"It's Not Harry Potter"

As I think back to when I first started out in college, I remember teachers throwing out names of this journal and that journal. I thought to myself, "Hm. I'm not sure what they're talking about, but I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later!" I enjoyed learning from my professors, don't get me wrong, but I don't remember one of them really explaining what a scholarly journal was or how to read them. The opening statement of Rob Weir's article describes my experiences perfectly--"We tell them, but do we show them how?" Learning how to read an article is an extremely important tool. I am still learning how to do this today. I feel that every college freshman should take a research class, similar to this one, just so they know what resources are out there and how to use them.

"How to Read a Scholarly Article"

This video was succinct and very informative. To be honest, before the previous article and video, I've never been presented with this way of reading scholarly articles. I've done a few of these things throughout the years to save myself some time, but these steps are very logical. Every student should see this video...

I think that one reason we don't read articles this way is because we think it will take more work. Many times I just want to "dig in" to get my research done. I think that this is a helpful method, and I am going to try to start using it.

"Writing an Annotated Bibliography"

Another very helpful piece of information. I've written annotated bibliographies before, but I really like the clarity of this document in regard to the subject. I also love the section at the end that contains words for talking about articles and other texts. So many times I feel as though I am using the same words repeatedly--I am am very excited about this resource! 

Other

For my topic I have chosen to research middle school choirs. I've learned a lot about middle school choirs over the years, but have not had many chances to put this knowledge into practice. On Wednesday I went to an interview and did a demo lesson. My lesson was focused on some choral warm-ups and a canon. There were a lot of changing voices that struggled with the warm-ups and canon I selected. I did my best to change they key and to sing with them, but it was still a struggle. I have decided that I would like to know as much as I can about changing voices in the middle school choir and how to approach the treatment of these voices. 

As previously stated, I have already read articles on my topic and I have briefly worked with middle school chorus during student teaching. Some research questions that will guide how I look for sources will include: "How do adolescents' voices change in middle school?" "What is the difference between a female's changing voice and a male's?" "How should the changing voice be treated in choir?" 

A few authors who have written extensively on the subject include Patrick Freer and Terry Joe Barham.