Sharing our DraftsThis week in class students read aloud the rough drafts of their first persuasive essays. They are developing a range of interesting topics including: pharmaceuticals and health, factory farming, cheer as sport, climate change, the value of Lego toys, education, the possibility of alien life, and the dangers of government intrusion. Most students were able to refine their thesis statements from last week and begin to develop several supporting lines of argument. As a group, we provided each writer with feedback and support, which is a valuable process both for the writer and also for those doing the active listening and commenting. We will continue this model of whole-group sharing as we proceed through the semester. It really helps dispel some of the anxiety the students feel about whether they're "doing it right" and also gives everyone a chance to receive and give feedback as well as celebrate each others writing process. Crafting a HookSeveral students had developed effective "hooks" for their essays while others were looking for advice from their peers on how best to write one. We discussed various ways one can engage the audience with a hook, including opening with:
Organizing the Body of your EssayNext week we will look specifically at how to organize the body of the essay. The body of your essay contains the actual development of your argument. Each paragraph presents a single idea (or set of related ideas) that provides support for your main thesis. The effect of these paragraphs, like an ongoing dialogue, is to bring the reader closer and closer to accepting the validity of your thesis. The first step in writing an effective body paragraph is the construction of the topic sentence. Just as the thesis sentence in the introduction holds together your essay, the topic sentence is the glue binding each individual body paragraph. A body paragraph's topic sentence:
Because each body paragraph is a step in building your argument, the paragraphs should be organized in an effective way. One good way to test the strength of both your topic sentences and your argument as a whole is to construct an outline of your paper using only your paper's thesis statement and your topic sentences. This outline should provide a logical overview of your paper's argument; all of your paper's topic sentences should work together to support your thesis statement. HomeworkHomework this week is to continue to work on developing your draft essay based on feedback received in class. For those students that did not get a chance to read their piece this week, please feel free to email me your draft and I will provide you with comments and direction. Specifically, students should work on any one or all of the following areas:
Next week we will listen to the remaining student essays and I will collect rough drafts from all students so that I can provide more in-depth feedback and advice. Please remember to bring in a hard copy. with Rich Piscopo February 24 - Potential and ExistenceDuring our review of the 2/17/14 class, inter-concentric connectedness was again discussed. In one student's notes from the same class, she asked that if someone is part of their parents, didn't that someone always exist [as potential]? Another responded to this by asking about people who were not yet born. She wondered if they existed [as potential]. Then yet another said, "Even when you die, you still exist because you are a part of everyone who knew you." We then called for a definition of existence. The facilitator asked if the definition of existence included becoming. One student in response to the previous comment said, "Even if a picture of you exists, you still exist after you die." At this point, in response to the call for a definition of existence, another said, "There's a difference between existence and living." He went on to say that living is a sub-category of the larger category of existence. In response to this, we heard, "So, if you live in a box, you're not existing." Playing off of this statement, another student said, "If your life is meaningless, you might as well be dead." Then a different student said, "Everyone has a purpose, even if they are unaware of it." He went on to say that our lives are inherently meaningful. One in response said, "We have unlimited potential at every moment." This comment led to a flurry of dialogue, with the group generally agreeing that we are constantly evolving. We are free at every moment to fulfill our potential. We are free at every moment to become the person we want to be! March 3 - Facts and KnowingWhat is a fact? I began our dialogue by giving some philosophical background to this query. I drew heavily on Bertrand Russell's book, The Problems of Philosophy, especially chapter one, "Appearance and Reality." Russell says we do not really see anything. What we really perceive are particles of light striking our retinas, and we infer what the object of our sight is. What we perceive is what Russell calls "sense-data," not the object itself. We make an association between the sense-data and the object. We do not know the object inherently, as it is in and of itself. So, if we cannot know anything inherently, how do we know what is objectively true; how do we know what a fact is? In class, I used the example of observing my green water bottle. Since, according to Russell, we can only infer that the object of our sight is a green water bottle, how can we be absolutely certain we're all observing the same green water bottle? I suggested one way to ascertain what we're seeing is to describe it to one another. We can compare our experiences and see if they