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Oops, science is POWERFUL!
ENGL 390, 390H, and (sometimes) 398V Class Journal
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Day 2, week 1: main take away? Reading strategies
Consider these three documents as prep for next week. You may skim them. We need to establish context and special language of thinking/writing for our work this semester.
- Guide to reading for Science Writing students (Short Google doc)
- Audience analysis slides based on Aristotle: Set 1 (15 Google slides)
- Audience analysis slides based on Relationships: Set 2 (12 Google slides)
Think on the usefulness of my current counting out strategy of three. I borrowed this from Aristotle, especially the three proofs or qualitys of information:
- logos, pathos, ethos
- (now) audience, context, purpose
- (strategy for reading) linked above)
- (pre-read, means three+ or nearly four strategies)
- Skim
- Parse
- Read, Review, Cross-reference
- Parse
I stacked these verbs (note that they are action commands to you) with document design to emphasize that this action pattern is a heirachy.
If you want more guidance on how this class works, you can look at this "helper" link (from my website) to useful web sources I gathered for you. We really do not need a text as the world is truly available to us!
Dutch illustrator Thjis Geritz
Bonus culture video about three. This may help you remember how important counting out is to cognition and memory. The Wikipedia entry about this series is informative. Wow. She linked to Wikipedia. What kind of source is that?
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Happy return to Terpland. DAY ONE of class
Hello.
This webblog -- aka blog -- is OUR CLASS text. No book to buy. Cheer! (YouTube animation+sound of, well, cheering!)
Topics for Wednesday and Friday: all means of persuasion, aka, the proofs (pistei) of Aristotle:
Logos, pathos, ethos.
Listen/watch this five-minute video by educator Krista Price.
So, question for contemplation: How do we trust her? What is her ethos? Hint: k-12 is really k-16. Teachers know stuff and so do students.
Now, let's consider the cognitive aspects of persuasion presented by journalist and podcaster Shankar Vedantam in his popular Hidden Brain series. Hint: you can listen at 1.5 speed, while walking around campus. Another way to access this information is to use the coordinated website he offers, with a text summary and references. 
D. Sanders/NPR
On to a "news you can use" resource that is presented in multimedia format with written text (eight-minute read) as the basis.
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Key ideas:
rhetoric, logso.pathos, ethos, persuasion
ABL -- always be learning
What is a text? Is a podcast or video a text?
What is a genre or text type? Think classification from biology (genus, species, etc).
Science says, we can learn and retain better if we switch up the attributes of material to learn. (Do you believe/trust my claim here? Why or why not?)
Friday? We think about persuasion and the infographic, a visual genre for communication of complex information. See you at the same Google meet link posted in your ELMS welcome announcement. We will start with this Tweet by a former student who shows a short video of her med school sketchnote journal.
Weird GIF of day (also Happy Lunar Asian New Year):
From a London-based scholar
MONDAY is LAST DAY: class is DIGITAL not in Tawes
https://meet.google.com/ttg-qxkw-ego
In an abundance of caution, I will hold class (last day) digitally by GoogleMeet. Please show up for the last day. Classes are -- per usual -- at 9, 10, and 11.
Why this change of venue? I have upper respiratory symptoms with negative quick testing (antigen) but my PCR test does not come back until at least Monday afternoon.
I do NOT want to send any of you into finals with any sort of illness. Nor do I want to be shed virus on you as you return to families, with some vulnerable people.
I will miss not seeing your masked faces and giving you chocolate and shortbread!
However, we will meet digitally. I will also post early in the morning on squarespace for some final notes.
Same GoogleMeet link as per all semester:
https://meet.google.com/ttg-qxkw-ego
Do you see these writing craft/critical thinking connect elements?
Try to quantify your reaction. If you see ways for the writer to be awarded a higher score, explain in the responses,
- Indicate how you learned from this final version due to writer's craft choices in teaching in concise manner.
- Can you see the value to society? Either applications or practical knowledge. For theoretical work, you might see awe at understanding reality or human possibility.
See a place where you can suggest that writer revisit?
See a place where you can compliment the writer?
Two types of summative comments: 1) do you see an opportunity to make a point for overall strength? This type of overall comment contrasts with the contextual comment option above.
2) You can thank the writer for some specific knowledge that improves your understanding of our complex world.
Salutation! Wish your colleague well.
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Culture moment: Let's have some AI/Neural network fun:
Janelle Shane trains AL platforms on cultural knowledge.
- AI generated Advent Calendar
- AI generated XMas Carols
- AI generated Christmas Movie Titles
She lept to fame with her My Little Pony names (Boing, Boing 2017 article)and her Craft Beer names, which made into the trade blog for the American Craft Beer Association.
ENJOY!
