Social Advocacy What Happened

Yesterday the instructor advised students that their outlines needed to be personalized. An example of how to personalize can be found in this letter.

We had as guest speakers two students, Michael George and Anthony Veiga, who told us about their group at Facebook. The students are against the schedule change.

We will do our three-minute speeches on Thursday. If you use sources, please hand in a Works Cited with your outline. This is mainly for speakers who speak on voting.

Comm 128 What Happened

Instructor handed back papers theory/film application papers. Any student who did not get their paper can email for grade.

We heard four student presentations of theories: Felicia, Senaya, Suzy, and Mike. Next week we will have approximately 16 presentations. Students should have three points they would like their colleagues to know about their theory.

The instructor lectured from the chapter on communication in the workplace: workplace relationships, organizational culture, organizational networks, workplace cliques, and organizational climate (defensive and supportive). Workplace abuse was also discussed.

Next week we will finish the student presentations and the instructor will review notebooks. Every notebook should have the student's research paper inside it. Students will watch a film while the instructor reviews the notebook.

This will be the last class.

Tip for Students on Gas Prices

You can find out where the best prices for gas are by going to NewJerseyGasPrices.com.

Gas is going for 3.31 a gallon at three stations at the intersection of Morris Ave. (Rt. 82) and Liberty (1) and Burnet (2). All are within a few blocks of each other.

Be aware, though, that to get the good price one has to take cash! They don't inform the customer that they charge the higher price ($3.39) if a credit card is used.

Writing 102, Tues-Thurs, What Happened

Tuesday:

Research papers were handed in but they will also be accepted on Thursday.

We checked the drama quizzes in class and the instructor will record the grades and return them at Thursday's class.

We watched a video on critical thinking and the writing process. Students were asked to find three thoughts or ideas from the video that applied to their research paper. We will finish watching on Thursday.

On Thursday we will work on semicolons. Bring the Hacker guide and Lukeman, too.

What Happened Saturday 102

the instructor talked about drama: conventions, plot, characters, realistic theatre.
Students turned in drama papers. The drama quiz will be on the last day of class and paper will be corrected in class.

We watched a video about writing for an audience. It also had to do with critical thinking.

The instructor handed out two worksheets on semicolons. Students are to read the Hacker section on semicolons and place as many semicolons correctly as they can on one of the worksheets. The other worksheet is based on Lukeman and will be filled out in class when we watch the semicolon presentation next week.

Next week the final research paper is due.

Social Advocacy

Students turned in outlines and the instructor will give them back next Tuesday.

The 3-minute speeches will begin next Thursday.

The instructor talked about legal activism and told the class how she and a colleague formed a pro se association to help people who wanted to do their own legal work.

Event Planning

We looked at pictures in a Powerpoint presentation of the Guidance Counselor Event. We looked at signs, student participation, the luncheon, campus pictures, etc. Students gave some input on the event and their participation in it.

During the last 15 minutes of class, students met with their colleagues re the presentations next week.

Some students had examples of the work they had done for the presentations.

Writing 102, What Happened

Thursday:

Instructor finished lecturing on drama handout. We covered elements of plot, tragedy, comedy, Theatre of the Absurd and social criticism.

We then took the drama quiz. We will correct it at our next class.


Tuesday:

We reviewed drama terms from the previous lecture.

We discussed the use of the word "soliloquy" by a New York Times writer.

The instructor lectured on conventions in drama, covering Greek plays through realistic.

We then discussed attendance and worked on our grade sheets. The instructor gave each person their attendance records and told them how it affected their grade.

This coming Thursday will be the drama quiz.

We decided to put the last quiz, Lester, on the last day of class, May 8. At that time, the instructor will review the notebooks and issue a notebook grade while the students take the quiz. We will then correct the quiz in class and students will know enter their grade on the grading sheet and hand it in.

