8 PEER RESPONSES DUE IN 20 HOURS

FLYER DISCUSSION

Guided Response: Please respond to at least two of your peers, as early in the learning week as possible so they can make improvements to their final draft. Offer your peers feedback based on the following points:

· Is the flyer clear and easy to follow?

· Is the flyer engaging and does it make you want to attend the workshop?

· Is the objective of the workshop clear? Do you know what you should be learning?

· Do you know who should attend this workshop?

· Does this flyer make you interested in attending the workshop? Why or why not?

· What other suggestions do you have for your peers?

JENNIFER’S POST: (FLYER ATTACHED)

State your degree program- Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education 

The position you interviewed for at the University of Arizona Global Campus Multigenerational Center- Assistant Teacher 

Your clients- parents and caregivers of babies through children age 10 years old 

Title of your workshop- Conscious Discipline (Dr. Becky Bailey)

The topic of your workshop- Conscious Discipline ways and methods for social-emotional growth 

Why you chose this topic for your workshop- It is a very helpful program for children that attend the center. We use it here at the multi-generational enter and it would help the children to have the same methods echoed at home. It also lets the parents know what we do and why. 

Your biggest concern about hosting this workshop- Some parents may find it too "new school" and not effective. 

KELLIE’S POST: (FLYER ATTACHED)

Hello, my degree program I am currently in is Bachelors of Arts Early Childhood Education. I applied for the Assistant Teacher posting.  My workshop is geared toward parents who have children attending preschool. The title of my workshop is The Art of Teaching Preschoolers. This particular workshop aims to assist parents with fun and creative ways to keep their preschooler engaged while learning. I choose this topic for my workshop because, during parent-teacher conferences, parents have stressed that their child shows no interest in learning when they are at home.  My biggest concern about hosting this workshop is speaking in from of a crowd.

Regards,

Kellie

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN DISCUSSION

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings by providing evaluations of their questionnaires. Responses to students should be at least 200 words in length. In addition, remember that this is a group discussion forum so be sure to ask questions or provide direction to your classmates as needed. The discussion format was designed to give you an opportunity to learn from your peers and talk about your understanding of different survey research and questionnaires.

SHEMAIAH’S POST:

1. Do you enjoy listening to music?

2. What types of music do you enjoy listening to?

3. What types of food or dishes do you enjoy eating?

4. What activities do you enjoy doing in your leisure time?

5. What culture (s) do you identify with?

6. What activities do you enjoy engaging in with your family?

This questionnaire is focused on gaining insight into an individual’s cultural influences. By asking these questions the researcher will be able to identify how the elements of culture correlate to individual behaviors. In addition to this, the researcher will also be able to pinpoint specific elements that are shared amongst varying cultures. The overall strength of this questionnaire is the usage of open-ended questions. Open ended questions allow the researcher to ask questions that are participant led. This is a strength because it provides an opportunity for participants to answer questions openly while simultaneously eliminating the opportunity for the researcher to coerce participants.

This questionnaire consists of five open ended questions and one question that will require a yes or no response. Each question is concise and is structured in a manner that will allow the participant to respond without constraints. By requiring that participants respond to open ended questions, the researcher will encourage unfiltered speech and the opportunity for the participant to provide in depth explanations (Malec & Newman, 2013, p. 176). This questionnaire does not provide cues for the participant because culture is not limited to one set of guidelines or practices. Finally, each question is written with cultural aspects in mind.  

In summation, questionnaires can be improved. One way that this questionnaire can be improved is by adding more questions that will allow the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of cultural aspects. Another way to improve this questionnaire is to make sure that questions are asked individually.

Malec, T., & Newman, M. (2013). Research methods building a knowledge base. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

PATRICIA’S POST:

A questionnaire is a research device or instrument that is made up of a series of questions that are closed-ended or open-ended. The goal is to collect relevant data from respondents which can then be used for a variety of purposes.   Questionnaires, though versatile, aren't ideal in every situation – especially when you need to understand specific issues.  Questionnaires should be used to collect more general information – qualitative or quantitative data – regarding features and preferences.

"However, in many cases, there is no perfect measure for your research question either because no one has studied the topic before or because the current measures do not accurately assess the construct of interest you are investigating. " (Malec & Newman, 2013 )

As parents, we struggle to feel good about our kids’ screen time. My questionnaire is focused on how much time and what your child/children are watching.   The  strength of this questionnaire

One strength of the questionnaire is that it contains detailed information that can be obtained and it avoids oversimplifying issues.  The weakness is that depending on the age if a parent is asking then the child might not be as open to answering out of fear of revoked TV privileges.  My questionnaire has six open-ended questions and they are simple for kids. 

