at this point i feel as though my paper is coming along nicely. i am at the halfway point for page six and found more resources to include to help solidify my main points. i am happy with the progress of my paper and think that it is easier than i had originally imagined it being.
i did not get much farther than i was on wednesday beacuse i went back and re-organized a few parts so that it flows together better.
one of my problems has always been citing sources internally and i am finding myself mixd up again on how to cite different things such as websites with no author, websites with multiple or one author, scholoarly articles done by a "taskforce," and so on. i will have to dig out my MLA handbook over the weekend and learn the correct way to do it.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Seminar paper drafting
I am getting pretty far with drafting my paper. The thing taking the most time is the organization of it. Bcause there is so much information, it is taking much consideration when breaking things up into different paragraphs. I want to be sure my paper flows without any confusion or jumping around. So far I've got about 3 pages and still have a lot more to write about. I am currently in the middle of writing why the topic I chose is important and I am finding there are more reasons than what I had originally thought.
Wednesday I will continue working on what I ended with today.
Wednesday I will continue working on what I ended with today.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Factness and my Inquiry project
When thinking about whom I can talk to that would provide me with information containing “factness,” I realize that there are a larger number of people in which I could talk to than I had originally thought. Because my topic is based on young children and how their development of literacy skills is affected by issues surrounding speech, I could talk to parents of these children and obtain their take on the topic. Someone with firsthand personal experience, such as a parent, is bound to have some sort of opinion on my topic; parents not only deal with their child’s issue outside of the realm of education, they also deal with it in everyday life.
Second, I am certain that the teacher(s) of a child who is struggling with either a speech delay or impediment would have plenty of facts on how this child’s problem may or may not be affecting their growing knowledge of literacy. The only catch is that I would have to interview a teacher whom has had many years of teaching experience with preschool and kindergarten-aged children and who also places a great emphasis on literacy. I believe that a teacher with these credentials would be extremely beneficial in contributing information that has factness to my research.
I also would consider interviewing a teacher who belongs to a different discourse community aside from a school setting. This would be a daycare teacher who has had years of experience teaching three-five year olds. My current job has given me some insight on the different types of problems in which can occur in young children when it comes to literacy and I am lucky to know five people whom have encountered problems relating to my topic as they have worked in the field for four plus years. Because a daycare has a more informal atmosphere than an actual school would, these coworkers of mine may have different opinions and examples than a school teacher would.
I also cannot leave out speech therapists and teachers who are certified to teach children with special needs. I may include people such as Jan Writer, a professor at Elmhurst College, who specializes in catering to children who have needs other than what constitutes the norm. She also teaches college students these same things. I may opt to include her as she may have information that has factness to it and I may also look up and interview some of the speech professionals we have at Elmhurst College. These people will have one on one experience working with children who have speech impediments and these professionals may be able to provide me with some of their knowledge. Texts that hold factness that relates to my topic may be harder to come across as I am yet to find anything. I feel as though the best type of information regarding my topic would be found in texts written by former or present teachers along with scholars, researchers, and possibly even credible doctors and physicians. These people are all bound to have important information that has factness and will help me with my research topic. Besides interviewing the people above listed and reading texts relating to my topic, I can and will use electronic journals to find articles with factness relating to the topic of speech issues and the development of literacy in young children. Also, I can conduct my own research in two ways. First, by handing out surveys to parents with young children along with preschool and kindergarten teachers I will gain more insight on just how many children are experiencing issues regarding their speech development, and how it may or may not affect their ability to learn literacy at the same rate and level other children their age are learning.
Secondly, I can go to a school, daycare, or both to observe preschool and kindergartners to see how they learn literacy and how the children with learning barriers are taught; I am curious if their learning is at the same pace/level as the other children who do not have any restrictions or barriers on their development. I believe my observations will acquire some factness and information that would not be learned otherwise.
Second, I am certain that the teacher(s) of a child who is struggling with either a speech delay or impediment would have plenty of facts on how this child’s problem may or may not be affecting their growing knowledge of literacy. The only catch is that I would have to interview a teacher whom has had many years of teaching experience with preschool and kindergarten-aged children and who also places a great emphasis on literacy. I believe that a teacher with these credentials would be extremely beneficial in contributing information that has factness to my research.
