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PD Follow-up: Developing and Scaffolding Assignments

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  • #41178
    Rebecca Mazumdar
    Participant

    To follow up on your work in the third session, revise one of your own assignments and post the original and the revision here for discussion.

    #41317
    Matteo Bellucci
    Participant

    Matteo Bellucci
    Art-200 level Italian Renaissance Art

    ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT:

    Guidelines for writing your final paper:

    Writing a research paper is a process. It is not something that should be done in one sitting. Therefore, this assignment consists of three parts: 1. selecting a topic; 2. researching the topic to develop a bibliography and write a draft; and finally 3. writing and revising the paper.
    It is important to stay on schedule and follow the steps detailed below. Doing so will give you the most feedback during your research and writing process.

    1. Selecting a Term Paper Topic
    Your final paper should be based on a comparison of two specific works. Your paper topic should be on a specific theme or question that links the two objects.
    We will discuss during the semester suggestions on how to chose and formulate a research topic. Please type and hand in three different comparisons for your paper and a sentence or two describing the proposed pairs and thesis statements.
    Your suggestions are due by Monday October 20. You must visit me during my office hours or make an appointment to meet with me to discuss your choices.

    2. Selecting a Bibliography and Writing a Draft
    Once your topic is approved, you can begin your research. Researching your topic is a very important part of writing a term paper as it helps to substantiate the points you make in your paper. Don’t be alarmed if during your research you find that you’ll need to alter your original point(s) or thesis – that’s all part of learning!
    You can use books and articles published in scholarly journals. A minimum of 8 published scholarly sources is required for the bibliography. No non-scholarly websites sources will be allowed!! (Yes, that means no Wikipedia. If you have a question about what is scholarly ask me. JSTOR, etc…are all acceptable) Compile all your sources on one page – this will be your bibliography.
    TIPS FOR YOUR RESEARCH: JSTOR is a digital library providing full-text articles from journals. You can access JSTOR through your library account.
    For a database of academic publications I suggest you visit KUBIKAT. Here you will find the titles – just the titles! – of the most important publications on your research topic.

    Based on the information you gather from your library research, you will write a two-three page (double-spaced) first draft in essay format, which states your thesis and includes your bibliography, footnotes and images of the artworks you have chosen. If you write less than 2 pages or more than 3 pages your grade will be lowered by a full letter grade. The bibliography and images do not count towards your 2-3 page requirement. For the structure refer to the guidelines for the final paper below.

    Use Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art for proper citations using the Chicago Manual of Style.

    DRAFT OF THE FINAL PAPER WITH BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE: Monday November 17.

    3. Final paper:
    Writing a research paper is a fun way of learning and exploring new topics. But it’s not fun if you are writing under stress. Make sure to take time to plan the time you have this semester – consider both course work and other responsibilities when making your schedule. Once you have finished writing, put the paper away for a day and return to it with fresh eyes. At this point, you should review it and revise it for both content and grammar. Give yourself time to review and revise at least twice with a day in between each revision. Your final term paper should be a 7-8 pages double-spaced text with a standard 1 inch. margin and 12 point times new roman font. The bibliography and images do not count towards your 7-8 page requirement.

    Your first paragraph should introduce your topic and thesis statement, the artists’ names and titles of the artworks. The first time you mention an artist, always list the first and the last name. Following that, you should mention the artist by his/her last name only. The first time you mention a piece of art, always list the date in parenthesis right after the title. All titles must be either in italics or underlined.

    The second part of your paper should be a visual analysis of the two works. Walk us through the composition in an organized manner and try to write it in so much detail, a person who wouldn’t be familiar with the work, would have a clear vision of what it looks like following your description. Use vocabulary when applicable and analyze the work in depth. Use your thesis statement as a theme that runs through the paper. In other words, your visual analysis should support your thesis statement.

    From here analyze the two works for content and incorporate information from your readings. Explain how the specific ideas are represented in the two works and explain the importance of these ideas to the specific culture and/or artists whose work you are analyzing. All information should support your thesis statement. Quote only when the exact words are absolutely necessary for your text. If necessary, place a short quote within the text in quotation marks followed by a footnote. If longer than 5 lines, place the quotation without quotation marks, but single-spaced and indent. Whenever possible, paraphrase and write in your own words. You must always cite the information you use with a footnote directing the reader to the correct source. See Barnet for correct style.

