1. I-Search Proposal Jason Malczewski

Proposal: Why should grammar be taught through writing and in context, rather than separate grammar exercises? What are the benefits in teaching grammar through context, and are there any downfalls?

What I know

The use of writing, especially students own writing to teach grammar is beneficial to students. When grammar is taught as separate lessons, it seems to have less of an effect on the students’ writing. Students make more meaning of the grammar by looking at it through the context and making sense of it as they see it on the paper. Students actually get to see how the grammar fits into writing rather than just hearing it during a lesson and trying to apply it to their writing in the future. Teachers should expose students to a variety of literature both by having students read and by reading to the students. This will help develop better vocabulary and improve the students’ usage of syntax properly. There are a number of exercises that can be used during a lesson to teach different parts of grammar through the use of writing. Close examining of literature can help the teacher teach skills and concepts when they are needed, therefore students will make more sense of whatever is being taught. And finally, the teacher should encourage students to write. As students write more and more, the teacher has more opportunities to “coach” through short micro lessons and quick one on one sessions. Students will benefit the most by looking at their own paper and obtaining grammar lessons on how to improve what they wrote.

What I would like to know:

I would like to know the theory behind this approach to teaching grammar through context. I want to know why this approach works more effectively than teaching lessons on a particular point. I do understand that the teaching through context works more effectively, but I would like to know exactly why so as I apply it to my teaching I will understand why the children will benefit more.

I would like to find out some other strategies that I haven’t been exposed to and ideas that I haven’t heard of. I might actually combine this idea with my other I-search idea of image grammar together because I think they could fit hand and hand. Harry Noden’s image grammar uses writing in a variety of ways to teach and promote better grammar.

I would like to find statistics comparing the use of ordinary grammar lessons versus teaching grammar through context. I would also like to find out some opinions current teachers have on this approach.

2. Peter T. Hirsch

How to Motivate the Unmotivated Student during the Writing Process:

Throughout my academic career, I have encountered many unmotivated student writers, who frequently try to avoid the process altogether at all costs. Students would do anything to avoid the possible embarrassment the writing process offers. I know many students in our community, use the excuses, “I have writers block,” or “Why should I learn this,” to escape the pressures of writing. The unmotivated student writer waits until they are force to write something they strongly oppose or have a lack of interest in. Instead of forcing these students to write in our classrooms, I wish to know how we can encourage an extracurricular interest in the writing process.

As a future educator I would like to know, how the classroom teacher can motivate and spark an interest in their students during the writing process. I wish to expand my knowledge on how a teacher can incorporate the student’s interests into a variety of writing activities. How can a Social Studies teacher make the writing process fun and relevant to their students? How can I use different writing activities to motivate the unmotivated student? These are just a few questions in the quest to find out how we can encourage the writing process both in and out of the classroom. An unmotivated student writer presents a significant problem for both the teacher and the unmotivated student. If a student is unmotivated to write, they may encounter a very difficult and tedious road to their eventual success or possible failure.

3. Corina Pignatti I-search proposal

For my I-search paper, I would like to propose the idea of free writing in the English elementary/middle school classroom. Since taking this class I have learned what free writing really is and how important it is to making a good writer. I have never thought of something so simple to be so significant. Free writing is something that has really struck my interest for this I-search Proposal.

Is the concept of Free writing important in elementary schools?

Already Know: Like I said before, this class has already taught me a lot about the importance of free writing that I would have never thought of before. I have learned that free writing is a great tool to just letting your thoughts flow onto paper. It is a great mechanism especially for those who may have such problems as writer’s block, which it goes comparably along with.

Free writing is great start to accomplishing well written papers, in my opinion; it is one of the best tools to the brainstorming part of the writing process. Not only is it a way to simply jot down, without thinking too hard about what, on paper everything you’re thinking and feeling but it is a way to help yourself understand more about yourself. Sometimes when free writing you realize a lot more about yourself that you never thought you would any other time. For example, when free writing about something either of interest to you, or not of interest to you, one can learn a lot through the flow of the writing, things that you would never really see yourself thinking or using in a paper. But when it comes to free writing, that’s exactly what it is for. The almost surprise you feel when you look back and read what you just wrote and can actually take out a lot of the information and use it in a structured paper.

What do you want to know? I would like to know what free writing really does to the brain when a small child is actually in the process of doing it. What is the process of thinking and writing? Why do students write their thoughts in the particular order they do? Is it because that’s just simply the order they were thinking it in? Or is there more to it.

I would like to know who is being affected by free writing? Are most students taking an activity as this and considering it useless and a waste of time, or are they considering it something that can be useful and helpful with their thought and writing process? If a young student is given a topic that they are not as interested in, would they still be able to free write a lengthy paper? Would this interfere with their thinking process, or would the topic have to be interesting in order for a student to successfully be able to do a lengthy free write?

