Possibilities,Restrictions,&Values:AssignmentOne

DiscourseObservationAnalysis

Understanding how to break down an assignment sheet that has a lot of components can
sometimes be difficult, and it can certainly make a fairly simple task appear rather
tedious. Reading and breaking down assignment sheets is a valuable skill both in and
outside of our class, and to help us practice these skills, I have created an activity in
which you will ask three questions of the assignment sheet that will help you assess the
possibilities, restrictions, and values for Assignment One. In small groups, I would like
for you all to work together to address the questions/prompts below. You want to be
sure that you can point to explicit textual evidence, and when you find that something is
not expressly stated, you may find that this is an area in which you can go above and
beyond the guidelines. Be sure to list your group members names next to your
contributions. Not listing your name means that I cannot justify giving you credit for your
work,sopleasedolistyournames.

Possibilities: What are the possibilities for Assignment One? What are some specific,
concrete ideas for how to do more than what the assignment guidelines require? How can you
add to the assignment guidelines? What freedoms do you have to develop other aspects of this
assignment?

(BransonGreer,EmariOdom,AbaHutchison)
Whendefiningtherulesandconventionforthefiguredworld,gobeyondwithwordcount
listed.
Include,atthebeginningofthedocument,anyinformationthatwouldbehelpfultothe
readerwhentheyreadyourobservationnotes.
Findoutinformationaboutthepersontobeinterviewedbeforetheinterview.Ifagameor
movie/showisthefiguredworld,lookuptheinspirationforthedevelopmentofthat
character.
Bringqualityworktothepeerreviewsothatitwillbepolishedduringthereviewandnot
undercompletereconstruction.
(DakotaCarmer,NickRusso,Jakewade)Addingmusicthatiscommoninyoufigured
world
Extraobservationsofyourfiguredworld(examplewatchmorethan3episodes)
Domorethanoneinterview(forexampleinmyshowimwatchingiaminterviewingfrom
allperspectivecharter,actorandwatcher)
(TimothyVillar,CamDarley,TronThomas),Onepossibilityistocreatesomesortof
characterlisttoindicatewhothemajorplayersinthisfiguredworldis,anddescribe
them..
Inavideogame,describethedifferencesbetweenearlylevelgameplay,midlevelplay,
andendgame.Besuretomentionexactlywhathaschangedinbetweenthelevels
suchasgameplay(earlylevelsareforcedtodoqueststoexpediteleveling,whileeven
midlevelcharacterscanengageinraidstonotonlylevelbuttogainloot).
Gotogreatdetailexplainingthesocialnormsoitsclearwhensomethinggoesoutsideo
thesocialnorm

(JustinHendricks,ErinEvans,TylerReller)Showingvideofromourfiguredworldinthe
portfolio
Creatingaportfoliothatisverydetailedbutstillsimpleandeasytointeractwith(dontadd
toomanypagesordropdownsanddontuseneoncolors)
Wemayconductmultipleinterviewsfromdifferentcharactersperspectivesinthefigured
worldinordertogatherideasandopinionsfrommultipleangles
Discusshowyouactinthefiguredworldcomparedtothosearoundyou.Doyoubelieve
youreforbehaviorisinsyncwithothers,ordoyoudothingsdifferently?

Onepossibilityistoaddapictureofcharactersthatdemonstrateacertainqualityof
theirs.Youcouldaddadescriptiontothepicturetoletthereaderknowwhyitsincluded
andhowyouthinkitllhelpthemunderstandthecharacter.Thispossibilityaddressesthe
concernthatareadermightnotunderstandthenotesifhe/sheisntfamiliarwiththe
show.(WalkerRatchford,AnnaMcCord,
Inthisassignmentyouhavethefreedomtoaddanyartisticaspecttothefinalproductto
makeitappealingandinteresting.Forexample,youcouldputclipsofinterviewsor
scenesintheshowtomakeitmoreinterestingandrelatabletotheviewer.
Conductmorethanoneinterviewsothatyoucanpresentacoupleofdifferentviews.The
assignmentsheetsaysConductatleastoneinterviewwithanactorinthecommunity
youareobserving.Adifferentactormayanswerthequestionsdifferently.
(JerianHardy,JulianRobinson)
Listingfamousrepresentativesfromourfiguredworldtomakeconnections.
Ifyourfiguredworldisagenreofmusic(R&B,Rap,Country,etc.),youcouldoffer
examples.(Songs,artists,albums,groups,producers,etc.)
Doingmorethantherequiredguidelinescouldbeintricatedesign,usinganimationsand
images,writingmorethantheminimum,etc.

