Blog 19

In light of class the other day I know I need to work on a lot when it comes to my research project. I have my research question but I still need to gather my data. I will be doing this when I interview my participant.

For class I will:

1. Set up how I want to put together my paper
2. Work on introduction
3. Review research I will be using for my literature review.

Blog 18

Short Analysis

Reflective Writing

Research Question: How do some of the language features suggest that A goes from one discourse in excerpt one to another in excerpt two?

I then began to look over the interview again and jot down some of the language features A had that changed from excerpt one to excerpt two. I then decided that in excerpt one A is part of a dangerous internet discourse and in excerpt two she is part of a rebellious internet discourse.

As soon as I had a decent amount of examples and understanding of my topic I began to write my short analysis.

Rubric:
1.Research Question: 20, It is well thought out and is clearly discussed throughout the analysis.
2.Categories of Analysis: 20, Very organized and thought out.
3. Examples: 20, relevant and effective and relates to the research question
4.Statements to connect examples: 8, they are clear but I may need to elaborate more on them
5. Organization: 10
6. Conclusion: 8, May need to be stronger with a better final sentence
7.Grammar: 10

Blog 17

This research essay is going to focus primarily on the learning strategy known as Applied Behavioral Analysis. The studies conducted will determine whether ABA is a beneficial strategy to use on students with disabilities within the classroom to help improve their learning experience. Through research articles I have learned that ABA is used in many schools around the United States and is usually very helpful in a special needs students education. One research article I have used to help support this essay is called “Implementing Applied Behavior Analysis for Effective Orientation and Mobility Instruction of Students with Multiple Disabilities.” Written by Melanie L. O’Mea. Although I am familiar with how ABA works through researching articles, I have never been able to observe and experience first hand how ABA works and benefits a students learning. That is what I will be discovering throughout this research project. By interviewing a teacher who implements ABA within her classroom I hope to discover exactly how ABA is used, how often it is used, how it effects the students, and if it is a learning strategy that benefits the learning process. Also, through the use of ethnography I hope to take part in the use of ABA within the classroom so I can observe and better understand the importance of ABA. 

Blog 16

Halloween Interview

This interview was very good practice. It has helped me realize how to conduct a perfect type of interview. One main thing I learned was that I need to branch off of the questions I ask. Sometimes the person may answer with just one word so from there you need to be able to elaborate on the question you just asked. I now know how to be able to make my interview a lot longer.

Also, I learned that it is good to plan the interview because it will give you the framework of the interview. Without planning you may forget the purpose of the interview and specific things you may want to ask.

I realized that location of the interview needs to be quiet so the person being interviewed can be focused and so the technology works properly.

This was also good practice to try out the technology used for recording the interview. I had never used the recording device before so in doing this I was able to try it out and use it properly.

In doing this interview with Marc I was able to learn about how he has celebrated Halloween from when he was a baby until now. I started off asking questions about his first Halloween and what he remembered and liked about it. From their I began to ask about other aspects of Halloween that he experienced as a child. If I was to go back and redo this interview I would try to branch off of his questions a little more than I did to get more information and a longer interview.

Blog 15

Research Plan

*Statement of purpose: I hope to discover whether the use of ABA within a classroom improves the learning process and overall  schooling experience for students with special needs. I also hope to discover how it is used and why a teacher may find it an important strategy to use within  the classroom. Lastly, I want to discover what the students are getting out of using this learning strategy.

*Detailed Statement of Research Question: How do special needs students at the kindergarten to fourth grade level benefit from the use of the learning strategy Applied Behavioral Analysis within the classroom?

*Information that needs to be gathered: I need to gather information from the teacher I will be interviewing. For example, things like how she uses ABA in her classroom, is it something she likes to use, does it benefit the education of the students, is their anything negative about ABA..etc. Also I need to gather information from the article I have on ABA. This will help me understand how ABA is used by others as well and if it benefits other students.

*Preliminary list of Sources:
1. Individual being interviewed: Teacher
2. Research Article

*Who/What will you be studying: I will be studying how the teacher uses ABA within the classroom  through observation and the interview. I will also be studying the students in the classroom and how the use of ABA effects their learning process within the classroom.

*Where will you collect your information: I will collect my information in the classroom where the learning strategy is used.

*How many subjects will you be studying: One teacher and about three children in the classroom. 

*What methods will you use to conduct your study: I will us the interview method and possibly discourse analysis. 

Blog 14

-Still working on it-

Interview Draft

*What is your name?

*How old are you?

*Where did you attend school to receive your degree in Speech Pathology?

*How many years of schooling did you go through?

*Can you tell me what made you decide to earn a degree as a Speech Pathologist?

*What is your current employment?

*What is the name of the school you are employed at?

*How many children do you teach throughout the day and what grades are they in?

*What types of disabilities do some of your students have?

*Due to some children having disabilities what type of learning strategy do you use to ensure the education of the students?

*Where did you learn about and practice the learning strategy known as Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA?

*Could you give me your definition of ABA?

*Can you tell me why you choose to use this learning strategy in your classroom?

*Can you give me an example of a time a student benefited from ABA?

*Has there ever been a time ABA hasn’t worked for one of your students? Please explain.

*Do the positives effects of ABA outweigh the negatives, How?

*What type of ABA would you recommend to a parent to use in the home with their child?

Blog 13

Transcript: Adult Learner and New Literacies

Language Moves:

*M uses I guess a lot at the beginning of her answers.

*In excerpt 1 it seems as if the M is nervous even talking about her experience with computers at first.

*Ch seems persistent to get more information from M by elaborating on her questions.

*In excerpt 2 it seems as if M is answering questions with more relaxed responses. 

*The word “well” is also used a lot. Especially when M seems unsure of something.

Cultural Discourses

*Teacher Discourse

*Student Discourse

*Parent Discourse

*Technology Discourse

Research Question

*What makes this transcript a technology type discourse?

Examples: 

“Ch: that's very interesting.  OK that was your school experience beginning that fall. So then when you took the computer class, how did you feel, it was obviously different.

M: It was different, and ah, it was a fun experience because the teacher was very good, very willing to work with use, she asked us where we were all, part of the class it was you know, twice a week, once we would meet in the classroom, and the other time we would meet in the computer lab, so it was the history of computers, so we learned about the history of computers, and then it was the actual hands on, how we would use it, so and we had to do projects, each project, we had to do an excel project, we had to do a word project, we had to do what else, what other programs are there, we did excel we did word, we did (thinking) what's it? slides?

These two quotes from Ch and M are examples of how my research question can be answered. The two discuss the computer and the different programs M used in her class, therefor identifying that this is a technology discourse.