102 Students: Use of "Soliloquy"

The New York Times uses the word "soliloquy" in a story about the disastrous anchoring by Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulis in the Democratic primary debate last week:

Next to such knuckleheaded obtuseness, Mr. Obama’s pratfall may strike many voters as a misdemeanor. He was probably rescued as well by the typical Clinton campaign overkill that followed his mistake. Not content merely to piously feign shock about Mr. Obama’s San Francisco soliloquy (and the operative political buzzword here is San Francisco, which stands for you-know-what), Mrs. Clinton couldn’t resist presenting herself as an unambiguously macho, beer-swilling hunting enthusiast. This is as condescending as it gets, topping even Mitt Romney’s last-ditch effort to repackage himself to laid-off union workers as the love child of Joe Hill and Norma Rae.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/opinion/20rich.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

What do you think about the use of the word in this context?

Writing 102 Saturday What Happened

Because the building was locked, we had the first part of the class in the gazebo where we read an article on academic titles.

After reading the article, the building opened up and we went upstairs where the instructor lectured on drama.

Each person put the title of their research paper on the board and we voted on which paper we most wanted to read. We examined why. Then we worked on titles in class, making them clearer and more appealing to the reader.

Next we went through the grading points for the research paper. We traded papers and each person evaluated a colleague's paper for points and for pointing out such items as the preview statement, the thesis/claim, and the "need" (benefit to the reader).

The last task was to look at the grading sheet for the semester and check to see if grades were recorded on the sheet. The instructor explained the point system on the research paper, which includes two points on the 10 for handing in each section on time.

The research paper is due May 3. Paper will be returned on May 10.

Notebook check is on May 3. At that class, we will watch a literary film while the instructor grades the notebooks.

On the last day of class, May 10, we will have the drama quiz and the open book quiz on Lester. The quizzes will be graded in class.

Event Planning

Class today is the activity at the Guidance Counselor event. If you are participating, I will see you there. Class members who are not participating may want to stop by to see how the event theme is displayed. There is no class in the classroom.

Comm 128 What Happened

Instructor went over previous class activities and then lectured on power and communication. We went into communication pairs to discuss short-term conflict resolution:

separation
domination
compromise
integrative agreements
structural improvements

After that we did an exercise on "opening the door to collaboration." We wrote collaborative statements and discussed them with the group.

Students turned in their field trip and the instructor also took the media theory papers.

Students were assigned to read and complete the workbook on Chapter 12, Relationships in the Workplace.

Social Advocacy What Happened

We discussed where we were with various class projects.

On Thursday, the instructor will tell how to contact legislators by phone. Students will then phone their reps regarding the NJKI issue. The instructor will provide an evaluation form and students will work in pairs.

We set up speech dates. Students should bring the outline on April __ (instructor will fill in date later--is currently at another class). Instructor will return outlines on ____ and we will do the speeches on April ___.

After discussing this, we went over the grading sheet and where we were with papers, etc. The instructor also provided attendance records as this is part of the class participation grade.

The class will be watching The Great Debaters during the last two classes while the instructor does notebook evaluations.

Writing 102, Tues-Thurs, What Happened

Thursday:

We talked about drama and the instructor highlighted points from the notes.

After the drama lecture/discussion, we looked at the grade sheet and began putting it together for the final grade. The instructor explained how the student-kept grade record works. We discussed the 75/25 breakdown and almost finished with attendance but ran out of time. Instructor will provide attendance records at the next class.

Tuesday:

On Thursday we will talk about drama based on the drama handout. There will be no quiz on this date.

Today students reviewed the research papers of their colleagues. We used the grading sheet and went through the paper from the title page through the conclusion. Each student gave a paper a preliminary grade. Students are to correct their papers and bring the final to the instructor on April 27.

Event Planning

Tomorrow, April 14th, we will be going to the Kean University Admissions Office where we will get a breakdown of what's to happen this coming Thursday at the Guidance Counselor Event. We will also be doing some preparation work for the conference. Students who are participating in this event should meet at the classroom tomorrow and we will head over as a group.

