Blog 7

How does the fact that everyone is taking notes shape the experience?

Point 1: Note takers notes and observations are focused on the fact that other people are taking notes rather than what the conversations/body language/ environment is about:
          Example: Number 4 in his/her observations said “I think this activity worked very well because we were able to see what its like to take fieldnotes as well as being able to get to know our classmates a little better.”
          Reasoning: This shows that this person focused on taking the field notes instead of making it a genuine interaction with people and taking field notes.  This person observed and reflected on the process of taking field note opposed to taking notes on getting to know people in the classroom.  If the observation’s part of the field note revealed

          Example: Number 7 in his/her observations said “Others took it just as the part to get there notes written.”  
          Reasoning: This shows that some people clearly were just there to take the notes and not to get to know our fellow classmates.  This proves that the fact that everyone is taking notes shapes the experience.  If some people knew they were taking notes others might have altered their conversation just based on the fact that they know someone is taking notes on it.  Some people may not be invested in getting to know others as much if they are more focused on taking notes on everything else.

Point 2: The fact that everyone was taking notes took away from the focus of this ethnographic study. Due to there being no focus besides taking notes people didn’t really know what to talk or write about, creating an awkward environment for some individuals.
          Example:  This observer stated in things they remembered: “In the beginning it seemed like no one wanted to approach each other, either because they were feeling uncomfortable or they didn't know what to say. Either way, it was a bit awkward.”
          Reasoning: This example shows that due to there being no focus besides taking notes the study seemed very awkward and people didn’t know what to say. For many there was an uncomfortable feeling, most likely affecting the note taking process during the study. Maybe if there had been a specific focus besides specifically note taking, people may have felt more relaxed and comfortable.

Point 3: Note takers seem to be focused on taking notes on people’s reactions (nervous, talkative) rather than taking notes on what the person was actually saying.
          Example: Number 10 in his/her observations said, “Although the conversations were casual, there were some who were nervous, myself included (as I always am).  Some classmates were more open about themselves than others, eager to talk about who they are and share their interests with others.  Other classmates (myself included) were unsure of what to talk about, as it's not easy to force a conversation for them.”
          Reasoning: This shows that they were focused on seeing other people’s reactions, as well as well as their own, and wrote those reactions down for their notes instead of writing down what people were saying about themselves. It shows that they were focused on the observation part of their field notes.

Blog 6

Jottings

*Marc Ennis is wearing a red sweatshirt, jeans, and he says he likes Kean.
*Debra has dark hair, shes from Scotch Plains, very nice, and said she likes to drink alcohol.
*Mark Bergen was wearing a green sweater, he likes to surf in the ocean, he told me I was boring. He was kind of rude.(We were joking)
*The classroom is very talkative at this point, at the beginning it was very awkward and quiet.
*People are laughing.
*I began talking to Megan. She is in a sorority and she says she loves her sisters. She works at the CLS and she commutes.
*I met Angie as well, she is an english writing major, she commutes, we were in the same class last semester.
*Katelynn  said she commutes and lives just in town.
*Emily was also in my creative writing class last semester.

Headnotes
As I sat up to begin the activity in class everyone kind of looked at each other nervously. No one seemed to want to talk to people they didn't know. As the professor began to push us along we all maneuvered out of our seats and began the activity. Everyone was extremely nice while walking around the classroom making conversation. Some people were hesitant to ask questions and others asked many questions. Upon beginning the activity I began talking to people I was more familiar with in the class. Mark Ennis who usually sits right next to me was wearing a red sweatshirt, jeans, and he told me he likes Kean. I then turned to my friend Debra who sits next to me in class. She has dark hair and is from Scotch Plains. I then began talking to another friend of mine, Mark Bergen. He was wearing a green sweater. Mark told me during our conversation that he enjoys surfing and then told me that I was boring because my favorite place to be is home. As I began to talk to other people in the classroom I began to notice that the volume level had gone up and people seemed much more relaxed and having a good time. I then met Megan. She told me she is in a sorority and she loves her sisters very much. Angie told me that she is an english writing major and she commutes to school. Katelynn told me she lives in town and Emily told me she was in my creative writing class semester. I learned a lot about people during this activity and I met many new friends.

Things I remembered Later
*I remembered later that talkative people made better eye contact, those who were more shy made less eye contact.
*I also noticed that many people began talking to people they already knew before getting to know the strangers.
*At the end of the activity people didnt want to stop talking with one another.
*There were many different ethnicities in the class.
*Some people talked loudly, others talked very soft.

Observations about what happened
I observed that many people were very hesitant to getting to know and talk to others. As soon as people began to break out of their shells no one seemed nervous. The energy in the room went up and soon conversation was flowing from everyones mouths. Some talked more then others and some talked way too much.