Research: I will be using at least two peer reviewed articles that I will most likely find in the library here at Buffalo State. I will be using the web, people/friends (their ideas and thoughts on the matter), as well as a teacher interview, hopefully of an elementary school classroom teacher. I will most likely be using music to help support my idea of free writing in the classroom. I believe strongly that musicians and artists use a lot of free writing in order to write a structured song or whatever it is they are trying to create. Also, I believe even artists use some form of free writing or maybe it would be called “free drawing”? in order to make a masterpiece at the end, something they would be proud of and able to publish. With that all being said I would like to try to take examples of specific music lyrics/autobiographies of artists and songwriters as well as painters/artists and their works as well as a possible biography.

Discussion: During this process I will be able to take what I have researched and put some sort of conclusion to my question of “Is the concept of free writing important in elementary schools?” Not only will I be able to discuss the importance of free writing in elementary schools, but also the importance of free writing throughout life using the musicians examples.

Conclusion: This will include a lot of the same information as the discussion as I conclude my I Search paper.

Works Cited: MLA Format.

Appendix: This will include my interview with the elementary teacher or college professor, and a possible list of lyrics I have chosen that I would think would suit this subject.

4. Chris Lenhardt – 6/4/09 I-Search Proposal

The topic that I have decided I would like to learn more about is the relationship within and possible ideas for co-teaching among English and Social Studies teachers on the secondary level. In specific the topic of writing projects, how they can be successfully achieved and what types of writing projects may exist that could be implemented across the two academic fields.

This topic is one that may be an issue to many teachers in the Social Studies or English fields and is one that I would like to seek understanding of. The problem of time is the issue that I am concerned with when thinking about how teaching writing may translate into the Social Studies classroom. I feel as though co-teaching could be a possible solution to this problem and I would like to explore different avenues with regard to the topic in order to acquire a better understanding of how I could use this type of method to solve the issue of time. I would like to help my students someday by assisting them to grow as writer and I need a method of doing this while simultaneously providing them with Social Studies content knowledge. Could co-teaching or a co-teaching project or two be the solution?

This is the question that I am wondering and would like to find the answer to.

I have little knowledge concerning the possibilities of co-teaching across subject domains. The limited co-teaching knowledge that I have been exposed to has not stuck with me and now as I am engaged in this class the question has arisen. I have read in a methods course about the value of co-teaching but would like to seek out real personal knowledge on how the process works and how successful it may be. When I refer to success of the process I am referring to both the personal interaction between teachers and the concrete outcome of the work that a co-teaching writing exercise may have produced.

This is a subject that I feel I would be interested in working on and owe myself the courtesy of investigating. My initial reaction to Social Studies teachers teaching writing was that it may not be the place of such an educator. However, further thought on the subject of has allowed me to reconsider the role of the Social Studies teacher in teaching writing and I now would like the opportunity to at least attempt to find a way in which this could possibly be achieved. Co-teaching might be the one of the answers to my skeptical personal view on the subject.

5. Nicholas Rockwell I-Search Paper Proposal

I would like my I-Search Paper to answer the question: “How can I use writing to get students to think critically about history?” I think that teaching one sided history is boring and immoral. I have always supported Thomas Jefferson’s idea that education should empower the citizens of a republic to think for themselves so that they may use their constitutional powers in ways that are constructive to society. I think that often the way history is taught in elementary and secondary schools is harmful toward this goal and it creates a citizenry that is easily manipulated by pathological rhetoric. I have made this a personal mission of mine because I was taught monolithic history in school and discovered that my lack of ability to see events from various angles weakened my decision making process. I lacked the ability to think critically about information that I received, and felt like my freedom to make choices was compromised. That is why I believe that one of the most important skills students can learn in school is the ability to critically analyze the information they receive.

I have found in my own experiences in college that writing helps develop a critically thinking mind, but only a certain kind of writing. The dry “objective” writing from my high school days did nothing to develop a critically thinking mind. Writing has to be personal and opinionated. I know practically nothing about the pedagogy of using writing to stimulate the critical thinking process. I would like to read the book from Paolo Freire about creating a critical consciousness and also skim through the Writing for Learning book for anything that might be useful. I think if I can develop student’s abilities to write more personally that I can get them to think more personally about history. I think the implementation of certain primary documents could reveal to the students that history is a matter of debate –not fact. The use of document based questions may help on this front.

6. Christine Malinverni

Questions or thoughts about topic

I am proposing to do my “I” search paper on writer’s block. I want to know if it really exists, what causes it, and what solutions are available. Many people today feel that they suffer from writers block from time to time. I feel at times that there is a wall that shadows my brain, and I begin to stare at a blank screen for at least forty five minutes, until I give up and put my project off another day. I may even want to know where the term even originated from.

What I know

I know that writer’s block comes from stress, lack of interest, environment, and that this is common among many people. By researching all of this knowledge, I will be able to find more information about it, the technical terms, and the stats. I will assess what I already know about writers block, and then proceed to compare it with other common responses. Do those who suffer from writers block suffer the same causes or think they do?