I will be reading over XMas and January about the new and greatly feared writing AI called
ChatGPT is blowing up. Twitter is inundated with screenshots of the app, coding sites like Stack Overflow are already banning answers produced with it, and over 1 million people have played with it. It’s a sensation. --- From Dec. 12 Medium piece by AI researcher Tom Smith.
In a follow up training session, Shane combined selected My Little Pony names with a measure of how metal (band) are these names. Here is the image she made to depict this.
2nd to last week: refinements and setting up two Trains for the final destination
More Weihnachten charm. Tonight is beginning of XMas holiday in many Teutonic countries. Put out your shoes with hay and carrots for Sinter Klaus's reindeer. I will tell a little story in class today about Amanita fungi and the flying Santa tradition, from ethnobotany. Also, as St. Nick will visit me, I will bring treats on Wednesday for you to take with you at the end of class.
Let's talk some refinements about your review (Assignment 3) at this point. Nearly everything I present now concerns possible weak spots in these documents.
ETHOS PARAGRAPH and conventions of science style in this genre. How is your ethos paragraph, within the first portion of your document? Here are some refining details on that:
- For lead author, use first and last name in the first mention, then,
- shift to land name only (NO DOCTORAL TITLES);
- Give author ethos of
- discipline
- current institution
- PhD granting institution
- DO NOT USE THE ARTICLE TITLE, as this is often too long and even visually awkward, instead,
- use a phrase or two about the content in your ethos paragraphs; and
- name the journal (USE ITALICS); and, finally,
- give the year of publication.
Achieving cognitive FLOW for reader: Now, some review and discussion with examples of two important "binding" or cohesion strategies: metadiscourse and counting out. Recall the magic numbers of cognition? Build further "flow" for your readers by alerting them to the numbers. For example,
Let's turn now to three points from Higgs' paper on particle physics.
Among the many important findings from Kimmerer-Wall's research are two innovative methods. The first method to explore is. . .
These two methods supported her in finding the mosaic genetics patterns in maize species of Northern Mexico. This new understanding of maize landraces is the chief takeaway of Kimmerer-Walls classic 1998 work. More than 1287 citations acknowledge her contribution to plant ecosystem genetics.
Do you also see the claim-argument pattern or rhetorical move in this last example? Preview: we will talk more about claim and argument on Wednesday and Friday. This make-a-claim (by authors in article) and argument is the most powerful organizing principle of how knowledge is described and promoted.
More on achieving FLOW still with counting, combined with metadiscourse, is really powerful to thread cognition for readers. Sample phrases YOU CAN USE:
Having noted essential definitions to understand the findings of Mazela and Chimbley, let's turn now to their first point.
These brief, working definitions set the stage for Mazela and Chimbley's work on ammonia fixation in water systems. Let's turn to their first point concerning ammonia deposition rates.
In addition to the field method described here, a second method innovation is worth our attention.
Next, let's look at the distribution analysis of Kim.
A third point useful for clinical trials concerns their discussion of biomarkers.
Finally, immunologists will be particularly intrigued by the array of IGG markers seen in the control patient group.
VOICE to showcase them and introduce you: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO THIS. So many students forget this powerful signal to the reader about author/researcher work and your commentary upon this work. Hint: this voice shift in science is one of the ways we attribute knowledge to the writer. This is a type of citation, actually.
Song parodoy moment: Also, for fun, enjoy this clever song parody. Can you figure out the song being rifffed upon? Parodies rely on audience experience of the referenced material. Just another reminder that audiences are often sorted out by time lines, especially regarding culture.
Marybeth Shea
Oh, two train rides to the end. Train to Atlanta (close up class earlier) and Train to Boulder (close up later). In other words, you now have two different timelines (due dates) to complete class. See your ELMS Calendar for details.
Wrapping up little culture detail. Here is the Amanita+Santa story (2020) NPR quick read/four-minute listen that includes mention of Harvard. Let's talk about the ethos of PBS and Harvard in this weird topic. More on the Sami people and their ethnobotanical knowledge.
We have gingerbread treats today. And, we can look at last year's Office Hours in the Sky/AMA about the final paper.
TRAIN to Atlanta schedule
- Writing TASK Friday (Dec. 9) followed by a Review TASK open on weekend and due on
- Monday, December 11 (last day!), which is a prelude to the
- Parking Lot for the Atlanta TRAIN opening on Wednesday, Dec 14. Try to complete no later than Monday, the 19th. Email me when you have completed this final submission of Assignment 3!
TRAIN to BOULDER schedule
- Writing TASK Friday (Dec. 16) followed by a Review TASK open on weekend and due on
- Monday, December 19) which is a prelude to the
- Parking Lot for the Boulder TRAIN opening on Dec 23, which is a Friday. Email me when you have completed this final submission of Assignment 3!
Marybeth Shea
Friday.