    Your bibliography should follow your 7-8 page text.
    ***The bibliography and images do not count towards your 7-8 page requirement***

    A “List of Illustrations” follows your bibliography.
    Illustrations should be separate from your text and added at the very end of your paper (following the “List of Illustrations”). Cite them in the text as (fig.1), (fig.2) etc. Describe them fully (artist, title, date) on the ”List of Illustrations” placed after your bibliography and before the actual illustrations. Titles of artwork must be underlined or italicized. Mark each of the plates with illustrations in numerical order (Fig. 1, 2, 3…) arranged in line with the corresponding number in the text (fig. 1, etc.).

    FINAL PAPER DUE: Monday December 15.

    REVISED ASSIGNMENT:

    Guidelines for writing your final paper:

    Writing a research paper is a process. It is not something that should be done in one sitting. Therefore, this assignment consists of three parts: 1. selecting a topic; 2. researching the topic to develop a bibliography and write a draft; and finally 3. writing and revising the paper.

    1. Selecting a Term Paper Topic
    Your final paper should be based on a comparison of two artworks.
    Please type and hand in three different comparisons for your paper and a sentence or two describing the proposed pairs and thesis statements.
    Your suggestions are due by Monday October 20. You must visit me during my office hours or make an appointment to meet with me to discuss your choices.

    2. Selecting a Bibliography and Writing a Draft
    Once your topic is approved, you can begin your research. Don’t be alarmed if during your research you find that you’ll need to alter your original point(s) or thesis – that’s all part of learning!
    A minimum of 8 published scholarly sources is required for the bibliography. No non-scholarly websites sources will be allowed!! (Yes, that means no wikipedia. If you have a question about what is scholarly ask me. JSTOR, etc…are all acceptable) Compile all your sources on one page – this will be your bibliography.
    Based on the information you gather from your library research, you will write a first draft in essay format, which states your thesis and includes your bibliography, footnotes and images of the artworks you have chosen. For the criteria refer to the guidelines for the final paper below.

    DRAFT OF THE FINAL PAPER WITH BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE: Monday November 17.

    3. Final paper:
    Writing a research paper is a fun way of learning and exploring new topics. But it’s not fun if you are writing under stress. Make sure to take time to plan the time you have this semester – consider both course work and other responsibilities when making your schedule. Give yourself time to review and revise at least twice with a day in between each revision.

    Your first paragraph should introduce your topic and thesis statement, the artists’ names and titles of the artworks.

    The second part of your paper should be a visual analysis of the two works. Walk us through the composition in an organized manner and try to write it in so much detail, a person who wouldn’t be familiar with the work, would have a clear vision of what it looks like following your description.

    From here analyze the two works for content and incorporate information from your readings. Explain how specific ideas are represented in the two works and explain the importance of these ideas to the culture and/or artists whose work you are analyzing. All information should support your thesis statement.

    Criteria: Your final term paper should be a 7-8 pages double-spaced text with a standard 1 inch. margin and 12 point Times New Roman font. The bibliography and images do not count towards your page requirement. Use Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art for information on language and format conventions.
    You will be evaluated on the complexity and originality of your thesis statement as well as on your ability to ground it on evidence. You should be able to structure your thought in a clear and organized way, using appropriate language.

    FINAL PAPER DUE: Monday December 15.

    #41318
    Jordan Cohen
    Participant

    THEA 101 – INTRODUCTION TO THEATRE – SP 2014
    INSTRUCTOR: JORDAN COHEN

    Performance Review: Production of Your Choice

    This performance review paper (3-4 pages) IS DUE ON Wednesday, March 5th.

    General Instructions:

    For this assignment, all students may attend any professional play they’d like in NYC and write a review. This should be an ORIGINAL essay, not a product of research done about the play or information culled from other sources. All play titles should be written in italics. DO NOT quote other reviews for this assignment (i.e. from the New York Times, Village Voice, Time Out, etc.). You may, however, quote the performance program if you so wish, which often has valuable information about the director’s intentions, the theatre company, or historical information about the play.
    A complete review should include:

    I. An introduction paragraph that hooks the reader and gives him/her an idea as to whether it is a “don’t miss” or a “go ahead and skip” production.

    II. A brief synopsis of the play’s events. You want your reader to have an idea of what the play is about before he/she attends the performance. However, you should NOT spoil any major plot twists, surprises, or the play’s ending. Don’t spend more than a paragraph summarizing the production.