Blog 5

During our class discussion on discourse communities we theorized that some seem stronger when they are smaller in numbers. After reviewing our findings I found that certain groups lack a lot of communication, which in turns takes away form the group being a discourse community. Communication is a vital aspect in a discourse community, according to Swales. Its how the individuals in the group share their ideas and beliefs, this way everybody learns from one another. We can test this theory by taking certain discourse communities, ranging in sizes and see how well they communicate and how it effects the group. If the communication is strong the discourse community will benefit in a positive way. Some other data we could collect to see if our data is true would be to go interview individuals from discourse communities. We could ask the individuals what they think makes their community the most discourse and what makes it the least discourse. 

Blog 4

Eng 3029*02: Discourse Community

1)A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.

• Pass the class.

* Complete course requirements on syllabus

 * Produce essays through drafting process

 * Identify central ideas of a text through discussion

• Give an interactive presentation

In our class we all have a set of common goals that we all wish to accomplish. Along with completing requirements in the syllabus in order to receive an A at the end of the semester. We all are also required to produce essays, identify central ideas through class discussions, and give an interactive presentation. All of these aspects of our classroom makes it a discourse community. 

2) A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among

it’s members.

            * Class discussion

            * Email

            * Blog

            * Handouts

In our class English 3029, we are a discourse community because intercommunication is very important within the classroom. We are working on ways of analyzing data, and it makes it essential to discuss ideas with the classroom because every person analyzes data differently. We communicate by bringing our ideas and research to other members within the discourse community, and we collaborate through that. That can be worked through class discussion, e-mail, blogs, and hand-outs.

3) A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.

            *Feedback from blog

             *Syllabus

In our class English 3029  we have a discourse community because we use participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback. We get feedback from our blogs. It gives us information daily regarding what we are learning in class. It also lets us see what other people in the class think about what we are learning. The syllabus used in the class also provides information and feedback. It lets us know the schedule for the entire semester, among other important things regarding the class. 

4) A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.

* Readings

* Shaggy dog stories

    *Looking at classmate blogs

In our class English 3029 we utilize many different genres. Among these genres are different readings given to us by our professor. The Shaggy Dog Stories are a good example of stories given to us and discussed in class. Looking at and reviewing our classmates blogs is another way in which our community utilized genres. This furthers our learning process as a whole. In turn making us a discourse community.

5) In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis:

            * Discourse

            * Ethnography

            * lexis

            * Methodologies

Our class English 3029 is considered to be a discourse community. Many communities that are considered to be a discourse share common features, such as language. In every discourse community there is a particular set of vocabulary words that are used to communicate. Our class is a discourse community because we use words such as discourse, ethnography, lexis, and methodologies on a daily basis in order to communicate and understand one another. For someone who is not part of our discourse they would most likely not understand many of these terms.   

6)A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable

degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise.

            *Professor will always be in class

• Students eventually graduate

All students in our classroom have the goal in mind to graduate and will all most likely graduate. This means that all the students in our class have some knowledge and interest in the course material. Also, the professor within the classroom will always be there teaching the next set of students, making the classroom a discourse community. 

Blog 3

Courtney Parker
Debra DelleDonne
Dina Rodrigues
Marc Ennis

The Shaggy dog stories are ones that can definitely keep its readers interested. Their bizarre beginnings pull a reader in until they reach the end where the joke is revealed and hopefully the reader understands it. After reading all the Shaggy dog stories my group and I discovered that all of the stories have very unique features in common. Together we began to list all the common features that we could find. One common feature we found were the different puns in each of the stories. We also determined that all of these puns would not be understood in another language. Say they were written in spanish or german, they would not come out the same and the reader would not find it funny. 

Furthermore another feature that is common between all the Shaggy Dog Stories are the conflicts that occur. The string faces the conflict of not being given a beer because he is a string, Robinson Crusoe falls deathly ill, a lawyer and his friend come across two bears in the wild, a panda escapes the zoo and opens fire in a restaurant, and lastly a florist’s business goes under due  to friars opening up their own flower shop. All of these stories as you can see have the common feature of having some sort of conflict. Another common feature of all the stories is the type of character within them. All of these characters are very flat, with one dimension. For example, the string is just a string, we don’t know anything about him or what he is. Just that he is in a bar and can’t get a beer. Same thing with the Panda. We don’t know how he escaped the zoo or why. He’s just a panda in a restaurant shooting people for no apparent reason. 

Additionally, what we noticed about the set of shaggy dog stories that we read were that all of the stories, had a premise not based in reality. We all know its not possible for a panda to walk into a restaurant and shoot people, just like we know its not possible for a string to order a beer at a bar. You also have to suspend your belief that god would be present as a glowing light, and that a bear would swallow someone whole. On the same issue of unrealistic events being portrayed in the readings there is always a realistic setting with the punchline rationalizing the meaning of the two conflicting scenarios. For example in the string story, we see something unrealistic like a  talking string but is set in a realistic setting like going into bar and ordering a beer, and that sets up the basis of the joke. Like most stories, the jokes here all have one or more characters having a conversation with each other. For the shaggy dog stories it seems to be imperative for progressing and setting up the basis of the story that there is some sort of dialog.

