3.5 Setting up for the short analysis project

Short anlaysis projectClass today was focused on the kind of data-focused analysis you will need to do for your short analysis project.  In this assignment you will choose on of the 5 data sets we have created/explored together as a class:

Data set 1: Shaggy Dog Stories
Data set 2: In-class ethnographic notes
Data set 3: Survey analysis posts = responses to, comments onthe survey for the writing option major
Data set 4: Sample papers with teacher comments
Data set 5: transcripts from interviews (chat rooms + gamer)

You will then ask a research question (usually it is a set of questions) of your data set, and use detailed analysis of the data as "evidence"  for an answer to those questions.  The concepts and langauge from Gee are about helping you figure out which features of language you should be noticing.

Analyzing Teacher comments.
We started class by analyzing Sample Paper 1 in ligh tof the following question.

What are the difference between language in the beginning/end comments, and the language in the side comments? What does each form for commenting accomplish? How do these differences cause students to "use" these two different patterns for commenting? And how do (or don't) these two different forms work together?

We started by characterizing the two language sets: side comments and beginning/end comments. This is "coding" => naming the features of the language (or whatever) you are studying. I don't have all of my original notes from the board - this is what I remember


Side comments
This is good/but = form of the comments
many questions
complements/validations
interpretations=> say back what the teacher thinks the writer is saying
make specific references to particular pieces of language in the text=> draws student's attention to particular points in the essay
not a coherent story
the language is indirect = doesn't tell the student to make specific changes
refers to other comments
Beginning/end commentshave a beginning/middle/and an ending
beginning= positive statements/validation about what the student has done well, words like "solid framework" and "definitely steps students have to follow" indicate the project is on the right track
middle = but or however statement that idendifies particular points for the student to work on (needs a "particular view of argument" = key term in the assignment. In the Argument essay, the end comment directed the student back to conversations from class => and then pointed out 3 steps the writer should take to use the theoretical definition to develop the definition of the "concept" she would use in her paper. The last point points out (another point from the assignment sheet) that the student needs to point out how the "writing studies" view of argument clashes with the popular view.
ending
confirmation = student is on the right track "you've got the right form here"
re-statement of overall focus for revision
=> overall the beg/end comments point out what "big moves" the student needs to make to revise the essay

The above naming and characterizing of the data (with partiuclar references to language from the data you are analyzing) is what I was looking for in terms of  "coding."  These codes/names for what the language in your data is doing allow you to make a set of points to answer your question.

For example, we noticed that while the side comments drew writers' attention to particular points in the text, they did not make direct suggestions.  Rather, they engaged the writer in thinking about what they might need to work on, and provided specific connections to points in the text that needed attention.  In contrast, the end-note gave specific tasks (4 of them) for the writer to accomplish.  Both the end-note and the side comments gave students motivation and encouragement. They worked together first to get the student to see how her text work and to notice that specific points were missing, and then the end comment stated more directly how to work on the problems noted in the side comments.  As you pointed out, the end note would be less easy to follow without first reading through the side notes.

OF course - commenting is more complicated that it might seem at first glance.  Some of you said you read straight through (side comments first - then end not), but some of you said your end the end note first.  And some of you start "fixing" the essay, comment by comment before you even read the end note.  So = it sounds like teachers and students need to talk about what comments are for and how to use them - and like they ought to have a conversation where they figure out how they want feedback to be presented!  

Analysis of Chat room transcript.

Even though we didn't really use it much, I put on the board a frame for a  preliminary analysis of the two excerpts presented in the chat transcript in terms of:

• the big "C" Conversations it connects to (children online, protecting children from internet predators, the internet as a dangerous place, particularly for girls, limiting access as a way to protect children, etc),
• "Figured worlds" or cultural stories within those conversations(the assumptions=internet is dangerous, it is also frivolous and you won't meet "good" people there, values=the dangers and lack of "important learning" associated with chat make it "a waste of time" => generally, not something you will be proud about talking about unless you are a teenager) etc
• and the persona for A in each of the two stories.

We spent some time analyzing the language in the first excerpt in terms of how A presented herself.

As we read the first excerpt, we watched how A moved from we, to you in the story set up, and into I when she was in the story itself. We notice how the story was set up in past tense, but the events themselves unfolded in the present. We noticed repeated words (dangerous, scary) and we noticed the difference in the care and tentativeness in reporting the experience (I think. . .) and the directness of her statements about how she changed (I am => and other direct declarations of how she is + what she does=no "I think").

We also noticed how she seemed to want to "explain" or "defend" herself to/from Sally in the first excerpt - but that she was much more comfortable in the second story (and we pointed to particular language moves that indicated her comfort/discomfort = including her choice of pronouns.

Good job on this!

For next class:

Blog 12: Look through the data sets and begin to think which data you want to analyze for your short analysis project. Post some questions you might ask of the data set you are most interested in.

Re-read Gee.

In class, we will begin by creating an assignment sheet for the short analysis project. This assignment sheet will identify the purpose of the assignment, what you need to d o to complete it, and the criteria for a grade. You will then work on your research question and begin to set up your analysis. By the end of class you should be prepared to work on your draft for this project.

The draft for the short analysis project is due Tuesday, March 26

NOTE: if you want written comments from me (in addition to conferencing/in-class peer comments) you will need to turn in your draft no later than midnight, Saturday, March 23.