Sreece22's Blog

Ch. 8 Fieldworking

This chapter was very helpful to me because it helped me because it taught me that in the past I was going about putting drafts together the wrong way. I’m a perfectionist, so when I’m doing a paper or a video or any type of project I have I always start at the beginning. I won’t move forward until the first paragraph or frame is perfect. It takes me forever because I just sit and look at a small section of my project until I’m finish with it then when I move to the next section I have to get up and find my material for the next section whether it be some file on my computer, a picture on my camera, or some paper on my desk, or in one of my folders. But with the way that chapter eight says to lay everything out is an excellent way to work with a draft so that you don’t have to keep searching for things.

 Table of Contents:

Fieldnotes:

1)      Fieldnotes # 1: The first set of fieldnotes is basically over the different types of things in the game of basketball that having to be read by the Commerce men’s basketball team.

2)      Fieldnotes# 2: These are over the first practice that I went to. This practice was an easy practice because it was the last practice before the team began in-season practices. This was helpful to me because I got to watch the players truly interacting with one another as they played five on five.

3)      Fieldnotes# 3: This set is over the second day of in-season practice. These show they guys working together to become better and get ready for the games while still adjusting to the new practices.

4)      Fieldnotes#4: This set is over the game at DBU on 11/09/09. This was the third game of the season and my first game to watch. It was interesting to watch the guys interact in the midst of a fast pace game.

5-7)  Fieldnotes # 5- #7: These three sets were taken the week before and the week of Thanksgiving                                            _______break. The players really showed their passion for the game at these practices. Their _______communication with one another really showed during their games of five on five in practice.

Writing Assignments:

1)      WA#1: This assignment is a look at my own past with literacy sponsors with the use of the text “Literacy Sponsors” by Deborah Brandt. This is when I found the topic of reading in the game of basketball.

2)      WA#2: This assignment was over the literacy in a specific community. I chose to look at the specific community of a basketball team and how it reads during a game. I used pictures that I had taken from the boy’s varsity team at my high school.

3)      WA#3:  This assignment was a research proposal over mine and Andrew study of the Commerce men’s basketball team. This really helped me lay out what I had and what I need to get for our project.

4)      WA#4: This assignment is a mini version of our big project and is over the interview that we conducted over player Andrew Davis.

Interviews:

1)      Players: Our first interview is of Andrew Davis. I interviewed him on video starting with how he began to play basketball and up until now playing in college and how he could see reading as literacy in the game of basketball.

2)      Coaches: Coach Walker was interviewed on November 19. This interview was a great success. Coach Walker talked about how he viewed literacy, how he got to Commerce, and what he thought about literacy in the terms of basketball.   

Archives:

1)      Pictures: We have an assortment of pictures. Some from when Andrew was younger and playing basketball which will be used in our WA#4, some from the game at DBU, and some that Andrew has taken at the gym.

2)      Videos: We have one video from the game at DBU, and our interviews of Andrew Davis and Coach Walker are on video.

With the completion of our WA#4, I’ve really been able to see what our final project is going to look like and I like where we are headed. So far with the answer about literacy in basketball, my interviewees haven’t thought about it before, but once I explain what I see as literacy in basketball they themselves start to see things in the same light. I’m very interested in getting our final interview and seeing if he answers similar to how Andrew and Coach Walker did.

Code Book:

1. Reading players actions: Code: (PA)  (PA1)  (PA2)  (PA2a)
   Ex. Shuffling of feet, Body language, Head nods, Hand gestures, etc.
2. Reading players eyes: Code: (RPE)  (RPE1)  (RPE1)  (RPE2a)
   Ex. Certain looks, where they are looking on the floor, etc.
3.  Verbal Communication: Code: (VC)  (VC1)  (VC2)  (VC2a)
   Ex. Play calls, Coach’s instruction, one word descriptions, anything verbal, etc.
4.  Reading physical actions: Code: (RPA)  (RPA1)  (RPA2)  (RPA2a)
   Ex. Changes in directions, changes in speed, where the ball moves, etc
5.  Reading Surroundings: Code: (RS)  (RS1)  (RS2)  (RS2a)
   Ex. The scoreboard, the crowd, the coach, the refs, etc.
6. No reading took place at all: Code: (N/A)                                                                                                                                            Ex. A player may score on his own or do something out of pure instinct rather than by reading players on the floor.
7. Scores as a result of reading: (SWR) 
   Ex. If a player scores from reading
8. Misses the shot but was able to create a scoring opportunity as a result of reading: (MWR)
   Ex. If a player is able to create a shot opportunity as a result of reading; however misses the attempted shot then.
9. Coach makes call based on reading: (CR)
   Ex. A coach calls a play because he reads something in the defense or because of time on the clock.
10. Coach’s play call works: (CR1)
    Ex. The play that the coach called is successful as results in a score.
11. Coach’s play call fails: (CR2)
    Ex. The play that the coach called is unsuccessful and results in a missed shot.

This project is starting to show its true colors to me and by this I mean that I’m beginning to see the work that is going to be needed to finish it up. Before I just thought that the collecting of the information was easy but now having most of it collect and having to start analyzing it is difficult. Difficult because I really don’t know where to begin and it makes me frustrated. Since I have already began the task of put together the video with imovie I know that the technology part of this project won’t be a problem, it’s just going to be the task of the analyzing and coding of the information that we have collect that is going to be tedious and something that I’m going to want to skip. Today Andrew and I have to finish the task of assembling our WA#4. We have cut our interview and made the intro so now all we have to do is add some photos and titles and voiceovers and we will be finished and ready for our peer review. Today I also plan to go take another set of fieldnotes at basketball practices and to get a few more recent photos of Andrew.

So far in our research and writing process, Andrew and I have been able to collect a great deal of information from our field site in the little time that we have been doing our research. We try to add some new to our table of contents daily if not weekly, and we are always in contact we one another making sure that we are on the same page. For our writing process we have decide to use a video essay instead of a written one so that our audience can better understand what we are trying to show them. We have our rough draft for WA#4 and are gathering all our archives into one place so that we can begin to put it all together in a video essay. We don’t need anything from our classmates based on the fact that our project is over the basketball team which we are going to try to start making contact with to begin interviewing. My questions for Dr. Carter are:  Is this where we are supposed to be?

Table of Contents:

Fieldnotes:

1)      Fieldnotes # 1: The first set of fieldnotes is basically over the different types of things in the game of basketball that having to be read by the Commerce men’s basketball team.

2)      Fieldnotes# 2: These are over the first practice that I went to. This practice was an easy practice because it was the last practice before the team began in-season practices. This was helpful to me because I got to watch the players truly interacting with one another as they played five on five.

3)      Fieldnotes# 3: This set is over the second day of in-season practice. These show they guys working together to become better and get ready for the games while still adjusting to the new practices.

4)      Fieldnotes#4: This set is over the game at DBU on 11/09/09. This was the third game of the season and my first game to watch. It was interesting to watch the guys interact in the midst of a fast pace game.

Writing Assignments:

1)      WA#1: This assignment is a look at my own past with literacy sponsors with the use of the text “Literacy Sponsors” by Deborah Brandt. This is when I found the topic of reading in the game of basketball.

2)      WA#2: This assignment was over the literacy in a specific community. I chose to look at the specific community of a basketball team and how it reads during a game. I used pictures that I had taken from the boy’s varsity team at my high school.

3)      WA#3:  This assignment was a research proposal over mine and Andrew study of the Commerce men’s basketball team. This really helped me lay out what I had and what I need to get for our project.

4)      WA#4: This assignment is a mini version of our big project and is at this moment still a rough draft.

Interviews:

1)      Players: Our first interview is of Andrew Davis. I interviewed him on video starting with how he began to play basketball and up until now playing in college and how he could see reading as literacy in the game of basketball.

2)      Coaches: Interviewing of coach has been scheduled yet because unfortunately he has been out of town all week. But this interview will help us look into the history of the team. 