Another main feature we found within the shaggy dog stories was that each of the stories has a main character. Each story was focused on the journey of each character which was the focus of the joke. Although we did not learn much about the characters personal lives, we knew just enough about them to understand their emotions. Another feature that we found to reoccur within the stories was the central setting. Each story took place in a specific area that also added to the joke. The characters in each story all had a different setting, but all settings took place in a public area. For instance, the panda in the restaurant, the string in the bar and the friars in the flower shop. Each character was out in public dealing with their personal lives. We were also able to analyze that each story had an ending statement that wrapped up the meaning of the story. This is a very important aspect not only to jokes but to any story, the ending is where the story should make the most sense. The ending of the shaggy dog stories all share the same feature of the ending statement summing up the story.   

Also, within the Shaggy Dog Stories, the end of each story ended with a play on words, also known as a pun. For example, in the third story about the string who was repeatedly refused a drink, thus the string tied himself into a bow and unraveling the ends of himself [he’s a string]. The story ends with the string once again ordering his beer and the bartender asking him if he’s the string from before. To quote the story, “The string replied coolly, "Nope, I'm a frayed knot." Here, ”a frayed” sounds like “afraid” and “knot” sounds like “not”. The humor is that both interpretations are accurate to the situation in the story, not to mention that the entire story hinges on that particular pun as if the pun was the focus and the story was then built around it. Seeing as it is the last line and the punch line of the story, the reader is left to giggle on this play on words. 

The stories also contain characters with very specific needs and desires with are logical, at least within the context of the story. Those needs and desires are then achieved, even if they seem ridiculous. For example, in the story where the panda is ordering food, the Panda is actually given the food he orders. This is logically explained by the story in that the reader finds out the panda can speak like a normal human being. Also, because of the location, which is New York City, it is explained that the population there has see so many strange things that it would actually be illogical for a New Yorker to panic or to question the presence of a panda in a restaurant. Furthermore, after the panda has its shooting spree, the panda requests that someone look up the definition of a panda, and the other characters present heed that request. In essence, no request is too ridiculous for any character in a Shaggy Dog Story; the request may not be achieved in a conventional way, but it will be achieved.

Lastly, some of the stories have dark humor which is a variant feature. As a variant, dark humor and violence are often the main features of the stories. For example, in the story about the lawyer whose friend was eaten by a bear, the act of being eaten is very violent. Subsequently calling someone to shoot the bear is also very violent. Moreover, the punch line, which is a pun as well [see #4] has an element of dark humor [i.e. "Would you believe a lawyer who told you the Czech was in the male?"]. On the other hand, there are Shaggy Dog stories that do not contain violence or dark humor. In the story about the string who wanted a drink, the string did not resort to violence in order to get a drink nor was any violence commit onto the string. Furthermore, the punch line was an innocent play on words ["Nope, I'm a frayed knot."], making violence and dark humor possible variant to this kind of story/joke telling.

Blog 2

After reading the post from yesterdays class I determined that there is a lot more to an analysis then I expected. I would describe analysis as if it were a staircase. Each step you accomplish something and inch closer to the breaking down or better understanding of a certain topic. I feel the biggest step in analysis is the defining process. If you do not define the problem how can you break it down to the point of solving it or understanding it? You need to first define the problem before moving on to any other steps in analysis. Breaking problems down into groups or categories is also an important step in analysis. It gives who ever is making the analysis a better understanding of the problem when things have similarities or certain patterns identified. Through this step an individual can develop their theory. A theory can then be tested to see whether or not a persons step by step analysis of the problem was in fact correct. Analysis seems like a long process to determine a theory about a certain problem but in the end it is very effective when used properly.

Analysis is a very helpful tool that I could use while developing my research project regarding the teaching of children with Autism. Autism at times can be a very difficult learning disability to understand. In some classroom settings children with Autism are not receiving the education they deserve. It could be due to improper teaching methods, wrongful class room placement, a poor environment, and so much more. I would like to do an analysis of a child with Autism who is struggling in school and determine what the cause could be. I feel that this type of issue can be discovered through the step by step process of analysis. First, define the problem the student is having, notice the features of his behavior, categorize his behavior with another student who may have Autism as well, look for a pattern, create a theory, and finally test the theory. Through this analytical process I am hoping the education of this student may improve along with other students who may have Autism and are struggling in school due to certain circumstances.

My first blog:my interests

For the past three years I have been working on a degree to become a special education teacher, with a second major in english writing. I have always been interested in researching the type of intellectual disabilities some children have. Through this I would someday want to benefit the education these students are receiving. One intellectual disability I am very interested in is Autism. Autism is a well known disability in our world that is growing in numbers every day. I want to be someone who researches, writes about, and educates those on Autism.

-Courtney Parker