    III. An analysis of the play’s production choices. It is not enough just to say that you “liked” or “disliked” a production; you must explain why. Think about the various elements of the play (acting, design, story, theatre space, direction, pacing, singing, dancing, etc.) and consider how well each one of these components contributed to the overall production. Did they cohere? Did they feel disjointed? Did they successfully carry out the overall vision of the play? These are a few of many questions you might engage with in your review. Feel free to single out aspects that were particularly good or bad, regardless of whether the production was excellent or poor. A good review need not be all good and a bad review need not be all bad.

    IV. A reflection on what larger issues the play raised. What did the play make you think about? Did it make you reconsider any of your own opinions or convictions? Did it raise important critical questions for you? Did it make you laugh? Or cry? If so, why?

    V. A distinct conclusion in which you sum up your opinion of the play with perhaps a bit of flair.

    Helpful Tips:

    Keep in mind your audience. We often tell people our reactions to what we see, so it is natural to adopt a conversational tone. This paper need not be as formal as a research paper, but it should still come across as an informed opinion. Remember that no matter how much you dislike a performance, it was not designed simply to make you angry. You may be critical but there is no reason to be overtly and unnecessarily harsh or insulting. Rather, make suggestions on things you think could be improved and/or how they might be improved. Lastly, make sure to engage with different elements of the production. Look at each of these components and consider how well they were executed and in what ways they contributed to the production overall.

    Bring a Notebook and a Pen
    I strongly recommend that you bring a small notebook in which you can jot down notes during the performance. When something hits you, write down all of the elements you observe in that moment and their overall effect. I also recommend that you take time to write your thoughts more extensively immediately following the performance. The longer you wait to start writing, the more likely it is you will forget important details of the production.

    Formatting Guidelines:

    Please make sure to adhere to the rules of standard written English. Your essay should be submitted in size 12 Times New Roman font, double-spaced with one-inch margins and no more than 3-4 pages in length. Please also include a Title. All play titles should be written in italics. Include last name and page numbers in the top-right corner of each page. Be sure to proofread your paper for grammatical errors, spelling errors, and typos. Running a spell check is not enough.

    To ensure I know where your paper came from, in the top left-hand corner on the first page of your assignment should be the following information:
    Your Name
    Assignment Name (Performance Reflection)
    Name of the Course (THEA 101)
    Your Section Number
    Your Section Leader
    The Date

    See these websites for some good examples of theatrical reviews:

    http://theater.nytimes.com/shows/all-reviews.html
    http://www.theatermania.com/news/reviews/
    http://www.backstage.com/categories/review/

    • This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Jordan Cohen.
    #41367
    Sean Molloy
    Participant

    At Hunter, we have assembled a group of teacher support packages for digital writing assignments, some of which can scaffold into sequences at http://compcomm.commons.gc.cuny.edu/teacher-support-packages/

    We also have some first year writing digital portfolios and movie essays posted at http://compcomm.commons.gc.cuny.edu/student-writing-and-composing/

    Thanks for a great seminar yesterday! –Sean

    #41397

    SUS280 Environmental Psychology: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Sustainability
    Instructor: Jennifer Pipitone

      ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT

    Semester Project: Sustainability & You. You will commit to adopting at least one sustainability-related behavior consistently all semester. In order to become aware of the consequences of your chosen behavior, you will need to keep a journal that records every time you performed that behavior and what happened as a result. You should write in this journal at least once a week. Record challenges/rewards in consistently carrying out this behavior across different environments you encounter over the course of the semester (think: the aspects of everyday or new environments that may promote or hinder your ability to carry out sustainable behaviors). The length and format of this journal is up to your individual preference—whichever format will best inform your paper. NOTE: To check your progress, I reserve the right to request you bring in a sample of your journal, announced one class ahead of time.

    Examples of sustainable behaviors include: recycling, using re-useable bags for shopping, avoiding the purchase of beverages in disposable/plastic bottles, reducing waste by packing lunch/coffee in reusable containers, biking, spending time in nature, gardening, purchasing produce from farmer’s markets, etc. For other suggestions please refer to the Plan B 4.0 Introductory Chapter and the Gardner & Stern (2008) article available on Blackboard. You will be asked to submit your chosen behavior for approval with the first 2 weeks of class. Throughout the course, the instructor may ask students to share their experiences with the class.

