Exploration Research

Hello!

Thanks to all of you who handed in the Investigation on time. Well done and great start to the coursework. Now for the next bit!

You need to use these next to lessons in the computer rooms to research and plan your exploration. There are some planning sheets attached to help you along and these need to be completed as fully as possible by the end of tomorrow's lesson.

There are some starting points on Colin's Blog: commscolin.blogspot.co.uk

Research Sheet

Key Concepts

And just in case you need prompting, here is the overview of the requirements for the Exploration task: Exploration Powerpoint

You also need to bring a title and an introductory paragraph to Friday's lesson and we will do some peer assessment!

 The deadline for the completed first draft of this piece is Friday 6th December.

Any questions....just ask!

Nina

Investigation and Selfies

Good afternoon!

Your main focus today is to get on with your 500 word investigation. You should be able to more or less finish this in the lesson. Your investigation needs to be posted via Turnitin by Monday 25th November but you can upload it as soon as you have finished it. This is the last lesson you will be working on it. Remember, this first piece is a draft...I am not expecting perfection (at this stage at least!)

Some of you have pretty much finished your investigation so there are a couple of things I would like you to do.

Firstly, just have a look at the animation based on the killing of Sophie Lancaster, murdered for being a Goth. Due to a technology malfunction last lesson, I didn't get chance to show you this and I thought it would help us reflect on society's sometimes very negative attitudes to sub-cultural groups or to those with alternative lifestyles.

http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/


Secondly, I thought you could explore the rise of the 'selfie' as it has been in the news recently (the most recent addition to the OED online). Read the following articles, summarise them and comment on what is being communicated through 'selfies.' This could be useful for those thinking about their 'cybernarrative.'


http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/emma-brockes-blog/2013/nov/14/selfie-bieber-facebook-instagram-foolish

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/19/selfie-narcissism-oxford-dictionary-word

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/14/how-selfies-became-a-global-phenomenon

Work hard!

Groups

So..... in the first part of the lesson we have been exploring what groups are and why we join them (although often we have no choice!)

You need to have a worked example of a group YOU belong to in order to show that you are beginning to engage with this subject. Follow the link below and there is a table for you to fill in about a group that you are part of. I have done an example for you too.

A Group I Belong To

Extension task: Build up your knowledge of sub-cultural groups through online research.

Can I also direct you to a previous blog on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - read (or reread) the article to extend your understanding of his ideas.

Happy thinking!

Investigation Work

Good Afternoon All

This lesson is all about getting together a very clear plan for your 500 word investigation but first of all you have an admin task.

Admin:

Your work will eventually be submitted through Turnitin on Moodle. To do this you need to be enrolled on the course. Go to AS Communication and Culture in courses. Click on 'Settings' and then enrol on the course: the enrolment key is 'shakespeare' (all lower case).

Coursework:

The structure of your Investigation has to be as follows:

• An opening statement: this introduces the topic and introduces the main focus in terms of key words (eg constructed identity; self-presentation; culture; value; verbal communication; groups etc)
• Three paragraphs: each with a point / a reference to a source / a reference to a theory / a final point to sum up your paragraph
• A conclusion - sum up what you believe and leave the reader with something to think about.

Read through your Coursework booklet for an example of how to work through everything for the Investigation.

Complete the table attached here to help you structure and plan your investigation.

Coursework Plan

When you have come up with a clear plan, make sure you discuss it with me in the lesson or email it to me at the end of the lesson and I can give you feedback. Then all you need to do is write it!

Good Luck!

Group and Family Work

Hello!

Here is the Powerpoint with some initial ideas on groups and family which we used in today's lesson. Have a look through to remind yourselves of what we discussed / have a look to catch up on what you missed.

PPT on Group and Family

Nina

Coursework

Here is the Powerpoint on the coursework you have to do - it is all in your yellow booklet too. There is no excuse for not knowing what to do!!

Coursework PPT

Nina

Information Overload

Hello Communication Students

I have been 'squirrelling' resources away and thought that really I should be sharing them with you! Hope you find them interesting and useful.

Food

As some of you are thinking about food for your personal investigation, I thought this might be interesting:

Food article

The family

We are beginning to discuss the structure and dynamics of groups. Here are some articles on a group that we are all a part in one way or another - a family. These articles link to the discussions we will be having (or have had) on our idea of what a family is; the representation of families on television; and how the 'traditional' family (is there such a thing I hear you cry) is used as political football to support or refute criticisms of a failing society. Let me know what you think.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/oct/05/health.socialtrends

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jul/19/ifs-marriage-little-benefit-child-development

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/05/johnarlidge.theobserver

Thinking Allowed      Link to Thinking Allowed Podcasts

Finally, I wanted to give you a couple of links to podcasts from the Radio 4 broadcast Thinking Allowed. These are a series of programmes discussing predominantly sociological issues. I have picked a few that you might find useful. They are quite academic but have a go as I think they will resonate with some of the ideas we have been discussing on the course.

Podcast on Richard Hoggart and Representation of Family

Podcast on Erving Goffman

Nuclear Family

This is just for your own extended work, but it does show that there is good information out there!

Enjoy

Nina

Coursework Investigation

Hello!

Task 1 - 15 minutes MAX

Choose one of the coureswork pieces. Write a sentence to summarise each paragraph. Make a note of all the key terminology and key concepts used. Make a note of theorists referred to - you should be familiar with them!

Task 2 - Choosing an Investigation task

Read the choices for your coursework.

The first coursework essay is a 500-word investigation into one of the following issues.

Education: all I learnt at school.

·        The happiest days of my life?  School and me. 

·        A hidden curriculum? What school taught me to be.

Food : You are what you eat.

·        Eat drink and be merry. What my celebration meals say about me. 

·        Breakfast - the most important meal of the day? What my breakfast says about me. 

Stories of my life.

·        Happily ever after? The first story I remember, and what it means to me.

·        My cyber narrative. Who I am online.

First, decide on which coursework title appeals to you.

Next, take some notes on the kinds of ideas you could include in the essay.

You also need to consider which key concepts and theories are going to be helpful to you in writing your essay.

You need to post this on your blog or email me your ideas or print off your ideas. By the end of the lesson I need to know what you intend to do!

Good luck.

Nina