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| Salvador Dali's take on deadline anxiety |
Super Important Changing-My-Mind Announcement: The people have spoken, and the final class meeting has been moved back to its originally scheduled time and place, which is Krug Hall 5 at 4:30 on Monday 12/5. We will likely dismiss at 6:30.
And-What-Will-Happen-in-this-Final-Class Cliffhanger: Surveys, polls, and evaluations galore. An edifying visit with the Sentence Doctor, the Paragraph Transitions Doctor, and the Citation Doctor. Informal and ungraded state of the project speeches. Tidings of comfort and joy.
How-Do-I-Make-the-Acquaintance-of-These-Doctors Clarification: Send me your patients for diagnosis anytime before the final class. (You can email individual sentences/paragraphs or point me to a particular section of your documents.)
Call for Help: If anyone has suggestions about a good place to have our after-class party on Wednesday 12/7, please advise. It will be somewhere close by the campus in Fairfax starting at 9:30.
Hey-Wait-A-Minute-What-Is-the-Synopsis-Section Clarification: The synopsis section is a brief closing section of 3-6 sentences. I try not to use the word "conclusion" because you can hardly conclude things about a project that you haven't started yet. So what you are doing is re-capping what has been said in the proposal itself. This is your opportunity to get the last word in to convince the committee that this is going to be a great 490 project. The Last Booth Reading (this semester): Chapters 14-16
The Last Research Log: The 9th and final research log is designated by the syllabus as a reflection on: "what you learned in this course, the progress you feel you’ve made in framing your topic as a concise research problem, the effort you’ve put into the class and the assignments, and/or the areas that need further work once you begin your actual project." Check out this website for a Jeannie-recommended explanation of what is meant by "reflection." Post in the comments here.
If You Missed Today's Class Exercise: On the final pages of your printed 390 course syllabus, or alternatively here you will find the rubric that the BIS program uses to assess/approve the proposals for continuation to 490. We took a classmate's proposal and evaluated it according to those 7 categories, rating more than satisfactory / satisfactory / less than satisfactory / unsatisfactory for each. Additionally... For 1, highlight elements of your partner's proposal that pertain to the interdisciplinary statement in blue. Or show where they might go if they are absent. For 2, highlight the problem statement, etc. in red. For 3, rephrase your partner's thesis into a brief they say / I say statement. (Your partner is "I.") For 4, rephrase your partner's methods and objectives into a brief statement ("Suzy will do XYZ..."). For 5, highlight two effective uses of supporting information in yellow and two ineffective/lacking uses of supporting information in yellow. Indicate somehow which is which; perhaps use plus/minus or smile/frown. For 6, highlight two effective paragraph transitions in green and two ineffective/lacking paragraph transitions in green. Indicate which is which. For 7, highlight the two best written sentences in pink and the two sentences most in need of rewriting in pink. Indicate which is which. You do not need to complete the "overall score" part. Let me know if you need me to pair you with a partner.
An Interesting Opportunity: The GMU Review publishes student research, and even makes prize money available.
What a semester...in looking back from where I am today in my pre-research, I can honestly say that I have really developed my actual research topic to a more defined statement; where in the beginning of the semester, I had a general idea and was close to my final topic, now it is clearly defined. With that being the major challenge completed, I have been able to work diligently on compiling sources, which having time with the Librarian was helpful in showing us how to navigate the journals and actually sift through and find the pertinent information instead of just gathering mounds of sources. Being a person who likes structure, I found it a bit challenging to have to come up with my own idea, timeline, etc. But once I was able to understand what we wanted to achieve, I was able to make a timeline and adhere to it. At the start of the semester I had a moment where I was unsure of how the self-guided process would turn out, but I surprised myself with how well I was able to keep on point and put in the efforts now to help save some time next semester. Finally, I am most surprised at how my writing technique and citation/quotation usage has improved. As they say, you learn from your mistakes, and I can attest that I have and I think it will make my final presentation much stronger in the end. I know this seems long, but it has been a semester full of learning and I am optimistic (more so that I was in September!) about the upcoming 490 and finishing out the BIS Program at GMU.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a challenging semester, looking back to the beginning of the BIS 390 course. I actually thought this course would be a "walk in the park exercise," but quickly found out my initial expectations were not only incorrect, but I underestimated the amount of detailed work involved in meeting all the requirements. A little taste of Humble Pie never hurt a soul! While I have struggled a little with my main focus (History and Education vs. Education and History), I am coming back full circle with History being the dominant factor in my project. I must admit that once I started discovering the educational issues in our public school system, and how these challenges are in some form a result of a political ideology at both State and Federal levels, I immediately saw this as an ethical and moral dilemma that needed more attention, and a recommended solution, especially considering today’s polarization within our political parties. This new-found discovery used up a great deal of my time and shifted the focus from History to Education centric, which was not the original intent. With a little bit of teaching, coaching and mentoring from professionals, my focus is now back on track. All of the assignments, while being very short fused (considering the expected output) were sequenced properly and were doable all along. It just took immense discipline and focus to get the job done, and done right. While my project is still a work in progress much like a Picasso painting (Butt Ugly in my view) it has moved along quite nicely and will continue to improve as we head into 490. In the end, everything made perfect sense. Thanks to our BIS Professor for intelligent and candid feedback. Your efforts made a difference.