I also would consider interviewing a teacher who belongs to a different discourse community aside from a school setting. This would be a daycare teacher who has had years of experience teaching three-five year olds. My current job has given me some insight on the different types of problems in which can occur in young children when it comes to literacy and I am lucky to know five people whom have encountered problems relating to my topic as they have worked in the field for four plus years. Because a daycare has a more informal atmosphere than an actual school would, these coworkers of mine may have different opinions and examples than a school teacher would.
I also cannot leave out speech therapists and teachers who are certified to teach children with special needs. I may include people such as Jan Writer, a professor at Elmhurst College, who specializes in catering to children who have needs other than what constitutes the norm. She also teaches college students these same things. I may opt to include her as she may have information that has factness to it and I may also look up and interview some of the speech professionals we have at Elmhurst College. These people will have one on one experience working with children who have speech impediments and these professionals may be able to provide me with some of their knowledge. Texts that hold factness that relates to my topic may be harder to come across as I am yet to find anything. I feel as though the best type of information regarding my topic would be found in texts written by former or present teachers along with scholars, researchers, and possibly even credible doctors and physicians. These people are all bound to have important information that has factness and will help me with my research topic. Besides interviewing the people above listed and reading texts relating to my topic, I can and will use electronic journals to find articles with factness relating to the topic of speech issues and the development of literacy in young children. Also, I can conduct my own research in two ways. First, by handing out surveys to parents with young children along with preschool and kindergarten teachers I will gain more insight on just how many children are experiencing issues regarding their speech development, and how it may or may not affect their ability to learn literacy at the same rate and level other children their age are learning.
Secondly, I can go to a school, daycare, or both to observe preschool and kindergartners to see how they learn literacy and how the children with learning barriers are taught; I am curious if their learning is at the same pace/level as the other children who do not have any restrictions or barriers on their development. I believe my observations will acquire some factness and information that would not be learned otherwise.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Audience is important
When deciding on what text to use to help me with my inquiry research, I opted to revisit an article that we have already read and discussed. This article is Ede and Lundsford’s Audience Addressed/Audience Invoked. I chose to re-read this because the more I think about the topic I have selected for my Inquiry Project, the more I feel as though the greatest way to make my paper successful is to really put thought into who my target audience is. My topic may be interesting and appealing to many members of the "general public," however; being that it relates to children and education, I feel strongly that there is a certain audience I should be shooting for.
Ede and Lundsford’s article reminded me that I need to be aware differences between audiences and that I should select one specific group of people in which I wish to affect. Doing this can only lead to a successful, well thought out paper.
Ede and Lundsford’s article reminded me that I need to be aware differences between audiences and that I should select one specific group of people in which I wish to affect. Doing this can only lead to a successful, well thought out paper.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Inquiry paper thoughts
I think the general public will find this topic important, however; the audience my paper will draw will be a select group of people. The people I am expecting to be most interested in my paper are people with young children and/or people who are considering having children. Readers will find the question of issues concerning speech delay and how it affects a young child’s learning of literacy most interesting and helpful when they have a connection or some sort of personal experience with the topic.
I don’t see why a scholarly discourse community would not be interested in the questions and concerns my paper may raise when preschool and kindergarten-aged children are the ones who will be running the country in the not so distant future. If a discourse community is labeled as “scholarly,” then it is assumed that they will care about the education and emerging problems of our youth.
I think that the topic of speech delay and how it affects the learning of literacy in a young child is universally believed to be a quite important and more common problem in schools today. The number of children being diagnosed with speech delays and impediments is growing more and more each year and it is important to know how it affects a child’s learning. With new knowledge of how it affects learning in certain areas, specifically literacy in this case, teachers will know where and how to adjust their lesson plans so that all children will receive equal opportunity at success in the classroom.
My experience working at a daycare for over two years has left me with the impression that parents depend on teachers to notice learning disabilities that may be present in their children and expect the teachers to correct it without any professional outside help (i.e. speech therapist). In today’s society, most parents are too busy with their lifestyle aside from their children to take the time to get the help their child needs and assume that their child’s schoolteacher will correct it, or the problem will correct itself in time. I’m hoping that this idea will change with the results of my paper.
I am writing this paper with hopes that the results will have an effect on my target audience and that after all is said and done, people will take action on the problems existing not only in terms of speech impediments but in other areas of a child’s life as well. I am going to write this paper in hopes that parents and teachers will learn a great deal about how critical it is for children to learn literacy at the preschool/kindergarten age and that existing issues in their development may have an impact with their learning.