Archives:

1)      Pictures: We have an assortment of pictures. Some from when Andrew was younger and playing basketball which will be used in our WA#4, some from the game at DBU, and some that Andrew has taken at the gym.

2)      Videos: We have one video from the game at DBU, and our first interview is on video.

Analysis:

Within a week of forming this table of contents, Andrew and I have been able to add a lot to it. First, I attend the game he had at DBU, Dallas Baptist University, and took notes to make for our first set of game fieldnotes. This fieldnotes were very different from the ones I had been taking at practice because this set captured the team having to interact with one another while playing another team. Second, we are on our way to have a final WA#4. Right now it is just a rough draft but it still gives us a lot of information. I was glad we did the rough draft for WA#4 because I had just planned on “winging” it and making the video from start to finish with what we had and not really sitting down and looking for the best way to format the information. Now that we have this rough draft I can see exactly what is going to happen in our WA#4 and it will make the video editing and final WA#4 easier to put together. The most crucial thing that we add to our table of contents was the interview of Andrew because our entire project is going to be based on the interviews that we collect so this was a great thing to get started. Last, we have added game pictures and videos and pictures of Andrew as a child. These are going to be very helpful in illustrating our WA#4 and final project.

Code Book:
We have added the 1 & 2 code to each of the categories. 1) If the player who was doing that type of reading was on the same page as the player he was reading. 2 ) If the player who was doing that type of reading mis-communicated with his teammate and there was a problem resulting. 2a) If the player missed his teammates clues altogether. Also we have added the N/A code. N/A = There was no reading done at all in that certain situation.

1. Reading players actions: Code: (PA)  (PA1)  (PA2)  (PA2a)
Ex. Shuffling of feet, Body language, Head nods, Hand gestures, etc.
2. Reading players eyes: Code: (RPE)  (RPE1)  (RPE1)  (RPE2a)
Ex. Certain looks, where they are looking on the floor, etc.
3. Verbal Communication: Code: (VC)  (VC1)  (VC2)  (VC2a)
Ex. Play calls, Coach’s instruction, one word descriptions, anything verbal, etc.
4. Reading physical actions: Code: (RPA)  (RPA1)  (RPA2)  (RPA2a)
Ex. Changes in directions, changes in speed, where the ball moves, etc
5. Reading Surroundings: Code: (RS)  (RS1)  (RS2)  (RS2a)
Ex. The scoreboard, the crowd, the coach, the refs, etc.
6. No reading took place at all: Code: (N/A)
Ex. A player may score on his own or do something out of pure instinct rather than by reading players on the floor.

For our WA#4, Andrew and I are going to do a media project over an interview that we did over Andrew. We began with how Andrew began to play basketball and then moved into his career now as a college athlete. As a college athlete, I asked him about literacy in the game and if he noticed it, used it, and thought that it was a good skill to have while playing the game. Our WA#4 will consist of videos, pictures from the game at DBU and when Andrew was a younger player, and clips from our interview. In our rough draft we have set it up so that are different things happening like on one question it might just be Andrew’s voice speaking while you are see pictures or it could be the video from our actually interview. This will keep the audience from getting bored by just watching the same thing over and over. I am really liking the direction in which this project is leading us because I love learning about how players’ stories of how they got here and why they play basketball and I believe that giving the players the knowledge that they are doing something so complex underneath the surface of just playing will help them all become better players.

I really like the code book that Andrew and I came up with and believe that it is really working well. We have realized that the few codes that we took down after looking over just a few fieldnotes really seem to work for other fieldnotes that we have taken. I was a little skeptical about using codes in the first place because I felt as if they were going to be a waste of time; however, I have seen that they help me to notice similarities in fieldnotes so that it is easier for me to connect things that happen from one set to another.

