So Bernie Madoff got away with all your retirement? I know how you feel. I keep paying into teacher retirement and it seems I won't be able to pull any benefits from it by the time I retire, if I am ever even allowed to retire.
Thanks to How Stuff Works' website and podcast, I think I now have a good handle on how to separate good investments from Ponzi schemes.
A Ponzi scheme relies on getting new investors to support the old investors' withdrawls. Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that how Social Security is supposed to work? Isn't that how Teacher Retirement works?
A Ponzi scheme is destined to fail according to Howstuffworks. Does that mean these systems are also destined to fail? When they fall through, what happens to all those who'd been paying in?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Student Planning Guide
Energy Project
Student Planning Guide
Environmental Geoscience - Beedy
75 Points
Overview
Phase I - Planning
Planning involves deciding upon a central question, adding detail and focus with clarifying and probing questions, deciding what resources are appropriate for the kind of information you wish to find and create, and creating a general set of deadlines and plan of attack for the rest of the project's phases.
Phase II - Researching
Researching involves becoming knowledgeable about the chosen topic area, breaking it down into manageable chunks, delving into the topic area deeply, and piecing all the facts together into a coherent whole.
Phase III - Writing
Writing involves taking all of the information found in the previous phase and stitching it together to create an informative, creative, and well written essay describing your central question, your answer to that question, and how you discovered that answer.
Phase IV - Presenting
This last phase involves using your written essay and research to create a 3-5 minute presentation describing your central question, your answer, and creating visual aids to support your speech.
The Phases
Phase I - Planning (10 points)
Discussion
Good planning is the cornerstone of any successful project. The most important part of planning is thinking through the steps before you actually take them on. You may not hit every deadline. You may change some of the steps you plan here during the process. This is okay. Again, the main purpose of planning is to think through the project.
- Create or select a Central Question.
- Create 3-5 Clarifying and 1-3 Probing Questions to flesh out your Central Question. These questions are to be recorded and turned in on the Questions Form.
- Fill in and maintain Deadlines Form.
Recommendations
- The more thoughtful questions you create, the more in depth your project will be, the more you will learn, the more impressive your presentation will be, and the higher your grade!
- It is important to think carefully about your questions. You will be answering them for the next few weeks!
- It is very important that you create realistic tasks. Break each step into manageable chunks. Each task should take no less than 5 minutes, but no more than 30.
Phase II - Researching (15 points)
Discussion
The main point of this project is to learn how to gather reliable information in a systematic (planned) way. Research is not just typing "energy" or "solar cells" into Google. That is a good way to get very general information, but how do you find out how gasoline is converted into a car's forward movement? Which sites should you trust and which ones should you hold suspect and why? What types of information are there? Which types should you seek out first? What information should I collect about each source I use? How do I report my sources to my audience? These are questions you will be able to answer by the end of your researching phase.
Another note about researching is that you may return to this phase multiple times once you have started the next phase, writing. You may discover that some vital piece of information is needed that you did not collect, or the source for some data is not as trustworthy as you had originally thought. Do not fret! This is a natural part of the researching process: returning for more.
It is important not to rely on Internet sources alone. Printed information is generally peer-reviewed. This means it is checked for accuracy by experts. That means you can trust it. Internet sources are not always peer-reviewed. Some printed materials can be found online! These can count as printed sources even if you found them online if they are also published as printed journals.
Requirements
- Record the following information about all sources used on the Source Information Catcher:
- author
- title of the book, article, or website
- magazine or journal title, or website address (URL)
- publisher
- date of publication
- date of viewing/printing for websites
- a printout of any Internet material used (not necessarily the whole website, just the portion you used)
- Keep detailed notes when you read your sources. You will turn these in with your other documentation.
- 3 general sources for background information about your topic.
- encyclopedias
- wikipedia
- general information books
- 2 printed or electronically saved journal or magazine articles that are related to your questions.
Recommendations
- Look for background information on Wikipedia, in encyclopedias, or in general books about the subject.
- Look for more detailed or up-to-date (deep) information in journals and magazines. Many of these can now be found online. Ask your librarians!
- Read background information first, then determine which deep sources you will need in order to answer your questions. You want to become very familiar with the topic before delving deeper.