Happy Friday and your protected time to manage your work! I am available online today between 9-9:50, 10-10:50 and 11-11:50. Here is your GoogleMeet code (same for all Fridays this semester).
TRAIN Atlanta, is open for the Writing Task/Reviewing Tasks IF YOU PLAN TO COMPLETE CLASS EARLY. If you post here, you commit to responding quickly to help others meet their Assignment 3 due window EARLY in FINALS. PLEASE BE AN ETHICAL PERSON IN THESE LAST DAYS.
Reposting from Wednesday's entry, a summary of how these last assignment patterns work (also links on your ELMS calendar).
TRAIN to Atlanta schedule
- Writing TASK Friday (Dec. 9) followed by a Review TASK open on weekend and due on
- Monday, December 11 (last day!), which is a prelude to the
- Parking Lot for the Atlanta TRAIN opening on Wednesday, Dec 14. Try to complete no later than Monday, the 19th. Email me when you have completed this final submission of Assignment 3!
TRAIN to BOULDER schedule
- Writing TASK Friday (Dec. 16) followed by a Review TASK open on weekend and due on
- Monday, December 19) which is a prelude to the
- Parking Lot for the Boulder TRAIN opening on Dec 23, which is a Friday. Email me when you have completed this final submission of Assignment 3!
Here is a Boulder song BUT invokes an airplane ride.
Take a look at this fabulous concision table (MSWord doc, two pages) that shows substitutions. Three of faculty members in PWP wrote this for you. Is a good and short companion to the Manchester University Academic Phrasebank. Here is the Conclusions section of MU AP.
Here is another handout that can help us be deliberate about subject placement in sentences and paragraphs: The Red Ridinghood Handout (Two-pages, MS Word document) is a way to think again about narrative patterns in writing, even science writing.
This image to the right is a reminder to you that you can pay attention to your definition strategies. Recall that you have two places to place them!
- As part of the three or four paragraph cognitive wedge and/or
- Localized -- think nested -- short definitions within your body paragraphs.
POST T-Day CATCH UP: PAY ATTENTION
In class today, we will return to last week where I will emphasize some items for FRIDAY's next Writing Task+Review Task as we lock down this work.
I report, regretfully, that so many of you are behind in a number of tasks. Sigh.
If you are on the Take 2 path I built just before Thanksgiving, that Writing Task is now closed. BUT, the Review Task is open and I would like people to complete that ASAP.
If you have not completed the Coffee Cup Memo, PLEASE DO SO AND EMAIL ME. Then, I am prompted to grade you.
FOR ALL: New type of ELi Review Task up: A Revision Plan Task for you to take stock of where you are with Assignment 3. Open NOW. Complete by Wednesday. PLEASE. UPDATE Mon. 10:16 AM -- Apparently, if you go into the previous tasks to grab a comment or two, this opens up a localized Revision Plan option/screen. I DO NOT WANT YOU TO DO THIS. You can and should look at early rounds of Peer give+take. But, primarily, I want you to write your revision plan using the prompts I wrote for you. Make sense?
Now, some German Christmas kitsch incoming:
Marybeth Shea
WEDNESDAY!
Do you remember Monday's bead formations for Point and Analysis?
We will talk further about location choices regarding analysis writing and consider the stats analysis (numerical analysis; exploratory data analysis, etc.) paragraph. We will also talk about choices regarding definitions. Earlier and in your celery flow chart, definitions are clustered in the cognitive wedge of the first three or so paragraphs of your analysis.
Both of these choices are somewhat similar as in you have a location to think about. And, volume of "stuff": consider
- smaller definitions set off by punctuation in an appositive -- think bunny ears, paws, and hind feet
- small analysis paragraphs between your body paragraphs of cool points -- think gold beads between larger pearls.
Voice helps, too, in analysis. Use first person in your analysis "moves" and third person when presenting more generally.
We will also look at a Google Doc from an earlier semester where we took on questions the week before the one-article review was due. Can be instructive, I think.
Let's also look at language helpers from the Manchester University Academic Phrasebank and a few other places. Critique and counter argument for junior scientists is hard. Having some phrases to prime the pump can be helpful.
Wikimedia Common, under Creative Commons license
Manchester University academic writing phrase bank. Look at all these sections:
Now, to what we are doing, with some additional "free" phrases for you to start sketching out how to write about stats:
The sample size in treatments two and three is small (7, 12).
I remain unclear how the experiment addresses the central research question noted in the Introduction section.
The sample size is small, making this work exploratory. I look forward to seeing more work before drawing a conclusion about clinical use.
In the fourth steps of the proof, you would have to accept some unusual assumptions on the limit factors.
For Friday, we will have a Writing Task/Review Task routine that closes on Monday ngiht (as per usual). I will also post a mini lesson on the limits of p-values since critical thinking about this important test will help you draw conclusion in robust and measured ways.
CUTE pix to reduce stress:
