th deadline. Does anyone else need to go before the HSRB?
ReplyDeleteLog # 8
ReplyDeleteThis semester is rapidly coming to an end, however, I feel that I am making sufficient progress in regards to the research of my project. I am excited to begin expanding the creative aspect and developing my website. I still need to further evaluate how exactly to develop a web site that I have envisioned.
Have A Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!
ReplyDelete