Week 10

Do the following before class on Wednesday, October 27:

REVIEW & READ:

• The City Tech Library’s Guide to Developing a Research Question
• My brief Announcement.

WRITE:

Developing Research Questions

• Look at the social justice issues you and your peers posted on the Discussion Question: “Brainstorming Topics for the Unit 2 Assignment” last Wednesday. (If you weren’t present on October 20, do this activity right away!)
• Then choose the one you think is the most interesting (from either your list or your classmates’ lists).
• Set a timer and spend 30 minutes googling the issue you’ve selected, and bookmark articles or copy links that look compelling. Take notes on key ideas and questions related to your topic.
• Write a Post titled Full Name, Social Justice Brainstorm and saved under the category Unit 2 Work that includes the following:
  • Identify the social justice issue you have decided to use for the Annotated Bibliography Project.
  • Write a short paragraph summarizing what you learned in your preliminary research.
  • From there, develop two or three new questions you have about your social justice issue.
    • These should not be “yes or no” questions, but deeper and more comprehensive questions. Keep in mind words like “why” and “how” when developing these questions.
    • For example, if my social justice issue is “accessibility in the remote learning environment,” I would think about questions like “how does an instructor create an effective online class that is equitable and accessible to all participants” or “why are some students falling behind when learning online?” One of these might then become my research question for the Annotated Bibliography Project.
    • Here’s a link to a worksheet that can assist as you write the post that is due. It’s not required, but it might be helpful if you’re feeling a bit lost!
    • Again, do this before class on Wednesday–otherwise, you will feel lost and left out of the class discussion!
    • This post will help you narrow down your topic for the U2 Annotated Bibliography, so do not blow this assignment off!
    • Plus, this is one of those low-stakes writing assignments that makes up 30% of your overall grade.

During part 1 on Wednesday, October 25, we will:

• Re-watch City Tech Library’s Guide to Developing a Research Question
  • Think about where you’re at with your topic and questions.
• Discuss our “Social Justice Brainstorm” posts in small groups and. In your group, you will need to do the following:
  • Send your group mates the link to your “Social Justice Brainstorm.”
    • If you don’t have this assignment completed, you need to inform your group so they don’t wait to see your link–however, you must still do the activity of commenting on the others’ posts before working on your own post.
  • Read your group mates’ posts and comment each post. Be sure to share the following information: if you understand their topic, if their present questions show possible bias or “yes/no” responses, and offer other questions that explore their topic.
  • When you’ve finished your group’s comments, wait for and then review the comments your group has made about your topic and questions. Spend time revising the question(s) and begin research.
    • We’ll have a librarian visit us on November 3 to review how to conduct research using the City Tech library, but don’t wait! Start researching using both the library and the Internet right now. If you have issues or questions, you’ll be able to ask informed questions then!
    • Remember, you need three sources from different genres and one of them must be multimodal (for example, you could use a YouTube video, documentary, TEDTalk, and so on).

During part 2 on Wednesday, October 27, we’ll do the following:

WATCH/DISCUSS:

• PBS’s Theater of War’s Antigone in Ferguson 
• Respond to the Discussion Question “Antigone in Ferguson” (click on the red text).
  • What is the tragic connection between Antigone and Ferguson?
  • What kind of research do you think the theater artists had to do to connect this ancient Greek tragedy to a real-life, modern-day one.
• Just hit “reply” and answer the question by the end of our class.

After class, students will WRITE:

• Write a Post titled Full Name, Response to Antigone in Ferguson and saved under Unit 2 Work that responds to the following questions:
  1. The creators of Antigone in Ferguson wanted to attract people who would not ordinarily attend a production of a Greek play. Why do you think this was important to them?
  2. They also included people from the police force in the preparation and discussion of this version of Antigone. Why do you think they did this?
  3. Did watching Antigone in Ferguson change your view of the original play? Explain your answer.

• Publish the post by class time on Wednesday, November 3.
• Hit “reply” to your “Social Justice Brainstorm” and write your REVISED research question by class time on Wednesday, November 3.
  • Remember, this question shouldn’t show bias, be too broad for a 1,500 word annotated bibliography, or be a “yes/no” question.
  • For example, a biased question might be: “Why are teachers such jerks?” This is a biased question that already suggests an answer, is way too general, and that the writer isn’t open to learning about the topic.
  • A non-biased question might be: “How can we improve student-teacher relationships in college?” This doesn’t let teachers off the hook, but it shows that the writer is open to learning about multiple sides of this issue, plus narrows the scope to college, rather than K-12 and college student-teacher relationships.
  • “Yes/no” questions are not helpful for this writing project, because it isn’t exploring the topic. Remember, this isn’t a traditional research paper where you’re trying to prove a point. You are asking an open-ended question that will have a lot of answers.
  • For example, a “yes/no” question might be: “Are teachers jerks?” The question shows bias and the writer would just be looking for evidence to support their bias.
  • For an example of a non-yes/no question, please refer to the non-biased question above!

• Research your question over the weekend! Use the City Tech library’s online databases or the internet to locate at least one reputable source that helps you respond to your research question. Some useful databases are LexisNexis, Academic Search Complete, and Opposing Viewpoints. Please note: The first source you come across will not necessarily be the best one! You will have to look at multiple sources to find one that is truly useful for your specific question. 
• Read your source carefully a couple of times and take notes. (Either take notes directly on the article or write down ideas and quotes from the text that you find compelling.)