Last class period was a little difficult with the internet not working properly; however, we did get to watch Dr. Carter’s interview that she took at the East Caney church for its 151st anniversary. For the interview, Dr. Carter chooses to talk to Mr. Askew and Mr. Pryor, two older men who grew up and around East Caney. Unfortunately, we were able to hear most of the interview because of technical difficulties, but what I could stand was that Askew was born in 1932 and Pryor in 1948 and yet both had similar things that happen to each of them growing up. The community that they grew up in was poor and there wasn’t much means of transportation so you mainly stand within the community. Both went to elementary school where they got the hand-me-downs from the white school in Sulphur Springs and that they had very little school supplies. I was really shock that Mr. Askew chose to go to college to be something other than a farmer because back then if you grew up in a farming community or farming family you fate was set. You were going to be a farmer. Coming from a farming family myself, I know this because my grandfather was one of six brothers and all but one became farmers. And then my dad is also a farmer, so the fact that Mr. Askew took the stand to go out and find something more stable than farming in brave especially being who he was and where he was from in the time that it was. I wish that we could have been able to understand the video because I was intrigued by Mr. Askew’s story very much.

Table of Contents:

Fieldnotes:

1)      Fieldnotes # 1: The first set of fieldnotes is basically over the different types of things in the game of basketball that having to be read by the Commerce men’s basketball team.

2)      Fieldnotes# 2: These are over the first practice that I went to. This practice was an easy practice because it was the last practice before the team began in-season practices. This was helpful to me because I got to watch the players truly interacting with one another as they played five on five. 

3)      Fieldnotes# 3: This set is over the second day of in-season practice. These show they guys working together to become better and get ready for the games while still adjusting to the new practices. 

Writing Assignments:

1)      WA#1: This assignment is a look at my own past with literacy sponsors with the use of the text “Literacy Sponsors” by Deborah Brandt. This is when I found the topic of reading in the game of basketball.

2)      WA#2: This assignment was over the literacy in a specific community. I chose to look at the specific community of a basketball team and how it reads during a game. I used pictures that I had taken from the boy’s varsity team at my high school.

3)      WA#3:  This assignment was a research proposal over mine and Andrew study of the Commerce men’s basketball team. This really helped me lay out what I had and what I need to get for our project.

Interviews:

1)      Players: These are the main interviews that we will be targeting because this will give us the most insight into the Commerce men’s basketball team. Thus far none have been collected, but they will be soon.

2)      Coaches: Interviewing of coach has been scheduled yet because unfortunately he has been out of town all week. But this interview will help us look into the history of the team.  

Code Book:

The code book that we have formed so far is just the beginning. We will allow this code book to grow and hopefully it will help connect things in different sets of fieldnotes that we have. Coding will help us stay organized and connect things in an easier way.

1. Reading player’s actions: Code: (PA)
Ex. Shuffling of feet, Body language, Head nods, Hand gestures, etc.
2. Reading player’s eyes: Code: (RPE)
Ex. Certain looks, where they are looking on the floor, etc.
3. Verbal Communication: Code: (VC)
Ex. Play calls, Coach’s instruction, one word descriptions, anything verbal, etc.
4. Reading physical actions: Code: (RPA)
Ex. Changes in directions, changes in speed, where the ball moves, etc.
5. Reading Surroundings: Code: (RS)
Ex. The scoreboard, the crowd, the coach, the refs, etc. 

Analysis:

