Research Progress Report

So far I have learned that there are different opinions on the idea of desegregating schools. I'm still deciding whether to focus more on high schools or colleges and universities, both have their own issues. I have also learned that a lot of sites are opinion based, which is helpful, in a way, but not academic.

Desegregation is a term that has rendered many different articles. Desegregation in schools narrows the search down, but the chance is then higher that I will get an article that is not available via the internet, at least not without paying. Also, First school desegregation and survey questions about desegregation


Next week, I plan to look up more information that will help me decide whether I want to write about high schools or colleges and universities. The idea of desegregation in the military is also a possibility. I need to keep my audience in mind when looking for these sources.


I also plan to create a survey for students for my first-hand research.

Audience and Purpose

After discussing my topic in front of the entire class I've come up with the following:


Audience -- College students, particularly education majors
Future teachers


Purpose -- Convince people and Argue that there is still segregation in schools, although some schools overtly claim that they are desegregated.
Illustrate using examples from Jena 6 and other cases.

3 Questions to Refine My Topic

-- Is segregation, in schools and out, still a problem of today's society?



-- What were the reasons behind the initial idea to desegregate schools?



-- Were there societal or academic improvements because of this integration in schools?

Desegregation in Schools -- Research Topic

Part I: Exploration

1. Identify the issue or problem that you plan to focus on in your research project.

-- The effects on students, and others, after desegregation in schools.

2. What is your personal connection to and interest in this topic?

-- I have always gone to very diverse schools and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Plus, if schools were segregated, where would I go, being biracial?

3. What opinions do you already hold about this topic?

-- I feel everyone has the right to get the same education.

4. What knowledge do you already have about this topic?

-- I know a little bit about the Brown v. Board case, and plan to use it in the paper.

5. What are your main questions about this topic? What are you most curious about?

-- I want to know how people really felt about the desegregation, especially in schools, and how it affected their lives.

6. Within what scholarly discipline (such as history, biology, psychology) do you expect to do most of your research? How does this discipline approach or study this topic?

-- I expect to do most of my research within history books and historical websites. I feel that history approaches this topic objectively and will give a fair account of how everything really happened.

7. How could you research this topic outside the library (for example, through interviews and/or observations)?

-- I could observe and/or interview here at school how people feel about going to school in a diverse community. This will show long term effects of the desegregation.

Part II: Focusing

Write an initial claim, or an open-ended question, to guide your research on this topic. Make it specific but exploratory. Remember that a good claim opens up an area of inquiry about a topic; a claim should invite evidence, support, and debate.

-- How has desegregation in schools affected our country?

Synthesis Paper Links and Summary "Do Smoking Bands Reduce Smoking?"

Changes of Attitudes and Patronage Behaviors in Response to Smoke-Free Bar Law
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/93/4/611

Effects of Workplace Smoking Bans on Cigarette Consumption
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/80/2/178

Association Between Household and Workplace Smoking Restrictions and Adolescent Smoking
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/284/6/717

Do Workplace Smoking Bans Reduce Smoking?
http://www.jstor.org/view/00028282/ap000012/00a00040/0

Summary of Effects of Workplace Smoking Bans on Cigarette Consumption

A study was done in Australia, among Public Service workers, the largest employee group in the country, to see the effects of a smoking ban. The introduction of the ban was announced
over a year before its implementation deadline and was followed by publicity, pre-deadline phasing in of restrictions at some worksites, and availability of programs to help smokers stop smoking or to control their consumption. Knowing of this upcoming smoking ban, the workers were surveyed two to four weeks before the ban and again five to six months after the ban. The results were surprising. While there was a decrease in smokers, it was found that there was a small percentage of people who were non-smokers before the ban, and had reported becoming smokers in the last survey. The researchers admit that the evidence for effects of workplace bans on smoking cessation is mixed and that the reduction in prevalence may be no greater than the spontaneous rate of smoking cessation. After reading this article, I understand the decrease in smokers because of the lack of time in which to smoke.

Borland, R., Chapman, S., Owen, N., Hill, D. (1990). Effects of Workplace Smoking Bans on Cigarette Consumption. American Journal of Public Health, 80, No. 2. Retrieved October 3, 2007, from http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/80/2/178

Goodbye Pen and Paper, Hello Technology (Revised with Metacommentary)

We are becoming a technology-based society, encouraged by even the President, himself. But is this really what is best for our students? Today, every school is equipped with a computer lab, or two, at the very least. Some have even went as far as going “all-laptop” where every student has their own laptop for their educational use. Years ago, teaching was based on learning facts and having the ability to recite them back at a later date. Fast forward to the present, and you will see that everything is technology based. Consider schools, for example. They are currently in a transformation from text books and chalkboards to more interactive ways of thinking by using software integration. Some say that this new way of learning is more beneficial because what you learn coincides with everyday activities as opposed to the general learning in schools. The most comforting fact is that books are not totally extinct…yet.

Continue into the future one hundred years from today. All of this present technology is preparing us for the future, right? Not according to Clifford Stoll. In his article, Who Needs Computers?, Stoll argues that the jobs we have today will still be needed one hundred years from now. While it is true that whether it is a “dentist, truck driver, ballet dancer, salesperson, or schoolteacher” (47), technology is not needed to be at the top in any of these fields, the authors of Video Games and Learning will argue a separate point. In this present article, the authors’ argument is not that one needs technology in order to perform a task for a job, but that it will help one learn to do their job better. Learning strategies at a young age, in terms of a video game, help children get a sense of a real job is like. These findings challenge the common thought of many that video games are just a waste of time. Although, at one time, technology in our future may have seemed of concern to only those planning to work with computers, the authors of Video Games and Learning show that this new technology will help any profession in the future.

Whereas researchers used to believe books, paper, and a pen were the most effective ways of learning, new studies show that technology might actually be the best for our future. In short, soon students will be taught by computers rather than teachers, all homework will be done online, and novels and magazines will be issued through e-mail. The world is changing and we are all a part of it.

Goodbye Pen and Paper, Hello Technology (Revised)

We are becoming a technology-based society, encouraged by even the President, himself. But is this really what is best for our students? Today, every school is equipped with a computer lab, or two, at the very least. Some have even went as far as going “all-laptop” where every student has their own laptop for their educational use. Years ago, teaching was based on learning facts and having the ability to recite them back at a later date. Fast forward to the present, and you will see that everything is technology based. Schools are currently in a transformation from fact fetish to more interactive ways of thinking by using software integration. Some say that this new way of learning is more beneficial because what you learn coincides with everyday activities as opposed to the general learning in schools. The most comforting fact is that books are not totally extinct…yet.

Continue into the future one hundred years from today. All of this present technology is preparing us for the future, right? Not according to Clifford Stoll. In his article, Who Needs Computers?, Stoll argues that the jobs we have today will still be needed one hundred years from now. While it is true that whether it is a “dentist, truck driver, ballet dancer, salesperson, or schoolteacher” (47), technology is not needed to be at the top in any of these fields, the authors of Video Games and Learning will argue a separate point. In this present article, the authors’ argument is not that one needs technology in order to perform a task for a job, but that it will help one to learn to do their job better. Learning strategies at a young age, in terms of a video game, help children get a sense of a real job is like. These findings challenge the common thought of many that video games are just a waste of time. Although, at one time, technology in our future may have seemed of concern to only those planning to work with computers, the authors of Video Games and Learning show that this new technology will help any profession in the future.

Whereas researchers used to believe books, paper, and a pen were the most effective ways of learning, new studies show that technology might actually be the best for our future. Soon, students will be taught by computers rather than teachers, all homework will be done online, and novels and magazines will be issued through e-mail. The world is changing and we are all a part of it.