You will perform at least two observations per week. Since we will be using a paper version of the LRO (oh, the horror, I know), you should keep them in Word document named [yourfirstnamelastinitial_LRO_OBS.doc, i.e. Janf_LRO_OBS.doc], and simply keep adding as you go along.
Although I will ask you to email your observations to me once a week (as the text of the email NOT as an attachment), so I can touch base with you, you are expected to maintain the hard copies to be turned in at the mid-term and final. If I don't receive them by the appointed time, they will be late.
Here is how Syverson explains and justifies the function of observations:
"Observations are confined to what is actually observed, without additional interpretation or evaluation. One observation taken alone may seem insignificant. However, a series of such observations taken over time provides important information about students' development that supplements the student's written "products" as evidence of learning. It is important to provide enough observations to give readers a good understanding of development over time. They are particularly helpful in documenting aspects of learning not easily accounted for by conventional methods of grading or assessment, such as the development of collaborative skills, increased independence, reflectiveness, and so on. They are also useful for documenting activities not well represented in final "products"--an experiment that missed the mark, a disk crash that wiped out days of work, a change in thinking about a topic. The observations below were taken from a variety of students."
Here's what I want you to report in your observations. They should not be too long, just a few sentences should be enough to convey what you're observing. Click here to see an example of observations from Syverson's site.
1) Observations that relate to what we do in class in terms of how it interacted with your preparation for class: did the class response/reaction to the reading challenge or confirm your ideas about the texts? Was anything surprising or different from your reading, and if so, how? Why do you think this was the case? What, if anything, will change how you approach a text in the future? What did you like or dislike about our class activities?
2)Things you noticed about yourself as a reader during the reading process: what ideas/techniques/images made you think as you were reading? Things to note: times when your reading changes; you see something you didn't see before or you notice a pattern emerging--images overlap, phrases get repeated, details bring to mind other works; the work suddenly seems to be about something different than you'd thought; you discover you were misreading; things don't make sense--pose the question or problem to yourself explicitly; you notice your own patterns/habits/tendencies as a reader.
3) Things you notice about yourself as a writer. What do you notice about your own writing process. Have you tried any new or different techniques? How does your writing process relate to your critical interpretation process? Do you know what you're going to write before you sit down to start writing, or do you discover what you have to say as you go? Do you compose by hand using pen or pencil on paper, or do you compose on the screen at the keyboard? Does it matter? How does each technology affect they way you write or think about the subject, if at all? Anything else you notice about your own tendencies, habits, patterns as a writer.
4) Things you notice about yourself as a designer and technical learner. What kinds of skills are you acquiring and through what process?