APA Paper with results

I finished the APA Paper with the results section. The link is below:

APA Paper with Results

It was difficult to keep it short, but I think what I said is clear. I look forward to the critique.

Natalia Beardsley critiqued my paper and gave me constructive feedback. Click on the link below to see her suggestions. She also sent me an email outlining her suggestions and why. It was extremely helpful and clarified so much for me.

APA Paper and Results with suggested corrections

When reading through the APA guidelines it was often difficult to understand their examples. You really have to pay attention to the details and read through it all more than once. Natalia obviously has a knack for noticing the details and it helped me to have her check my paper. I was glad she pointed out that my hypothesis sounded like it was based on opinion rather than any study and she suggested I look for an article or paper to back it up. Good idea! Even if it is someone else's "opinion," it would help to show researchers why we came up with the hypothesis in the first place.


Click on the link below to see the corrected copy of the APA paper with Results.

Corrected APA Paper with Results

APA Methods

This assignment took longer than I expected! When I went on the APA website, they had a note on there that they had some errors printed in the the 6th edition. I wasn't really sure I had all the correct information.

I printed out the pages I thought I needed for the APA guidelines and they were somewhat helpful. The link to my APA paper with the "Method" section added is below:

PMcBrideResearchPaperAPAMethods


This is extremely useful information to know. As educators, it is important for us to be able to guide our students on the correct format for research papers.

APA Format Examining State Differences

For this assignment, we had to write a title page and introduction for a research paper in APA format. We looked at the 2013 NAEP 8th grade mean math scores for all 50 states. We had to compare the mean scores of states that had Republican governors to the mean scores of states that had Democratic governors. We had to come up with a question, propose a hypothesis and indicate the independent and dependent variables.

We also compared the mean scores of states that banned the open carry of firearms to the mean scores of states that required a license to carry firearms in the open. Below is the link to my title page and introduction.

Examining State Differences

What I found difficult to do using the header/footer tab in word was that you cannot put "Running head" on the title page and NOT on the pages to follow. If anyone else has figured out how to do that, please let me know! I tried different ways and finally ended up making the top margin .05" and typing in the header and pages for each page. The APA guidelines were easy to follow. They give you examples, also, which really helps.

It was difficult to whittle down the introduction to 250 words!

Peer Review Activity

Well, this was an eye-opener for me! I reviewed Stephanie McLain's Blog and it was done extremely well. She made me realize that I did not hide my URLs in a hyperlink, and I probably should have done that because it looks better.

Here is the link to the google document of my review:

Stephanie's Blog

I went through the google document with the assignment and instructions, but also looked over the blog rubrics to make sure I was paying attention to the details. I do plan to go back and re-do my URLs to hide them with a hyperlink.

This peer review was a good idea because it requires all the students to pay attention to the details of the assignment.

Natalia Beardslee reviewed my blog and she pointed out that she was unable to view some of my documents. I had to go back and make sure I shared them with everyone at Shenandoah University.

The google map we did, I learned you have to go in and make sure the map itself is shared in google maps. Natalia was extremely helpful with her insights and suggestions.

Prezi Presentation

Natalia Beardslee and Stephanie McLain were my partners in this Prezi presentation. We decided to do a presentation on ecosystems and the impact of human activities on them. I have to do a complete lesson plan on ecosystems and this topic is something I can use in the classroom for direct instruction. My topic was water pollution. Natalia did soil pollution and Stephanie did air pollution.

I know I learned a lot by doing this assignment. Once you watch the tutorials, it was not difficult to work with Prezi. This is a visual explosion compared to PowerPoint! My only concern with using this format is being cautious with how much you put in your presentation. Sometimes you can get caught up in the "bells and whistles" and the students will lose sight of the information.

I have seen Prezi presentations that had too many words and a background color that made it difficult to read. I would say that Prezi is definitely a transformation in the SAMR model compared to PowerPoint. Students using this will be able to do things with this program that they cannot do with PowerPoint (redefinition).

The layout is more like a road-map where the student can make stops along the way and show what they know in new and exciting ways. They can rotate and zoom in and out and add a music score if they want! This is definitely a tool that can be used to motivate students to learn and I look forward to teaching my students how to use it.

Below is the link to our Prezi presentation or you can click on the presentation below the link.
 
Ecosystems Prezi