Wednesday's Work (8/3/11)

Today, I want you to finish your plan of inquiry and upload it to the "Plans of Inquiry" folder (titled "PlanofInquiry_YOURNAME"). I created this folder this morning and shared it with you so you'd have a single place for everyone to upload their plans of inquiry and everyone would be able to access everyone else's plans for peer feedback. You can access this folder via the link that will come through in your email or by looking under "Collections shared with me." A couple of people have had trouble locating the 1302SII folder because they were looking at "My Collections" instead of those in "Collections shared with me."

Once you've finished your plan of inquiry and uploaded it to the "Plans of Inquiry" folder, I'll ask you to read the plans of inquiry your group members have written and respond to them directly in the documents themselves (groups are assigned below). Here are the questions I'd like you to address as you read each others' work:

1. Has this writer included all the parts the plans of inquiry were supposed to have? If not, which ones are missing? (You can remind yourself what was supposed to be in there by looking at the research project assignment).
2. Where are the places you have questions? Where are the places where you were confused or wanted to know more?
3. Are there any places where you thought of something the writer hasn't yet addressed (like a perspective on the issue that the writer hasn't discussed yet or a potential audience or genre that might make good sense, etc.)? Think of this as an invitation to offer suggestions for sources the writer hasn't found yet, directions to take the research, keywords they might try, potential purposes they might pursue, etc.
4. What are you most excited about with this project?

You can answer these questions however you'd like--as a long comment at the end of the plan of inquiry (use a different colored font and sign your work so the writer and I can keep track of who's saying what) or as comments you insert along the side as you read (highlight whatever section of text you'd like to comment on and click "insert" and then "comment" to be able to write your comment about that portion of the text. I will be giving grades for your feedback that you give one another. We don't have time to read about how to give good comments, but here are a few tips:

-Know that everyone is in the same boat, and everyone wants and needs good feedback, so please don't get stressed out over trying to be too nice. You can be respectful and constructive and offer good, specific advice. Saying things like "I liked it!" or "Great idea" isn't particularly helpful. It makes us feel good, but we need to help each other further our projects, not our egos:).
-Every one of you is qualified to give each other feedback. You understand the assignment, and you have a great deal of experience reading--and that's what's required to give good feedback. Just read as a normal person and let the writer know when you're having difficulty or when you have an idea about something they've said.
-Be very specific with your comments. Refer to specific parts of the text (by highlighting the text your comment refers to or actually quoting from what the writer said in a particular place) when you're explaining something you think about what the writer has done.

Here are your groups you'll be working in for peer feedback:

-Oli (Aholivama), Laura, & Brenda
-Mariela & Zoe
-Noemi & Robert
-Alex (Alexandra), Karen, & Monica
-Anna, Merilyn, & Andrea
-Bee (Bernarda), Sandra, & Enique
-Kaylee & Raul

I tried to put you in groups according to similarities in your projects. That way, as you're reading what others are up to, you might find leads of your own and might be able to lend more issue-specific expertise to each other than others could.

TIMELINE: Your plan of inquiry is due by 2:00pm today. After that, you can go in and read your group members' plans and respond to them. If you're in a group of 3, just make sure that you've read at least one of your group member's plans and given feedback on it. You don't have to read and respond to both unless you're feeling generous and curious (and that would be cool:)). You have until 8:00am on Thursday to finish your feedback on your peers' work.