On Thursday, event planning students will be working their various stations, so there will be no Event Planning class on Thursday, April 17.

Saturday Writing 102 What Happened

Next week students will bring all three points with their transitions edited in. They will also have the funnel opening and the preview which we wrote April 5. The transitions and conclusion were written on April 12.
In addition, students should go through their paper and make sure all parenthetical or internal sources are correct and that there is a corresponding mention of the source in the Annotated Bibliography.
All sources in the AB must have an abstract.
Everyone must have a pencil!
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What we did in class.
We read the transitions worksheet and did an exercise. Then students added transitions to their papers.
Next we reviewed the conclusions section of the worksheet and the conclusions in Lester. We then wrote a conclusion to the paper.
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We will read the academic titles handout next week and discuss it.
We went through the instructor's Powerpoint presentation on titles. Next week each student will put their title on the board and we will vote on the title that makes us most want to read the paper.

Event Planning--Guidance Counselor Event

Charlotte says that students who want to participate in the event should email Tiffany Artist, who is the student host chair. Tiffany will get back to you with an assignment possibility:

artist@kean.edu

Tiffany will communication meeting information and scheduling directly with you.

You will, of course, be excused from class on Tuesday to help with preparation.

Event Planning Agenda for Thurs, April 10

a) discuss Guidance Counselor Event

b) alcohol management at events (instructor lecture)

c) paired questions (review--no grade but check-off credit for doing it)

Comm 128 What Happened

Instructor reminded students of due dates for paper. Next week some students' papers are due.

Instructor then went over nonverbal communication notes from the chapter. She gave students a field trip assignment to observe nonverbal communication in public spaces.

Students took a quiz to see if they are M-time or P-time. Most people in the class are M-time, but around 4-6 were P-time. Some people were a mixture.

After class, the instructor checked some students' notebooks. If you were on the list (last week's post) and didn't stop to check the notebook, please make sure you do so next week.

Students should read Chapter 11 for next week. The instructor will call A-V and ask them to stop by and fix the VCR. We will try to watch the video again next week.

Writing 102 What Happened

Thursday, April 10:

We looked at misplaced modifiers in titles.

Students put their titles on the board. We then voted for which paper we would most want to read, based on its title. We then discussed what was captivating about the titles.

We discussed the conclusion for the research paper, using the worksheet and also Lester. We wrote conclusions in class and then looked at a few of them on the overhead projector.

At our next class, students should have their paper edited and should check all citations. They should have a title page if necessary and the annotated bibliography should be attached. On the front should be the grade point scoring sheet. We will do an initial scoring in class and then students will revise.


Tuesday, April 8:

We talked about titles. Instructor gave a Powerpoint presentation on what a title should be. It discussed academic titles vs. popular press titles. Students are to write a title meeting the requirements set out in the presentation and also the MLA style guidelines.

On Thursday, we will finish the titles presentation. We will write our conclusion.

Saturday Writing 102 What Happened

We had two poetry presentations from Christine and Blessing.

The instructor then showed a technique for working through difficult texts. The technique can be used for understanding difficult academic texts, legal opinions and cases, technical instructions, etc. The technique requires eliminating the cruxes and then paraphrasing until the meaning is derived. We performed this exercise in conjunction with the collective unconscious material. We then watched an interview with Federico Fellini, in which he describes how he takes from the collective unconscious for his art.

The instructor introduced students to the "funnel opening" via the "Guide to Introductions, Conclusions, and Titles" handout. She also gave students the grading point breakdown for the research paper, which included the need and the preview. Students wrote the need and the preview in class. The instructor then demonstrated how to write a funnel opening using Elena's paper. Here is the opening (with labels for each section) that was demonstrated in class:

Funnel opening: With 2008 being an election year, many Americans are looking for the candidate who will offer the best program for universal healthcare, a government-backed system which every advanced nation in the world has—except for the U.S. This means that we should look at the systems which have been developed in other countries, such as Germany, Japan, and the UK and Canada. We must examine all aspects of these healthcare systems for their applicability to our own. This paper will focus, however, on an aspect which the writer has direct personal experience: medical care fraud.

