Reminders for Class #9

Salvador Dali's take on deadline anxiety

Believe it or not, we are fast approaching the final class meeting of the semester! All the stockings proposals are hung by the chimney with care, etc. etc. We will meet in Enterprise 174 at 7:20 on Wednesday 12/7. 

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.)

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. 

Reminder: Wednesday's class

Hey everyone, I hope it's been a nice Thanksgiving holiday for you.

This is a reminder that, after a long delay, we will finally have a full class meeting again. See you at the regular time (Wednesday 7:20) in the computer lab we've been meeting in (Innovation 317).

Also... because most of you are pretty far along with your project, I would like to devote much of the class session to peer editing of the proposals. This will help your classmates, obviously, but also help you because it will be an opportunity to reflect on the standards that BIS uses to approve the proposals.

This means you need to have your full proposal available, in its most recent stage of completion. (Whatever that is.) Preferably in Google Docs or another electronic format since we will be in the lab.

Other possible topic for the class will conclusions and bibliographies. See you soon!

Reminders for Personal Conference #2 and Class #8

 [Breaking News] Office Hour Availability: I know things have been moving pretty fast lately, so if anyone wants to have some office hours time next week I will be available on campus at the following times:
-Monday 11/7... after 3:00 but please call or email if you plan to visit because if nobody's around I'll just go home! 4:00, going home :)
-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:
-Class #8 will meet on Wednesday, 11/30 in Innovation Hall 317.
-Class #9 will meet on Wednesday, 12/7 in Enterprise 174.

Personal Conference: I will post a sign-up sheet on Google Docs sometime next week and notify you by email. The likely dates are Monday 11/14, Tuesday 11/15, Friday 11/18, and Monday 11/21. But I will work to accommodate your schedule. 

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.

Small Writing Assignments: 

-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 Saturday night 11/5. (15 for creative projects.) This assignment will be graded.
-The deadline for revising/expanding your background literature review is Wednesday night 11/9.
-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.

For Those Who Missed It: Here is the methodology exercise from today's class.  
Partner 1: Here is my methodology. Please read it.
Partner 2: I have read your methodology. I like your project, but I would have done it a different way. I would have used [ANOTHER METHOD] instead / in addition.
Partner 1: Good idea. I will use [THAT OTHER METHOD] in the following way...
Partner 1 [alt.]: Thanks but I don’t think [THAT OTHER METHOD] will be suitable, for the following reasons...