ReplyDeleteThis semester has flown by and I am pleased with how much I've accomplished. But that being said, I am now facing some last minute decisions on the direction to go with my topic! Having met with my faculty mentor again, and after receiving her suggestions on my Draft Proposal, I am convinced that I want my focus to be on local populations (DC metro area) of immigrant women workers. I am also considering focusing on undocumented workers. Another consideration is to add immigrant women to my interviews, rather than only interviewing the counselors who work with the women. My peer review partner, Kim, has also helped me with suggestions for my proposal and I am trying to incorporate her ideas as well. I will have this all ironed out (more or less) by the time I submit my final proposal, but I now realize that I have more to do than I originally thought!
ReplyDeleteFinal note is that I will be able to attend the Monday class as scheduled. See you all then.
Final Post #9
ReplyDeleteReflecting on this semester I feel pretty good about my progress. I have learned how to develop a research problem, find relevant sources and ask questions about my work that are counter to what I'm proposing. While this has been quite difficult it has also been rewarding. I've progressed from not having a topic to not only having a good research problem but also “a good solid floor to build on" as Professor Winter would say. I can even appreciate my struggles with back and forth and back again. I’m sure many of you know what I’m talking about. I think it's all relative to where I sit today, happy and content, ready to move on to the next phase. Classmates, thank you for your support this semester. I hope to see you back in the spring. A special thanks to my peer reviewers Andy and Faisal. Your comments were insightful and encouraging; I really appreciate you for taking the time to review and comment on my work. Professor Aaron, you have been a tremendous help and inspiration. I am looking forward to the spring semester, I’m sure you will continue to encourage us to reach for the ceiling or maybe even the roof top
Research log #9,
ReplyDeleteBIS390 has been a challenge but in a good way because I learned so much by helping me to develop a better writing skill, and forced me to place my thoughts in order. It has been a while since I had to sit down to write many pages about a topic I am familiar with but this time I had to put it down in paper. Also, I had to adjust a little bit since there were times I felt lost and confused as I could not remember progression from BIS300 to the beginning of the fall semester what needed to be done and how to go about it. But in spite of busy Saturdays and Sundays, I have enjoyed the challenges from not having a topic to long homeworks to developing a research proposal with a topic that still have some stumbling blocks to get across. However, I am pleased with the fall semester results and to see that this part of the course is almost over with the help of our Professor who provided me guidance to move forward. The research proposal topic I chose presented me with a few challenges and discoveries that needed to be done but after all it seemed that most of us were going through the same challenges that we must face up to. Most of the time, the get going was tough but after the paper was completed there was a sign of release and there was also just a good sense of achievement, and the Professor would say, wait don’t unwind because the next assignment is. I am looking forward to BIS490 when I will have the final research completed with a much defined topic. Thanks to the classmates for taking the time to review my papers and provided me guidance to make modifications. Happy Holidays to All.
This semester has been challenging, sometimes overwhelming, yet fun. The first challenge, figuring out what I wanted my project to be about, was quite stressful. Once that was achieved and I decided to take on training employers about Asperger’s Disorder, I spent hours of time researching and digesting information yet often felt like getting my ideas down on paper and formulating my creative project was moving at a snail’s pace. I have been very detailed and thorough in my research and approach to the project, almost to a fault. But I know it will serve me well in the end. My research has brought me to new discoveries about the subject and my initial engagement with a certain philosophy has been challenged, and at this moment changed. In addition, my initial impression that there were few resources available for my target audience is not true. I now realize that there is quite a lot of information and resources available to employers but they are not in a central repository where they can be easily drawn on. They are woven through diverse entities. To date, I have found no resources available in the form I plan to develop for my creative project, online training. At times the scope of the proposed project seems too large but after planning it in a project time-line it appears to be doable within the BIS 490 time-frame that I have to complete it. One interesting development through the course of this semester is that my husband recently suggested that in the future I train employers/employees regarding Asperger’s Syndrome. Who knows? This semester and the BIS 490 project may open the door for me to start a new career.
ReplyDeleteResearch Blog #9
ReplyDeleteThis semester has been quite challenging, but rewarding. I knew before we began that this class was an intensive writing class, but thankfully, it has been manageable. Sunday deadlines were great. Knowing that graduating soon helps me to stay focused. The research thus far has been rewarding, and I am looking forward to finalizing it. I know that I need to narrow the necessary management and leadership skills I plan to incorporate into my project, but plan to do a lot of reading over the break.
I am very invested in my proposal and am hopeful that the BIS committee approves it.
I look forward to working with ya’ll next semester, thanks for everything!
Beth
Over the course of the semester, I have developed my preliminary creative project to a well devised plan. I began the semester with an idea of what population I wanted to reach and knew I want to create change in the way Heart Failure patients self manage their care, provide guidance and support, and to expand the overall knowledge base in regards to CHF. With the assistance of my peers and guidance of Aaron I have been able to receive constructive feedback to strengthen my topic and devise my ideas in a clear and concise manner. I am looking forward to further expand my project and begin creating my website for heart failure patients.
ReplyDeleteBlog #9 Tom R.
ReplyDeleteThis semester has been a lot more work that I expected and a little overwhelming. I have a new appreciation for writers that work on deadlines. I felt comfortable with my project idea early on, then I was lost for a while, and now I’m back on track. The one on one sessions were very helpful and I really liked the constant editing, rewriting and editing practice. I know this course has improved the organization and quality of my writing and I’m looking forward to next semester.
Blog#9
ReplyDeleteThis semester I believe was very useful, actually extremely useful! It was hard work, (still is)but what makes me happy is that as the professor said, nothing that we worked so hard to accomplish this semester was in vain, we will be able to use it next semester in our paper, and that is why I believe it was an extremely useful semester.