Restrictions: What are the restrictions for Assignment One? What are the nonnegotiable
parts of this assignment? As in, what do you absolutely have to do at a bare minimum in order
topass(i.e.makeaC).

Selectthreedifferenttimestoobserveyourfiguredworld(3rdbulletinguidelines)
Keepitappropriate.
Observe for at least 3045 mins( does not explicitly say in the doc but in class you said
thattheyshouldbethatlongforagoodobservation)
Observationsshouldrepresentvariousactivitiesandgroupsthroughthefiguredworld
Reflectiononyourstrengthsandweaknessesoftheassignment(reflectioninguidelines)
Prior to the observations, write a 250 word summary of your figured world (5th bullet in
guidelines)
Chooseatopicthatreallyinterestyou(1stbulletlastsentenceintheguidelines)
YoumustmakedetailednotesthatcanbeeasilyunderstoodbytheclassandAshlyn
(Lastbulletpointonpage1)
Youhavetoconductaninterviewwithanactorinthecommunityyouareobserving
(Bullet3,page2)
Donotconductobservationsbasedonpersonalillegalactivities
Observevariousscenesoftheenvironmentsothatyoucangetawellroundedfeelfor
yourfiguredworld,inotherwords,dontonlyobserveasingleboothofacoffeeshop.
Thatmaybeuninteresting.(Bullet4,page1)
Chooseatopicthatisinterestingandinwhichyoucanobservethingspeoplemay
actuallywanttoknowabout.
NeedtousethevocabularyandconceptsfromWengersCommunitiesofPractice:A
BriefIntroductionaswellasthosewelearnedinclass.
Asyouobserve,payparticularattentiontothefollowingelements,whichwehave
discussedatlengthinclass
Recordthetimingoftheobservationsthroughoutthenotes.
Recordthetimingofeventsthattranspirethroughouttheobservations
500wordreflectionwithspecifiedfont
includeexamplesofelementsitalicizedinAssignment1Guidelines
observefiguredworld3separatetimes
observeforatleast30minutestoabout45minutes
recordthetimingofeventswithineachobservation

Interviewanactorwithinthefiguredworld,thiscouldmeaninterviewingsomeone
directlyinvolvedwithinthecommunityoranindividualwhohasconsiderableknowledge
ofthefield.
Makeanefforttomakewellwrittennotesthatareinformativeandprovideinsight.
Makesureyouaretrulyinterestedinyourtopicbeforechoosing,orelseyoullgetbored
quickly.
Makesureyoucanexamineyourfiguredworldfor30minutes

Values: What do you see me valuing as the teacher? More specifically, what do you believe is
important to me that I want you to learn? What do you think I want you to learn from doing this
assignment? (Point to specific textual examples from the assignment sheet to make your
case).

Goingaboveandbeyondjustwhatisrequired
Independently having the ability to research our topic based on what we can learn without
reading/learningfromotherswork
Descriptivenoteswhenobservingyourfiguredworld
Beopentocriticismwhenbeingpeerreviewed
Thattheobservationsareverydetailed(bullet7)
Whatittakestobeverydetailoriented(bullet7)
Learningtonotprocrastinatebyfollowingyour(homeworkassignment)
Being able to do what we please and do the work we feel will excel us in this class and in
writing
You want us to find the deeper meaning in the assignments we do by making us do
reflectionsonourwork.

To be able to apply vocabulary concepts to appropriately convey our figured world to

someonewhohasneverseen/experiencedthatparticularworld.
Take detailed, explicit notes that can be easily understood by other readers in the
class
Drawing from the vocabulary and concepts you learned from Wengers
Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction, and added vocabulary from class
discussions
Supporting your reasoning with examples because in the reflection section you say to
giveexplicittextualexamplesthreetimes.
Domorethanwhatisexpected
Followsomethingyouarepassionateaboutinsteadoflookingfortheeasywayout
Makingsurethatnotonlyyou,butthereaderscanunderstandwhatyouarewritingabout
Bepresentforpeerreview(ifnotitwillaffectyourgradeandclassmates)
You obviously value quality over quantity, from design of the wix page to the writing of the
assigmnent.
Dothebareminimumandyouwillreceivethebareminimum.
Work on something that actually interests you, something that you are passionate about,
notsomethingeasy.