 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
|
|
 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
AUTHENTIC WRITING PROJECT
This handout describes the writing project students completed in the course.
Introduction and rationale. The authentic writing project is a substantive piece of formal writing that you will develop during the semester. The goals of the project are to enhance your ability to communicate effectively in writing and also to use writing as a tool for learning and thinking about important ideas. The project is an opportunity to create a written product that demonstrates your learning and thinking on a subject that interests you.
Guidelines. You may elect to write a project either individually or in collaboration with one or two other students in the class. The exact form of the paper will depend upon the type and topic of the project. However, since this is a formal writing assignment, you will need to adapt the writing to the specific audience for the work and conform to appropriate standards of grammar and usage. All projects must be typed and double-spaced, with one inch margins.
Deadlines: 1. Tuesday, October 20- Hand in a one paragraph description of what you intend to do. 2. Thursday, November 19- TWO COPIES of a COMPLETE first draft of project due in class for peer review. 3. Thursday, December 3- Final copy due in class. (Must be typed, double-spaced)
Possible topics. These descriptions are somewhat sketchy. I will provide additional details about any of the projects later.
1. Position paper-Select a controversial or substantive educational issue or topic and develop an argument for a particular position on it. In conjunction with the position paper compose a letter to send to a newspaper or policy maker(s) (e.g., superintendent of schools, congressperson, state representative, teacher's union, etc.)
2. Student Assistance Project- Serve as a volunteer at a local school tutoring or adult literacy program to assist one or more students in learning. Write a paper based upon the experiences in that setting that incorporates material from the course.
3. Parents Guide- Develop a pamphlet/brochure for parents that assists them in understanding and supporting their children's learning.
4. Learning Resource Guide- Select a set of classroom conditions or problems that involve students' learning. Develop a set of guidelines for addressing these problems or conditions based upon appropriate theory and research.
5. Course Assistant Project- Write a study guide or short paper for students in this course intended to enhance their understanding of important material. Distribute it to class members.
6. Workshop presentation- Develop a workshop presentation on a particular topic that would be appropriate for an in-service for teachers in a school or students in this course.
7. Teacher Interview- Select an exemplary teacher (K-College), develop and conduct an interview that focuses on this individual's ideas about teaching and learning. Analyze the responses in light of material from the course.
8. Classroom Observation and Analysis- Select one or more courses in which to conduct detailed observations and analyses of teaching and learning. I will provide suggestions about what you may want to use as a focus for analysis.
9. An assignment of your own design- You need to discuss this with me before proceeding.
Evaluation and grading. The project will be evaluated twice. First, you will participate in a peer review. Each member of the class will read and review two projects in class on Thursday November 19. This is an opportunity for each of you to provide and receive constructive feedback on the projects. The final project is due on Thursday, December 3. I will evaluate and grade the projects. Students who write a collaborative project will receive the same grade. The projects, including the peer review, will comprise 25% of your course grade. Given the variation in types of projects it is difficult to specify a single set of criteria for grading the projects. Attached is a general scheme that I use. As you can see, I will evaluate the paper in terms of three major dimensions: 1) quality of learning and thinking, 2) organization and coherence, and 3) mechanical correctness. |
|||