I don’t see why a scholarly discourse community would not be interested in the questions and concerns my paper may raise when preschool and kindergarten-aged children are the ones who will be running the country in the not so distant future. If a discourse community is labeled as “scholarly,” then it is assumed that they will care about the education and emerging problems of our youth.
I think that the topic of speech delay and how it affects the learning of literacy in a young child is universally believed to be a quite important and more common problem in schools today. The number of children being diagnosed with speech delays and impediments is growing more and more each year and it is important to know how it affects a child’s learning. With new knowledge of how it affects learning in certain areas, specifically literacy in this case, teachers will know where and how to adjust their lesson plans so that all children will receive equal opportunity at success in the classroom.
My experience working at a daycare for over two years has left me with the impression that parents depend on teachers to notice learning disabilities that may be present in their children and expect the teachers to correct it without any professional outside help (i.e. speech therapist). In today’s society, most parents are too busy with their lifestyle aside from their children to take the time to get the help their child needs and assume that their child’s schoolteacher will correct it, or the problem will correct itself in time. I’m hoping that this idea will change with the results of my paper.
I am writing this paper with hopes that the results will have an effect on my target audience and that after all is said and done, people will take action on the problems existing not only in terms of speech impediments but in other areas of a child’s life as well. I am going to write this paper in hopes that parents and teachers will learn a great deal about how critical it is for children to learn literacy at the preschool/kindergarten age and that existing issues in their development may have an impact with their learning.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Inquiry project
Part I: Exploration
1. Identify the issue or problem that you plan to focus on in your Inquiry Project. For my inquiry project, I would like to focus on the issues surrounding literacy at an early age (preschool-kindergarten).
2. What is your personal connection to and interest in this topic? The personal connection I have that raises my interest level in this topic is my love for children aged four-six. Although I love children of all ages, I feel that the preschool years are the most important to a child’s learning. Not only is their learning just important, the children are interested and curious about everything. This makes for the perfect time to introduce a child to literacy.
I was a tutor many years ago, it was more of an informal thing for a neighbor I used to baby-sit, for a five year old who was just beginning to learn how to read. She was having many problems differentiating sounds to words and tended to read without pausing for periods and commas. Tutoring her made me appreciate the instruction I had from a young age but also made me realize that not everyone is taught to read properly from an early age.
3. What opinions do you already hold about this topic?
I believe that literacy is one of the most critical areas of learning for a young child and if it is not taught correctly or early enough in a child’s life, the instruction will not be as effective as it would have been earlier on.
I also believe that by simply reading to your or other children on a daily basis, many times a day, is crucial to their interest in reading themselves and learning the language. Although reading is important, the tone of voice in which you read in is just as important. The more a child senses you are engaged and willing to read, the more they will want to take part in reading as well.
4. What knowledge do you already have about this topic. What are your main questions about this topic? What are you most curious about? I do not have any professional teaching experience nor have I done any observing at any schools, however; working at a daycare with various age groups for three years has given me some sort of feel for the need for reading and literacy instruction at an early age.
I am curious about the process in which a child learns literacy and how people (parents, teachers, etc.) go about expanding on their learning and keep up their interest in the subject.
6. How might composition theorists and researchers approach or study this topic? Does this approach differ from those of other related disciplines (such as communication studies)?
After answering the questions above, I am beginning to see that an approach to this topic would best come from psychologists who do research on children and their learning process and habits. A researcher may delve into the issues surrounding literacy and gather their information through surveys of people with young children and possibly by conducting interviews with teachers and or parents to explore teaching methods and thoughts on literacy in general.
7. How could you research this topic outside the library (for example, through interviews and/or observations)?
I feel as though I would have an easy time researching he topic of learning literacy in young children because I presently work at daycare in which I work with children of all ages and have access to other teachers’ thoughts and opinions.
Also, my sister-in-law’s mother and aunt and uncle are all middle school teachers whose lesson plans all include reading and writing. I could interview them on their views and methods of teaching literacy and inquire about the types of issues they see regarding the child’s learning of literacy throughout a typical school year.
Lastly, I could put out a survey to parents of young children in which would address their child’s learning habits and how the parents themselves help their child acquire the knowledge of reading.