Need: By reading this paper, readers will understand the most important features of a universal healthcare system that is economically feasible and that addresses the issue of fraud. Without this component being understood, Americans could get a system that is destined to fail because it will ultimately be unaffordable. Preview: This paper will first review the author’s experience of fraud in the Medicare system. Then it will....

__________

Next week we will do the transitions worksheet and write transitions for the paper. In addition we will go through the grading points sheet. Students should bring their three points and their annotated bibliography.

Social Advocacy What Happened

We discussed letters to the editor and read a column by the letters editor at the NY Times. The column told what the letters editor sees and gave pointers about how to increase one's chances for getting the letter printed.

We read an example letter from the Star-Ledger and one from The NY Times.

After reading these letters, we discussed the issues raised by the letters. We then looked at two letters written by students in the class.

At the conclusion of class, students dropped off their letters for the instructor to read. What's due at the next class is the letter to the lawmaker. Students were supposed to turn in their film questions. Turn these in at the next class.

Event Planning What Happened

We had a guest speaker today, the head of food and beverages for Gourmet Dining, Mark Delafondo. Mark told us about his job and the food and beverage industry.

Next Tuesday, we will go over service styles and if we have time, catch up on the management of alcohol at events.

Comm 128 What Happened

The instructor handed out review questions from Chapter 7 (verbal communication). Students paired up to see how many questions they could answer without referring to their books or notes. The instructor collected the review questions and will look at them but they are ungraded.

Papers and annotated bibliographies were returned. Students are reminded that the deadline dates are April 15 (K-Z) and April 22 (last names A-J). Roundtables discussions follow on April 29 and May 6 and are reverse order.

We watched a video about listening. The video had exercises in which we were able to test how carefully we listen.

The last thing we did in class was to learn how to phrase in the "we" (cooperative) style. The instructor handed out a worksheet and we did one question together. Then students got back in their pairs and wrote out statements for five situations.

Next week's chapter is 9, "Managing Conflict & Power."

Next week I will review the following student's notebooks:

Natalie
Maria
Monet
Giselle
Judith
Lisette

Writing 102 What Happened

Thursday, April 3:

The instructor handed out the grading points outline for the research paper. We went through each section and students wrote in such items as the "preview." Students were to bring their research papers through point 3, along with their introduction. The instructor recorded who did their transitions on the research paper grade sheets. We discussed the conclusion and students did work on their conclusions in class.

Next Tuesday, students are to have the rough draft of the entire paper together, including the conclusion and annotated bibliography. All sources mentioned in the paper are to be on the AB.

On Tuesday, the instructor will talk about titles.

Students should also be working on the drama paper.

Tuesday, April 1:

The instructor returned any outstanding three points by students. In addition, the poetry presentations were returned with grades. Students are to update the grading sheet in the grades section of the notebook.

We worked with the transitions worksheet to re-write a paragraph that needed editing and that also would be better understood with transitions.

Students wrote in transitions on their three points. Prior to doing this, however, the instructor showed students how to write them in using one of the student's papers.

For Thursday, students are to write in their transitions and make sure they have completed the "funnel" introduction. All elements and corrections are to be made to the paper (including internal text citations). The transitions need to be marked: either boldface them, highlight them, or circle them. The completed work should be brought to class. In addition, the student should have a rough draft of the Works Cited (or References page if using APA). the instructor will provide students with a rough idea of what their points will be for 1, 2, and 3. The students will also receiving the points sheet for the paper on Thursday. This will help students check over their paper to make sure they receive the maximum points for each element of the paper.

Students should working on the drama section of the paper. All students have this assignment. It was given at the beginning of the class with the syllabus. This week will be the last week for the play at UCC.

At our next class, we will re-vote on the haikus.