correspond to the object in question -- this is the correspondence theory of truth. Although our judgment may not be absolutely certain, it would be highly probable that we are all observing the same object. But, as one student asked, how can we be certain we are talking about the same shade of green when we refer to "that green water bottle?" He said there is too much room for misinterpretation. I suggested that with so much room for misinterpretation, can we ever arrive at the objective, absolute facts connected to that water bottle? He then said we can only arrive at assumptions about the water bottle. One student responded, "Extremely probable assumptions." And another added, "Based on the past." To give our inquiry more meaning, I applied our process to the real-life circumstance of a jury involved with a murder trial weighing the evidence presented to them during the trial. I referred to the superb film, Twelve Angry Men (the 1957 monochrome version). I asked, "So, when juries arrive at a verdict, do they do so with absolute certainty?" The class unanimously said, "No. They make an assumption." Then a student said, "But assumptions are necessary." Another added, "You get as much proof as possible." I asked her, "You mean you arrive at a reasonable assumption?" Before she could answer, another asked, "Is there absolute reason, or is everything an opinion? How do we know if reason is 'reasonable'?" He then went on to describe a hierarchy of reason, with pure reason at the top and various gradations of opinion falling in order below it. A student then asked, "If there is no such thing as a fact, how can you have pure reason?" He responded by asking if reason could be broken down to numbers. She demanded he define his terms: what did he mean by "reason"? He answered, "That which has the most evidence in favor of it is reason." Another then asked, "How do we make decisions, then? If the only system we can test reason with is reason, how do we know it's valid?" I suggested we cannot, because a system cannot analyze itself with certainty. However, we can agree to its universality, and still utilize it. There was a long, reflective pause within the group. I complimented them at arriving at this intellectually honest and philosophically pure state of mind. It is a very valuable state of mind. It is one where one does not make any assumptions or jump to any conclusions. One is open. One is receptive. One's "cup is empty." After another reflective pause, a student said, "It's weird. Every thought I have is not new." Another added, "We take parts of what everyone else said before us." Then yet another said, "If everyone is using everyone else's stuff, where did it all start?" Then this was stated, "We're all part of a mosaic." To this was added, "And our mosaic is part of an even larger mosaic." Then, "Every thought is a hand-me-down." (I had been waiting to ask): "Are there any original thoughts, then?" All said no. Then one reconsidered and asked that we define "original." He said, "If original means a synthesis of what came before, then, yes, we can be original." And another student then said, "What about instincts? Could they be original?" To which another said, "Instincts are undeveloped thoughts." Before we left, I reminded everyone of an ancient quote, "There is nothing new under the sun, only new contexts." with Michelle Cameron Changing Things UpOne thing I’ve noticed is that we spend a lot of time critiquing, leaving us with very little time to write in class. So this week I changed things up – and we wrote first. Because there was limited time, the kids got the choice of what they’d like to read, either what they’d brought or the story they’d started in class. From next week on, however, I’d like to request that the writers bring a copy of their work that I can take home with me. We’ll still read some of them in class (and I’ll keep track so everyone gets equal time to be heard) but the rest I’ll take home. This will allow me to give them more in-depth revision than we can do in class, as well as give us more writing time. If possible, a printed story is best. If that’s impossible, I will take a handwritten one. In both cases, the stories should be double-spaced, to give me room to comment. In addition, I’d like the stories (or additions to works in progress) to be at least 1-2 double-spaced pages. Adding a paragraph or two doesn’t give them time to fully develop their ideas. Creating CharacterWe began class today talking about characters that really stuck with them. Some of the ones they named were from Harry Potter – Harry himself, George, Hermione, Ron. Others included Percy Jackson and The Little Prince. When asked what made a compelling character, however, they started telling me about the plotlines. So we backed up and talked about what made Harry such a great character. They recognized that he was brave and adventurous. Some of the personality traits from those books included intelligence (Hermione) and a mixture of fear and loyalty (Ron). Then I asked to describe Harry, and everyone mentioned his glasses and scar. We talked about how personality is a strong component of character – but their outward appearance is also important. Critique of StoriesAs noted above, we read a mix of stories today – some just their story starts based on the character prompt and some the stories they’d written at home. Some of the topics that came out of their writing this week included:
HomeworkAs always, this week’s homework is a choice. Note that they will always be asked to write at home – and again, that I request they submit their homework to me (i.e., not write just in their notebooks).
