Whew! Mark and I are running all over Washington, it seems, attending regional contests. We're thoroughly enjoying seeing old friends and meeting new ones, judging projects, and generally getting in the way of the fabulous regional coordinators.
On the way to Bellingham last week, History Day Advisory Committee member Gwen Schweitzer and I were talking about judging in general (she's a judging machine, having helped at two contests so far with more to come). Gwen had a great insight that I've added to my judging orientation, and I think it's useful for coaches and students, too.
She said she tries to differentiate between fixable and non-fixable problems when she's evaluating projects. For example, an exhibit with too-small font is fixable. A documentary that doesn't include brief credits for images and video used in it is fixable. A performance that includes too much background and not enough findings is, I think, fixable.
So what's not fixable? Well, the big one this year is a project that isn't really about an innovation. The Innovation in History theme is a challenging one, and we're seeing that at the regional contests. Most projects are about a physical innovation (the cotton gin, the microprocessor, blood plasma, unicycles). A few are about ideas (Communism, wilderness). And some are really about the innovator, not the innovation.
For example, a project that purports to be about the light bulb but is really a biography of Thomas Edison, or one whose title suggests it's about heart transplants but is really a profile of Christiaan Barnard. Be careful! It's tempting to focus on the individual, and certainly their background has something to do with the innovation. And we are a society focused on the accomplishments of individual people. But it's important to avoid this trap.
Projects should be about the innovation, not the person. And the theme ends with "Impact and Change"--so projects have to show both. How did it make a difference? Why was it important? What happened after the innovation came on the scene?
Whether you're heading into regionals or prepping for state, take a hard look at your project. Is it about an innovation? Does it show both impact and change? Can you express that in an interview with judges? And it is clear in your process paper? Ask someone else to look at it, too--friends, parents, teachers are all great sources of feedback.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Correct Bibliography Citations Are Important
Enjoy this post from guest blogger Jessica Ellison of Minnesota History Day:
Many students are using online citation programs, such as Easy Bib or Noodle Bib, to generate their citations. While these programs can sometimes be helpful as students assemble their bibliographies, there are certain flaws that can result in incorrect citations. For example, when using Easy Bib’s MLA style to cite a government document, the citation formula does not ask for an original date of publication. Students citing the United States Constitution, as found on the Library of Congress website, will be asked for the date the document was published on the website and the date the document was accessed, but not for the original publication date.
Be cautious of online citation generators. History Day rules require the bibliography citations to be in either MLA or Turabian style, and certain citations assembled online do not match either of these. In general, it is always a good idea to have students use the printed guides, “A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations” by Kate Turabian or “MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers” by Joseph Gibaldi, instead of using the online generators. It’s similar to the skill of telling time or doing long division; digital clocks and calculators are available, but students still need to learn how to read traditional clocks and do long division by hand. Additionally, the online generators seem easier, but in many cases it is more complicated than simply referencing one of these books.
If the books are not available at your school library, here are a few helpful citation guides online for Turabian and MLA.
Many students are using online citation programs, such as Easy Bib or Noodle Bib, to generate their citations. While these programs can sometimes be helpful as students assemble their bibliographies, there are certain flaws that can result in incorrect citations. For example, when using Easy Bib’s MLA style to cite a government document, the citation formula does not ask for an original date of publication. Students citing the United States Constitution, as found on the Library of Congress website, will be asked for the date the document was published on the website and the date the document was accessed, but not for the original publication date.
Be cautious of online citation generators. History Day rules require the bibliography citations to be in either MLA or Turabian style, and certain citations assembled online do not match either of these. In general, it is always a good idea to have students use the printed guides, “A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations” by Kate Turabian or “MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers” by Joseph Gibaldi, instead of using the online generators. It’s similar to the skill of telling time or doing long division; digital clocks and calculators are available, but students still need to learn how to read traditional clocks and do long division by hand. Additionally, the online generators seem easier, but in many cases it is more complicated than simply referencing one of these books.
If the books are not available at your school library, here are a few helpful citation guides online for Turabian and MLA.
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