I am very happy with where Andrew and I are at with our project. We are now beginning to collect some interviews. I am noticing just in the first week the difficulties that we are going to have to overcome with the conflicting schedules and then him and the team being gone for games. We do have a great collection of fieldnotes started with us having four or five sets collected between the two of us. From these fieldnotes, we have recognized two recurring themes. First, is the interacting that the players have. They all seem to get along really well and they have been able to play together very nicely from the few times that I have been able to watch. Also Coach Walker is very good at reading his players and their actions. He is able to watch them and tell them exactly what they did right, what they did wrong, and what they could have done differently. At some points I felt like he had eyes in the back of his head because he would see things that happen even if he wasn’t paying that close attention. It is a great accomplishment that we have noticed all of this because all of this will be very helpful towards our final project. Andrew and I are going to begin our interviewing process with the players to gather an insight from the point of view of players which are the heart and soul of the team. Then we will work our way up to the coaches who can give us a mature and historic look at the team from sort of a bird’s eye view mixed with an insiders’ look. After reading Andrew’s RJ# 19, I began to look at my past memories of basketball and realized that the path that leads a basketball player is important. So I would like to see if there are similarities and/or differences in the paths that brought these players here to Commerce. By laying out what I have towards my project has made me realize what little I have. Yes, I have a lot of good information from the notes that I have gather, but to imagine what I could get from double and tripling my evidence makes me want to spend every day in the gym. So I now can see that Andrew and I have collected a lot of good information, but we still have a lot to do before we will be ready to begin the putting together of our project. But I know that with mine and Andrew’s determination, we will be able to get the job done and be able to turn in an awesome project that shows a great insight into the Commerce men’s basketball team that no one has really seen before.

RJ 19-Box 28

For RJ 19, I did box 28 which ask you to find a box of archival stuff. So for this I looked through all my memories that I’ve kept from my years of playing basketball. On my shelf in my room that is probably about 8 foot long. There are all kinds of things on this shelf that represent different but very important memories in my past as a basketball player. First, there is a silver medal for second place from a Netball tournament my Swish team was in when I was in third grade.  Then there are four ribbons from playing little dribblers from fourth grade until sixth plus one for helping coach my seventh grade year. And standing tall is all of the trophies that my team and I won at the numerous Swish tournaments that we played in from third grade until sixth.  The medal from the Netball tournament reminds me of the hard but easy win in that tournament because there was only three teams and the third place team was terrible so beating them wasn’t a problem; however, the first place team was a traveling team that was really good and this was my team’s first year and I think only second tournament to play in. So taking home the second place medal wasn’t a loss to us. The ribbons from little dribblers are a time in my life where I had to forget that the opponents I was playing were my friends and play to my best ability. This was a hard thing for me to do but the practice that I gained from the five to ten games that we played a year were a lesson that I could later use when playing in middle school against friends from other towns. The archives that stand out most on my shelf are the trophies. They tower over the ribbons signifying their superiority. These medals were earned the hard way against some pretty good teams from neighboring cities. And these probably mean the most to me because these are something that I fought for the hard way and fought for alongside my friends.

So looking at my shelf, from left to right, my medals and ribbons dangle off the edge. Keeping them from falling are the trophies that are sat on top of the ends. And then in between the trophies are more trophies. All of these archives document the early years of when I played basketball. They all represent my love for the game, but when looked at individually they stand for key moments of my young passion. Every player has a path that lead to where they are at today and I believe that it would be interesting to look at to see the differences and similarities between the players on the Commerce men’s basketball team in my research.

Ch. 6 Box 27:

My fieldsite for my research project is the basketball gym. I have been to a few of the Commerce men’s basketball practices and have watched how the players interact with one another and one that I have noticed that stood out to me was the playful banter that takes place between the teammates. For some of the teammates, they have played with one another for a couple of years now but for others it may be their first year. Coming to a new team is difficult no matter what level you are playing at. But when one of your new teammates makes a joke about you, you know that are being accepted. Some people may not understand this; however, the language between teammates is very sarcastic and joking. One player may tell another, “Dude, you are absolutely terrible!” It doesn’t mean that he thinks you suck because otherwise you won’t be on the team. He is just having fun with you while probably wanting you to take some truth out of what he just said because most likely you did something to give him the reason to make fun of you, probably just that you messed up on the last play or drill. Something else that I have noticed is that the coach is very harsh on the players, and I mean this is a good way. When a player messes up, the coach gets upset and talks to the player as if he was stupid. But I like this about the coach because in most instances the player was stupid and the coach just wants him to see this and remember how upset the coach got so that he won’t do it again.  The coach isn’t actually upset with the player he is just disappointed in the play or move that the player made. His anger comes out and shows just how passionate he is about the game. These verbal acts contrast with the non-verbal ones that I’m looking to research, but are just as vital to the game of basketball.