- Don't be afraid to use real live people as deep resources too! I've called university professors or professionals in certain fields for detailed information. Be sure to read up on your background information before taking this step, but personal interviews can be great sources of information.
- I usually copy or print all of the relevant source material so I have access to it anytime. I am experimenting with email and Google Docs to save online material without having to waste trees. You may want to email yourself links or the content from a website instead of printing it. You will not be allowed to check out the books about your topic because there are multiple classes sharing the same materials. You will need to read the materials at school and copy relevant information to use during the next phase.
Phase III - Writing (30 points)
Discussion
You can start writing as soon as you feel like you have solid answers to all of your questions based on the information you've found in the research phase. I am looking for a cohesive essay based around your answer to the Central Question. DO NOT just list each question and then write your answer. That is boring and will earn only average scores (C). You can use your Central Question to fashion your essay's thesis. The other questions help you explore your topic in more depth. Use what you have learned to expand on your central question's answer and show me that you've become an expert on your chosen topic.
It is in your best interest to use the same skills you use to write essays for English class. Write an outline. Do a mind map. Prewrite or freewrite as an initial step. Organize your ideas before your write your final copy. I expect your FINAL essay to look very different than your first draft.
When writing a research essay you must back up your factual ideas with reliable sources. Anytime you reference someone else's idea you must give them credit in the text of your essay and then list the full citation at the end of your essay. This happens whenever you include a quotation, but can also be needed when just mentioning someone else's idea. Not citing your sources is called plagiarism and is a SERIOUS academic integrity violation. It will earn you an automatic 0 and a referral to your Dean. If you have any questions about this, please ask your teacher or your librarian. You will be taught how to cite your sources before you start writing.
Requirements
- 3-5 page essay, not including your references cited list
- 12 point readable font (if you chose a non-standard font, run it by me first)
- few spelling errors (caught in first and second drafts)
- few grammatical errors (caught in first and second drafts)
- creative
- interesting
- Cite your sources both in the text of your essay and in a references cited list at the end of your essay.
- Turn in your first and second drafts with your final draft so I can see how much your essay changed through the drafting process.
Recommendations
- Do not plan to write your final essay the night before it is due. I expect FINAL essays on that deadline, not first drafts.
- Have a peer, your parent, brother, sister, uncle, or whoever read through your second draft to give you feedback and make changes.
- Finish writing your first draft at least 4 days before the deadline so there is time to reread it and make changes.
- Do reread your drafts and make notes about how to change it for the better!
Phase IV - Presenting (20 points)
Discussion
One of the most important components to scientific work is sharing information from one scientist to another and to the general public. If one scientist has a great new idea, it is not going to make much difference for the rest of us unless she shares that idea in a way we can understand. Your task in this final phase is to show off your new skills and knowledge in front of your peers. Remember how interested you were when you first started researching the topic? Try to kindle that excitement in your peers through fantastic visual aids and an excited presentation style.
Requirements
- visual aids
- poster OR
- Powerpoint
- presentation outline
- 3-5 minute presentation in class
- 3-5 minutes of questions from your teacher and peers
- You should be able to answer relevant questions about your topic.
- You must present and answer 2 or 3 of your clarifying and probing questions (at least one probing) during your presentation.
- You must explain your central question and provide your detailed answer using your references and visual aids.
Recommendations
- Feign excitement during your presentation even if you've become bored with your chosen topic! It's a good way to make your presentation more exciting and fun for your audience.
- Plan your presentation and practice what you will say ahead of time. It sounds silly, but if you can give your speech in your room to a couple stuffed animals or in front of a mirror once or twice before giving it in class, you will have worked out a few kinks and be much more comfortable during the actual presentation. If you are nervous to stand up in front of your peers, practice will calm your nerves.
- You should not present everything you discovered throughout your research and will be stopped at 5 minutes.
Final Project Portfolio Requirement
Your Final Project Portfolio will contain the following materials and is due on Friday, May 1st.
- Completed Questions Form
- Completed Source Information Catcher w/ at least 5 sources
- Completed Deadlines Form
- Final Draft of Essay
- First Draft of Essay
- Completed Peer/Family Member Comments Form
- Presentation Outline/Notes
- Presentation Visual Aids (Poster/Powerpoint)
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