Write an initial claim, or an open-ended question, to guide your research on this topic. Make it specific but exploratory. Remember that a good claim opens up an area of inquiry about a topic; a claim should invite evidence, support, and debate.
There are many issues revolving around the subject of literacy in young children and if the issues are not met at an early enough age, chances for that child’s knowledge on the topic are not guaranteed to be as successful as a child whose needs have been met and have been properly taught language and literacy.
Parents and teachers of young children need to realize how crucial it is for a child to be introduced to literacy at a young age.
1. Identify the issue or problem that you plan to focus on in your Inquiry Project. For my inquiry project, I would like to focus on the issues surrounding literacy at an early age (preschool-kindergarten).
2. What is your personal connection to and interest in this topic? The personal connection I have that raises my interest level in this topic is my love for children aged four-six. Although I love children of all ages, I feel that the preschool years are the most important to a child’s learning. Not only is their learning just important, the children are interested and curious about everything. This makes for the perfect time to introduce a child to literacy.
I was a tutor many years ago, it was more of an informal thing for a neighbor I used to baby-sit, for a five year old who was just beginning to learn how to read. She was having many problems differentiating sounds to words and tended to read without pausing for periods and commas. Tutoring her made me appreciate the instruction I had from a young age but also made me realize that not everyone is taught to read properly from an early age.
3. What opinions do you already hold about this topic?
I believe that literacy is one of the most critical areas of learning for a young child and if it is not taught correctly or early enough in a child’s life, the instruction will not be as effective as it would have been earlier on.
I also believe that by simply reading to your or other children on a daily basis, many times a day, is crucial to their interest in reading themselves and learning the language. Although reading is important, the tone of voice in which you read in is just as important. The more a child senses you are engaged and willing to read, the more they will want to take part in reading as well.
4. What knowledge do you already have about this topic. What are your main questions about this topic? What are you most curious about? I do not have any professional teaching experience nor have I done any observing at any schools, however; working at a daycare with various age groups for three years has given me some sort of feel for the need for reading and literacy instruction at an early age.
I am curious about the process in which a child learns literacy and how people (parents, teachers, etc.) go about expanding on their learning and keep up their interest in the subject.
6. How might composition theorists and researchers approach or study this topic? Does this approach differ from those of other related disciplines (such as communication studies)?
After answering the questions above, I am beginning to see that an approach to this topic would best come from psychologists who do research on children and their learning process and habits. A researcher may delve into the issues surrounding literacy and gather their information through surveys of people with young children and possibly by conducting interviews with teachers and or parents to explore teaching methods and thoughts on literacy in general.
7. How could you research this topic outside the library (for example, through interviews and/or observations)?
I feel as though I would have an easy time researching he topic of learning literacy in young children because I presently work at daycare in which I work with children of all ages and have access to other teachers’ thoughts and opinions.
Also, my sister-in-law’s mother and aunt and uncle are all middle school teachers whose lesson plans all include reading and writing. I could interview them on their views and methods of teaching literacy and inquire about the types of issues they see regarding the child’s learning of literacy throughout a typical school year.
Lastly, I could put out a survey to parents of young children in which would address their child’s learning habits and how the parents themselves help their child acquire the knowledge of reading.
Write an initial claim, or an open-ended question, to guide your research on this topic. Make it specific but exploratory. Remember that a good claim opens up an area of inquiry about a topic; a claim should invite evidence, support, and debate.
There are many issues revolving around the subject of literacy in young children and if the issues are not met at an early enough age, chances for that child’s knowledge on the topic are not guaranteed to be as successful as a child whose needs have been met and have been properly taught language and literacy.
Parents and teachers of young children need to realize how crucial it is for a child to be introduced to literacy at a young age.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Reflection on my own experience
The situation I can think of goes way back to when I was a child, about fourteen or fifteen years ago. I know there are more, but this particular situation left me feeling uncomfortable and had somewhat of an impact on the person I am today. I feel as though the situation I was put in somewhat shaped me to be the person I am today; quiet and reserved when in front of large groups of people.
