Introduction
The assignments in NCLC 203 fall into two categories, individual assignments which you will complete alone (the Praxis Essay, Community Events Analyses and the Learning Foundation assignment), and a major collaborative assignment which you will complete with a group of approximately twenty-five other students (the Research Inquiry Group (RING) project).
Faculty have broken these assignments into smaller, cumulative segments, in a way that should be familiar to most of your from your first-semester work in Cornerstones. And each assignment supports the others in complex ways. The Praxis assignment should help you to penetrate the complexities of research for your RING project. The Community Events assignment will help to prepare you for your field work in the second half of the semester. The Learning Foundation assignment suggests ways in which you can interrogate and reflect on your learning in fall & spring in order to plan a successful academic year in 2011 – 2012.
Please do remember that if you have any questions about any assignment, or if you run into difficulties in its execution, contact a faculty member as soon as possible. We really do want you to succeed to the very best of your abilities in these projects, and would love to talk in detail about your plans for them.
Assignments and Point Distribution
Research Inquiry Group Project (RING) = 350 points
Groups will research in depth, throughout the semester, a critical issue that supports the work of a community partner organization. Data will be collected, synthesized into a final report, and presented at the end of the semester.
Praxis Project = 150 points
This is a three part project to:
- learn skills to locate contemporary research articles relevant to the class inquiry
- learn to evaluate, critique and synthesize these articles
- reflect on the application of articles to group project as well as self as a knower and researcher.
Class Engagement = 300 points
Includes class participation, reflective writing, and in-class application exercises.
Event Analyses = 100
Participate in and reflect on four events that address community issues of interest; provide final paper synthesizing events attended (no more than 2 on-campus events). Presented using the Blog feature on PebblePad.
Learning Foundation Assignment = 100
A mid-semester portfolio based reflection on learning up to this date and an action plan for the future. Presented on PebblePad (shared assignment with NCLC 103).
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Ethics Competency (pass/fail)
Complete and pass Basic Course of the Human Subjects Review Board online training in order to pass this class.
Information and Communication Technology Competency (pass/fail)
Develop and expand technology skills (as enumerated on ICT check list) and review and adhere to ethical standards related to ICTs in order to pass this class.