1. Did you watch any TV shows today?

2. How long did you watch TV?

3. What was one of your favorites?

4. Who were the most interesting characters?

5. What was interesting about it?

6. What does the show make you wonder about?

SAMPLING DISCUSSION

Your post should be at least 300 words. For this discussion, rather than responding to two peers, select one peer whose study idea you find particularly intriguing and engage in a back and forth discussion with that peer about the discussion question topics. You may reconnect with the peer you discussed with in Week 4 Discussion 1 or select a different peer this week. Make sure to have at least two substantive posts to that classmate. Here, our goal is to dive a bit deeper into a discussion with an individual peer. Feel free to post additional responses to the discussion thread that share what you both learned from your exchange. 

CLAUDIA’S POST:

Stress is a natural response to changes in lifestyle or schedule.  A healthy amount of stress is manageable, but in some cases, stress can harm your health.  When conducting a study on the body’s response to large amounts of stress, many factors must be considered.  One major factor in conducting a qualitative study is sampling.  The first step in sampling is choosing the population to study.  In this case, we will be studying the population of first-year college students at an Ivy League school to determine the level of stress they are experiencing; Simple Random Sampling would be used.  We would randomly choose 50 participants out of 100 possible choices. The participants would be equally female and male.  This number of participants is a large enough number to get a good reading of the data, but small enough that we can hone in on the overall nature of the questions asked.  Questions would be administered regarding their grades, their understanding of the curriculum they are taking, their on-campus living situation, and their social activities.  An agreement would be reached with all those chosen to ensure no one dropped out, causing a threat to the validity of the study.  Sampling error will undoubtedly happen, but we would calculate beforehand the error of estimation to ensure how much of the data from the sample is expected to stray from the population as a whole.  To eliminate the threat of non-response bias, we will make sure all questions are worded clearly and the survey is not too long.  After the study is complete, we will be able to gauge how much stress is experienced by these students and further studies can be conducted on how to eliminate the stress exhibited by first-year college students and how the stress is affecting their health.

Malec, T. & Newman, M. (2013). Research methods: Building a knowledge base. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

DAWN’S POST:

Sampling

Again, my study of interest is how be to eliminate bullying in early childhood development by introducing social and moral development. I have many years of experience in the area of children and conflict. I want to understand how educators and community leaders can intervene and minimize the behavior in early childhood years. Through education and intervention, I feel that should need to understand what bullying is and how to avoid the behavior. “Qualitative research is valuable when the nature of a phenomenon such as bullying, its signs, symptoms, dynamics, and emotional consequences are not well understood” (ch. 3). As a researcher, making sense out of what’s being observed and focusing on interpreting the data makes the method qualitative instead of trying to simplify and quantify these observations (Malec, 2013). Important information is needed from the participants and the questionnaires that guide the study. Having parental participation would be essential without the parents giving any family history prior to my groups and observation. Questionnaires should be clarified before dedicating the assets for a full round of information assortment because it can give you valuable information to revise (Malec, 2013). The questionnaire would be used after the participants have been randomly selected. There are no rules for qualitative research as it pertains to sampling. My focus would be on a group of elementary school children, ages from 5-8 years old. It would be ideal to use the simple random method from several different areas and backgrounds with no true logic. The sampling would include about 15-25 children. After the questionnaire of what bullying is, there would observation period with children playing to collect data on how the children act aggressively or non-aggressively. Then collectively in focus groups to observe the behavior after using various tools to introduce social skills and bullying. The information gathered from this type of study will show the earlier bullying and empathy is introduced, the ability to handle conflict or defend a victim can be evolved within all children.

Reference

Malec, T. & Newman, M. (2013). Research methods: Building a knowledge base. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

MOVIE DISCUSSION

Respond to at least 2 of your classmates.

BOYD’S POST:

This week, I'd like to discuss the film "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014). Since discussing the dynamics of honoring screenplays and screenplay rights in university, I saw this film in a whole new way. I believe I now recognize why it earned the coveted award for the screenplay; it is genuinely insightful fiction. Only by reflecting on the dialogue, you can see that the main character is going through a big crisis, and the words spoken have a strong impact on me. For one thing, the voiceovers he has in his head come off as very profound and bleak, as they convey the tale of his hardships through the years. Years earlier, he chose to quit a lucrative superhero position to do something that will leave a profound mark in the art of acting. The conversation that goes on in his head in the film is serious, and it always takes a toll on him, but he does a decent job overall.

The writing's originality, in my opinion, was extraordinarily well done. It tells a tale that delves deep into our main character's soul, but it also delves into the complicated feelings of those around him in the theater. I think it's much more impressive that the storyline and set are focused on Broadway performers portraying various roles at times. The discussions taking place right over the main character are well handled, and they elicit a range of feelings, from humor to drama. You are exposed to various characters hopping about in the writing, but it isn't done to the point of frustration, more so, I feel it draws all kinds of storylines into one huge and fascinating plot.