I remember my childhood quite fondly when I think back to the days my mom would drop me off at my grandma’s house and we would do whatever in the world we could think of. Shopping, going out to lunch, watching TV, and playing cards and board games were most of the things we took part in during our long summer days together when I did not have to attend school. It was the best time of my life. I was completely spoiled by my grandma and she saw nothing wrong with it. I spent endless nights at my grandparent’s house and my grandpa was just as much fun as my grandma, teaching me about golf, computers, boxing, and flying (he was a pilot and had his own small plane at the time). The list could go on forever about the things I learned and did with my grandparents.
Although I had the time of my life from the moment I was dropped off at grandma’s to the time I left, I was missing some interaction with kids my age. I went to a small, catholic school, so I had lots of close friends there, but the best ones I had always seemed to go away for the summer. This left me to find kids to play with around my grandma’s house. The day I met Melissa, a neighbor from own the street who was two years older than me, was what I thought to be the start of a very good friendship. She was older, knew better games to play, and she had a brother one year younger than me. The perfect sized play group, or so I thought.
The first couple days I new Melissa we had a blast and could mostly be found playing outside in my grandma’s nicely kept, big yard. It wasn’t until about three days into our friendship when she said something to me that left a part of me scarred and sometimes afraid to speak in front of large groups of people. Melissa told me to my face that I “talk like a baby.” She did not mean it in the sense that I cooed and gurgled, yet she said this meaning that I had a voice like a baby. My voice was never loud or unbearable, as I was always a mild mannered kid yet, there was something about the tone I held when I spoke which lead my new BFF (or what I had thought to be) to say something hurtful like this to me.
As I looked back on the situation as I was growing up, I always kept in the back of my mind, the look on her face and the tone of her voice as she told me that I talked or sounded like a baby, a little kid even. I was eight years old, I did not want to be viewed as a little child… I thought I was big and smart. Now that I am an adult, I still look back on that day and realize that she did not actually mean the words she spoke; she was upset that my grandma had called me in to get cleaned up before my mom came to pick me up. Melissa spoke those words out of frustration that I had to go inside and could not stay out to play with her and her brother any longer. Even though I know that Melissa may not have truly meant those words, I always keep that comment glued in the back of my head and I feel as though it has given me the type of personality I have today.
I remember my childhood quite fondly when I think back to the days my mom would drop me off at my grandma’s house and we would do whatever in the world we could think of. Shopping, going out to lunch, watching TV, and playing cards and board games were most of the things we took part in during our long summer days together when I did not have to attend school. It was the best time of my life. I was completely spoiled by my grandma and she saw nothing wrong with it. I spent endless nights at my grandparent’s house and my grandpa was just as much fun as my grandma, teaching me about golf, computers, boxing, and flying (he was a pilot and had his own small plane at the time). The list could go on forever about the things I learned and did with my grandparents.
Although I had the time of my life from the moment I was dropped off at grandma’s to the time I left, I was missing some interaction with kids my age. I went to a small, catholic school, so I had lots of close friends there, but the best ones I had always seemed to go away for the summer. This left me to find kids to play with around my grandma’s house. The day I met Melissa, a neighbor from own the street who was two years older than me, was what I thought to be the start of a very good friendship. She was older, knew better games to play, and she had a brother one year younger than me. The perfect sized play group, or so I thought.
The first couple days I new Melissa we had a blast and could mostly be found playing outside in my grandma’s nicely kept, big yard. It wasn’t until about three days into our friendship when she said something to me that left a part of me scarred and sometimes afraid to speak in front of large groups of people. Melissa told me to my face that I “talk like a baby.” She did not mean it in the sense that I cooed and gurgled, yet she said this meaning that I had a voice like a baby. My voice was never loud or unbearable, as I was always a mild mannered kid yet, there was something about the tone I held when I spoke which lead my new BFF (or what I had thought to be) to say something hurtful like this to me.
As I looked back on the situation as I was growing up, I always kept in the back of my mind, the look on her face and the tone of her voice as she told me that I talked or sounded like a baby, a little kid even. I was eight years old, I did not want to be viewed as a little child… I thought I was big and smart. Now that I am an adult, I still look back on that day and realize that she did not actually mean the words she spoke; she was upset that my grandma had called me in to get cleaned up before my mom came to pick me up. Melissa spoke those words out of frustration that I had to go inside and could not stay out to play with her and her brother any longer. Even though I know that Melissa may not have truly meant those words, I always keep that comment glued in the back of my head and I feel as though it has given me the type of personality I have today.
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