Their enthusiasm and excitement is contagious! with Leigh Ann Yoder Build Your Own Skyscraper!The enthusiasm of the students is exciting! After reading about some famous skyscrapers, we kicked off our lesson by being designers. Each team was given about 10 minutes to quickly sketch their fantasy skyscraper on poster board. They were asked to think about the purpose of their building, where it would be built, what name it would have, if it would have windows, where would the elevator(s) be, what would be on the roof, how would it be supported, etc. Each team then had one minute to present their design. One team designed The Sports Authority of America (TSAA) located in middle America. Their building was dome shaped and would host a variety of sport on every level. The students had such a wonderful time with this activity, yet our time was too short. Many wanted to continue, so I encouraged them to work on their own designs at home. Going Up?Before our main challenge we had a brief reading about Elisha Otis and his invention that made the building of skyscrapers a reality. Be certain to ask your students about his invention and its impact on skyscrapers. Our main challenge involved spaghetti and masking tape. Each team was given unlimited spaghetti, but only 8 inches of tape. Their challenge was to build the highest structure possible. The winning team (at left) came in at 24 inches! Again, it seemed the students wanted to continue on this project. Each of them went home with a worksheet that they can use to build their own skyscrapers at home. The only supplies needed are marshmallows and spaghetti. If your student does build a skyscraper please take a photo and send to me, so I can share on Mosaic Minutes. Homework****NEED TO COLLECT toilet paper and paper towel tubes******
Engineer of the Week: Archimedes Watch a Video about Archimedes' Principle Here Semester Project - Job Description: Students are to research their specific engineering profession. They are encouraged to type their responses. A good resource is: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm Another resource is: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/profile/index.html (You need to scroll to the bottom of the page and choose your profession) Story of Inventions (Optional): Read chapter 7 with Ed Insel Interpreting DataThis week, we started with a warm-up problem and then moved on to interpreting the control charts the students worked on last week. The key message was that by studying data over a long period of time, we can recognize when something undergoes a sudden fundamental shift or begins to slowly drift away from normal. Then we looked over temperature and CO2 charts from as far back as 650 million years. The point was to see how difficult it can be to draw conclusions from even reliable sources of data (NOAA, in this case). But don’t get too focused on climate change – it’s just coincidental that this topic provides good, contemporary examples of the topics we’re covering. Energy, medicine, and space exploration will soon be better sources. ExperimentationOur topic was experimentation, and we used a pendulum as our tool. We learned that we can reduce timing errors by averaging the times across multiple swings. We also learned there are lots of ways energy can be lost from a swinging system. Thermodynamic laws tell us that energy can be neither created nor destroyed but that it can change forms. We experimented with increasing the hanging mass, the height from which we started the pendulum, and the length of the string. From this we learned that the period of oscillation (T) is not a function of mass or drop height – it is only a function of the length of the string. I did not give the class the equation for calculating period but here it is: where l is the length of the pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2). Homework for Next SessionThis week’s homework is a reading assignment. Each student has a copy of the Stratfor article “Climate Change: Shifting the Debate to Geopolitics.” The assignment is to read the article and list ten (10) jobs or skill sets that will be needed to address climate change globally. I want you to think broadly about this and not limit yourself to just technologists (examples might be local-language-trained technology implementers, sensor data analysts, solar engineers, agricultural planners, etc.).
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