Overall, the script for Birdman was fascinating. I believe that just reading this script without having it on the screen will result in a genuinely convincing novel or short tale. It is highly dramatic, and it pulls on a variety of viewpoints scattered through many characters, in my opinion. Still, in the midst of it all, we have the main character, who is going through a lot himself and is trying all he can to fulfill his true desire. The writing does an incredible job of gradually telling the viewer a genuinely unique tale that, in my opinion, was worthy of an Oscar for Original Screenplay.

References: The first ten pages: Birdman or (The unexpected virtue of Ignorance) (2014). (2018, March 12). The Script Lab. https://thescriptlab.com/features/first-ten-pages/7232-first-ten-pages-birdman-unexpected-virtue-ignorance-2014/

COLLIN’S POST:

This week I decided to write my discussion on the 2017 winner for best original screen play, Get Out (2017) by Jordan Peele. This is a film about a young African American man who experiences racism through his life with a main focus on his girlfriend and her family. The main character, Chris, finally gets to meet his girlfriends parents as they go to their house for the weekend. Little did Chris know, he would be experiencing some of the most racist things of his life. This film does a great job about addressing different forms of racism and has a big plot twist at the end.

There are a few reasons I believe this film won an Oscar for best original screenplay. To start, I think it did an excellent job at bringing to light different kinds of racism in a way the audience can relate to. This film also addresses a lot of different stereotypes towards people of color. These stereotypes are brought to light when Chris is introduced to all of his girlfriend's family and friends at the "gathering". They constantly ask him questions about his physique and talents because of his skin color. A lot of these stereotypes and comments that were brought up during these scenes are very relevant today. I think audiences watching these parts can learn from what they saw on screen and how inappropriate a lot of the comments were.

Another reason I think this movie did a great job is it was extremely entertaining and had a big plot twist at the end. This plot twist definitely threw me for a loop as I am sure it did many others. This gives audiences a lot more feelings and emotion towards what is happening as a character who was likeable suddenly becomes unlikeable. This film was also straight to the point with the plot and had little "filler" content. Throughout the majority of the film, all the scenes related to the main storyline/plot in someway. I think this is very beneficial as it keeps the flow of the film going and keeps audiences engaged. 

After watching and reading this weeks content such as, Ex Machina – The Control of Information (2016), I understood some of the things that made this film such a great screenplay. In this video they talk about the journey of discovery. This is when a character knows something that is going to happen while another character does not and slowly finds out over time. In this case, the main character Chris does not know his girlfriend is actually a psychopath racist who recruits African Americans for her family to take over. Chris's girlfriend does know all this and everything that is going to happen to him throughout the film, but does a good job at convincing everyone otherwise. The audience follows Chris's point of view so they go along the same journey of discovery as him keeping the film interesting and intriguing as we want to see what will happen to him. Looking at John Truby's "The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller", we can identify his theory on revelation sequence. This is where the audience discovers the key pieces of information that force the main character to change their desire or motivations. In this film I would argue there are about 8 revelations that take place. 1. Chris loves his girlfriend and finally gets to meet her parents (this is usually a big milestone in relationships). 2. Chris starts to realize where they are going out of town that people look at him differently because of his skin color. 3. Chris realizes his girlfriend's parents are racist. 4. Chris realizes that everyone in her family and friends are racist. 5. Chris meets the subplot character, another African American who had the same thing happen to him, and gets a funny feeling. 6. Chris realizes he needs to leave. 7. Chris realizes his girlfriend was lying and using him and is now in a bad spot. 8. Chris must find a way to "get out". 

Lastly, looking at Frank Hauser's and Russell Reich's work on "Notes on Directing" we can see some other key things that relate to the film. In this reading they talk about "Giving the audience all the dots they need but do not fill in the dots". Essentially, provide all the information for the audience to draw a conclusion on what is going to happen without actually telling them. This sticks out a lot due to the large amounts of foreshadowing throughout the beginning of the film. When audiences rewatch the film knowing what happens they start to pick up on these small details and realize the ending was there all along. Overall, I think Jordan Peele did an outstanding job on this film and rightfully deserved to win the Oscar. Jordan also became the first African American to win an Oscar for best original screenplay with this film which makes it even better in my opinion. 

References:

Lessons From The Screenplay. “Ex Machina – The Control of Information.” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ko9mWdqW-M.

Lessons from the Screenplay. “Gone Girl – Don't Underestimate the Screenwriter.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF3lFPW4E1o.

Truby, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007.

Hauser, Frank, and Russell Reich. Notes on Directing. RCR Creative Press, 2003.