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Recently I had to learn APA citation. Oof. It was a heavy lift, after a few decades with MLA. It gave me a refreshed sense of how overwhelming students likely find MLA. I found myself thinking, why can't I just link my sources in parentheses? Why can't I just reference the authors who informed my thinking inside my sentences? Why on earth does it matter if I use a comma or a semicolon, put the page first or put the page second? Why does APA even exist? Yeah, all the things our students probably think when we roll out our 26 page MLA redux, which doesn't even cover it all. And that's only the beginning of student frustration when it comes time for a research paper. Now, I struggle a little bit in recommending these alternatives to the research paper today, partly because my husband regularly references the research paper he wrote in high school as a landmark in his academic life. He loved it. He was so proud of his work. It set him on a path that eventually led all the way to a PHD program at UPenn. The other night, though, when we were debating the relative merits of 5 paragraph essays and research papers, he did mention that the rest of the class did not exactly excel on that research paper assignment, if the comments his teacher made as she passed back the papers were any sign. John Warner, in his book, Why They Can't Write, posits a possible reason for that lack of excelling. “The writing-related tasks we frequently visit upon students would prove difficult for even highly experienced writers. Writing on subjects with which we're newly familiar, in forms that are foreign, and addressed to audiences that are either undefined or unknown (other than 'for the teacher') bears little resemblance to the way we write for the world” (27). In other words, we often ask students to try and make themselves an expert on something they're not that interested in for a research paper, use a citation format that is next thing to a foreign language for them, tie themselves in knots trying to figure out how to convey what they've learned in an orderly way that generally leaves little room for their own voice or opinions, and do it all just to show their teacher, for a grade. Of course, that is how it has seemingly always been done. And after all, we survived. I remember learning MLA format in 7th grade, and creating my first research notecards. I dutifully scrawled quotation after quotation on those notecards, putting all the source information on the back. I can't remember what I wrote about though, for that 7th grade research paper. Literally nothing comes to mind. The first research assignment that I do remember came in 11th grade, when I participated in Minnesota's National History Day, making it to the State Finals with my project "The Column: Supporting Architecture through the Ages." I remember my architectural timeline, supported on a bridge of heavy white dominos across the front of my display board. I remember learning about Ionic, Corinthian, and Doric columns, and I've seen them all over the world in my travels since. I remember my virtual explorations of Athens, as I searched through various texts trying to figure out how the column worked, why it was so special, and what it looked like in buildings all over ancient Greece. I remember presenting my project in Duluth, sensing that I barely made it through with so many other great projects on hand, learning from the quality around me, and improving it before heading for Minneapolis. I remember going to Valley Fair, the amusement park I had had my eye on for years, after the state competition, with my Dad. It. Was. Awesome. My National History Day Project let me choose any topic of interest to me that fit whatever the general theme was that year. It let me use my love of design, color, lettering, and layout in addition to my research skills. It gave me an authentic audience to consider. I think I still had to use MLA citation format, but I was so busy with everything else that I wasn't about to let cracking that code stop me. I had a competition to win. (Not that I did, but I sure had fun trying). When I look back on my academic and professional life so far, research in service of real purpose, in an arena that truly interested me, with the ability to include modes that I enjoy working in, for an audience I truly hoped to impact, made all the difference in igniting my best work. So what if we warm our students up to research with activities, projects, and shorter writing pieces that focus more on elements like these, and less on notecards? What if, instead of jumping into huge MLA research papers with only one person - us - as the intended audience, we cast a wider net around the area of research and explore ways to give students more agency over topic, mode, and audience? This introduction is getting out of hand. Thirteen paragraphs in and we haven't played the music yet. It's lucky I'm not writing a five paragraph essay. So without further ado, let's talk about five alternatives to the research paper that help students practice key skills they can draw on later, if and when they choose a path that requires them to write lengthy academic research papers with full citations in APA or MLA. Sign up for the Full (Free) AI PBL Research Unit: https://sparkcreativity.kartra.com/page/aipbl For a deep dive on the research carousel, check out episode 163, a case study with educator Jane Wisdom: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2022/10/case-study-a-meaningful-21st-century-research-project.html Sources Cited Warner, John. Why They Can't Write: Killing the 5 Paragraph Essay and other Necessities. John Hopkins University Press: 2020. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Get my popular free hexagonal thinking digital toolkit Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram. Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 26th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 25th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers,Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 24th of September 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 23rd of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 22nd of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
Sheena Blackhall is a poet, novelist, short story writer, illustrator, traditional storyteller and singer who is the author, as the podcast explores, of over 100 poetry pamphlets. In 2009, she was made Aberdeen's City Makar. She writes in English, Scots and Doric. As a child and native speaker of Doric she faced the same prejudices and challenges that speakers of minority languages around the world have faced. In this 2015 podcast, Sheena talks about her love of Aberdeen, the worst place she's ever written a poem and why she's written so many pamphlets. If you would prefer to read, rather than listen to, our podcast with Sheena Blackhall, click here to see a transcript of the interview.
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 19th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 18th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 17th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 15th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 12th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 11th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 10th of September 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories fae the days paper on 9th September. Thanks for listening cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 8th of September 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 5th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 4th of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 2nd of September 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 1st of September 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 29th of August 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 27th of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 26th of August 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 25th of August 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 22nd of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 20th of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 19th of August 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 18th of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 14th of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 13th of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 12th of August 2025. Thanks for lugging in, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 11th of August 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 8th of August 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 30th of July 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
We're back! A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 25th of July 2025.Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
Episode Topic: The Case of the Flat Arch New fieldwork at the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace reveals flat arches in the Doric frieze of the Stoa, a structure built in the second quarter of the 3rd century BCE. Sam Holzman, Assistant Professor of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, examines these keystone friezes, which predate similar examples in Italy by over 150 years and highlight a critical moment in ancient structural design, bridging Greek trabeated aesthetics with Roman architectural innovation. Holzman traces this evolution, from cantilever-based devices in Athens to plate-bande construction in late Republican Rome, showcasing the blending of form and function in the ancient Mediterranean.Featured Speakers:Samuel Holzman, Princeton UniversityRead this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/fb23d7.This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Restoring Reason, Beauty, and Trust in Architecture. Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career. Learn more about ThinkND and register for upcoming live events at think.nd.edu. Join our LinkedIn community for updates, episode clips, and more.
We have a wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 30th of June 2025.Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 24th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 23rd of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 20th of June 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 19th of June 2025.Thanks for listening, cheers Allan.
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 18th of June, 2025. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Allan
It's New Tunesday: new releases from the past week! Give the bands a listen. If you like what you hear, support the bands! Today's episode features new releases by The Last Arcade, Arcade Beach, New Arcades x The Bad Dreamers, Sweet Machine, Agency-V, A Spell Inside, Analog 80, Blackbook, Freaky Mind, TeknoVore, Stahlgeist, Patriarchy, William Bleak, Pixel Grip, Dunkelwald, Blood Handsome, Floating Ashes, Bootblacks, Doric, Blood Shot Eyes, and Black Rose Moves!
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 16th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 12th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan The Doric Express will be back on monday 16th of June, after my birthday weekend!
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 11th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan.
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 10th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee suppy stories from today's P&J on the 9th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 6th of June 2025. Thanks for listening. Have a great weekend, cheers, Allan
A wee puckly stories from today's P&J on the 5th of June 2025. Thanks for listening, cheers, Allan