The Hunt

I will be searching for my information about this topic using various sources. These sources include books, which I can find from the library, online, or even professors. I will also be using the internet to find movies or documentaries about people with writer’s block. The internet may also provide interviews with authors or musicians who have suffered from this and their responses. I can also use the internet to access Buffalo State and find peer reviewed journal articles or books that are currently available for use. For the interviews, I can search the net as previously stated, or go out into the actual world and talk to students, peers, and teachers. There is a world full of information out there; I just have to find out which ones best suits my research needs.

Discussion and Further Research

Once I dive into this topic more deeply, I may find new paths to branch off into and new questions I have about this whole thing. I will be looking at the strategies used in a classroom to avoid or get out of writer’s block. How does free writing associate? Do journals help? What can I do in the classroom to make my students interested in writing without them becoming nervous or stressed?

I am sure that I will find multiple sources about the topic; some may be useful and others will not be. I may even change my initial opinion about writers block and if it exists after further research. I may even find ways to better myself and preventing myself much time spent over a blank stare into space, whenever a major research paper is due. I will be gaining insight to myself as well as others minds by researching this, and I want to apply my knowledge into a classroom someday, because I do not want my students to suffer from this also. I want to be an engaging and empathetic teacher, who remembers that we are all human; we all have interest in something, and we can connect our interest into forming an actual intelligently written formal paper.

7. Holly Ann Harp I-Search Proposal

Paper Introduction – What and Why

I would like to write my I-Search paper on the use of fan fiction in the classroom with regards to teaching Spanish. The idea for this paper came to me while I was in class today listening to my classmates talk about their ideas. I was thinking of a student I had at Lafayette High School who always drew pictures of his favorite characters from the anime show / manga Naruto. I also began to think of the other students, whom I had seen reading similar books and talking over their favorite TV shows. Since I know that students like to talk about their favorite actors, movies, etc. I figured they’d like to write about them as well. By showing examples of fan fiction (there are drawings, maps, storyboards, stories, journals, movies, and many other forms) I thought I would be giving them an opportunity to explore their own creativity. Possible projects would be to have their favorite characters visit a country and experience the culture, or have their characters re-enact certain historical / literary events. Students may not care if José and Magdi are enjoying a lunch date in Mexico, but they may enjoy Michael Vick and Michael Jordan touring the city of Salamanca. I believe that giving students this kind of project is more interesting because it directly relates to something they enjoy. In addition, they can add their own personal touches, like if they know their person is a vegetarian. They can then explore the vegetarian options in a restaurant in a Spanish-speaking country. What I know about it 

I know a little about fan fiction, but not too much. I have looked up fan fiction in the past in the form of drawings for a video game I used to play called Final Fantasy VII. It was the start of the role-playing genre in video games, just as Resident Evil pioneered the survival horror genre.  I know that fan fiction comes in many forms such as fan-based movies, re-enactments, photo-shopped art, hand-drawn art, tattoos, stories (my best friend writes fighter-pilot fan fiction), and cartoons.  Fan fiction can be found about almost any topic. Blizzard Gaming Company (responsible for the World of Warcraft franchise) has supported such fan fiction as South Park’s Make Love Not Warcraft episode. There are also many fan based videos on YouTube.com about the popular game. The company also supports a monthly comic-drawing contest. 

What I want to know about it  Would students enjoy using fan fiction to learn about real-life concepts?  How can I encourage students who do not feel artistically inclined to use the medium?  Would fan fiction really benefit the students within the learning process?  Can I make multiple types of projects for my students using the genre or is it limited? 

Where can I find appropriate fan fiction to show my students as examples? (the search may provide some bad examples such as yuri and yaoi which are inappropriate for students)  Can I involve the art department in the creation of my projects through either digital media (Windows Movie Maker) or in the storyboarding process?  Will this type of media appeal to all of my students, even if they don’t follow a video game or comic strip?  What kinds of concepts can I explore using fan fiction?  Is it versatile in the classroom?  What kinds of materials are needed for this type of project and how accessible are they?  How long will the project take?

Why I think it’s important enough to write a paper about The students that I will be teaching are bombarded daily by more entertaining means of spending their time. They go home and watch TV, play their video games, chat through Skype, and play on YouTube.com (some of the students even make their own videos). As a teacher, I lean more towards entertaining my students because I feel that it’s necessary to compete with the popular media they prefer in order to gain their attention. Many of my students while student teaching could tell me the entire back story on certain characters they read about/ watch / play as but could tell me little about what they were learning in their other classes. I think that rather than pushing aside their interests we need to use those interests to engage them in learning. I found that when I was student teaching in the middle school, my kids enjoyed learning about the two words for “to be� because we discussed their favorite actors, sports stars, and singers. I had them write names on cards and I used those in class and on tests. They cared more about describing whether or not Kanye West was a hard-working individual all the time, or whether or not he was hard-working in the music studio (and perhaps less-so in another environment.) It gave the students the chance to give me their own opinions about their world and how they perceived it. I’m hoping that the fan fiction exercise will likewise pique their interest. As a side note, I have watched Naruto before on YouTube.com and it gave me certain credibility with my students when I recognized the character that my student was drawing. Maybe working with fan fiction and taking an interest directly in their interests will also help to bridge the gap between the teacher and the students in a manner that still maintains authority?