    This project will culminate in a 3-4 page double-spaced paper. In addition to summarizing and discussing your reactions to engaging in sustainability-related behaviors (hint: challenges/rewards across different environments you encountered), you will be asked to write a summary of how you have or haven’t changed as a result of taking this class. What did you learn about the environment and the human-environment relationship? What did you learn about yourself? Has your definition of sustainability changed? How likely are you to continue your chosen sustainable behavior, or even adopt new behaviors, after this class? What have you gained from this course? More details will be discussed in class.
    All papers will be uploaded to Blackboard. Late papers will not be accepted.

      REVISED ASSIGNMENT

    Semester Project: Sustainability & You. This project is designed to give you insight into the human-environment relationship, constraints of behavior change, and give you experience with behavioral observation and data collection. You will commit to adopting at least one sustainability-related behavior consistently all semester (see PEP “Behavioral Self-Control” pg. 152-157). Examples of sustainable behaviors include, but are not limited to: recycling, using re-useable bags for shopping, avoiding the purchase of beverages in disposable/plastic bottles, reducing waste, using reusable containers for lunch, biking, walking, spending time in nature, gardening, purchasing produce from farmer’s markets, etc. See Blackboard “Semester Project” for additional resources and details. Behaviors and commitment goals will be approved via a Commitment Statement in the first few weeks of class, with follow-up assignments to keep you on track (see schedule below). More details to follow for each assignment.

    In order to become aware of the consequences of your chosen behavior, you will keep a journal/log that records data gathered within your experiences of performing (or attempting to) the chosen behavior and what happened as a result. You should write in this journal at least once a week. Record challenges/rewards in meeting your goal of consistently carrying out this behavior across different environmental settings you encounter over the course of the semester, and how it made you feel (think: the aspects of everyday or new environments that may promote or hinder your ability to carry out sustainable behaviors). The length and format of this journal/log is up to your individual preference—whichever format will best inform your final paper.

    Schedule:
    • Commitment Statement due September 21st
    • Reflective Progress Report due October 19th
    • Draft of Final Paper due November 25th
    • Final Paper due December 14th

    Final Paper Guidelines:
    Final paper should be 4 pages double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins. All references are to be cited in APA style. The assignment should be written according to the following format: First, write a brief introduction to the project, by defining the overarching problem, your chosen sustainable behavior and commitment goal, your baseline behavior, and some background material on the sustainable behavior you adopted (i.e., at least 3 research articles cited in the readings or other peer-reviewed sources; why you chose this behavior and why it is important in addressing the problem).

    Next, specifically describe what your methods (i.e., your methodological approach to carrying out your chosen behavior; stimulus control). Then, discuss your results or data gathered throughout this experience, focusing on the points mentioned in the description of the assignment (i.e. challenges/rewards in carrying out the behavior across different environments; what worked/what didn’t how did it make you feel). Again, be specific, drawing from your journal entries for examples.

    Finally, draw some conclusions from your experience. What are the implications of what you discovered about the self and world through this experience? How does your experience relate to the research described in the course readings? In this section, also include a summary section of the impact this class and activity have had on your life: Have you changed as a result of taking this class? What did you learn about the environment and the human-environment relationship? What did you learn about yourself? Has your definition of sustainability changed? How likely are you to continue your chosen sustainable behavior, or even adopt new behaviors, after this class?

    Final Paper Structure:
    Introduction – define problem; chosen behavior, baseline, and commitment goal; background
    Method – the approach you took to carrying out behavior
    Results – data gathered from your experience; how you felt; challenges/rewards
    Conclusion and Impact – what you discovered about self and world; impact on your life

    #41410
    James J. A. Blair
    Participant

    CORC 3208 Comparative Studies in Cultures and Transformation
    Fall 2013
    Professor James J. A. Blair

    ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT

    Final Exam
    Take-home
    30% of total grade

    Due December 12th by noon in my office: James Hall 3301G
    We will not have class that day, but you must hand in your paper in person, not by e-mail.

    Choose one of the following questions. Your answer should be in essay form, 3-4 pages double-spaced in size-12 font, Times New Roman typeface.

    Overlap and contrast
    Using readings from the course for comparison, discuss some of the points of overlap in concepts of “culture” and “transformation.” Concentrating on authors’ research goals, methods and subject matter, pick out and describe 3 points at which you find overlap. Overlapping points of comparison might include, but are not limited to:
    • uneven power relations
    • race and imperialism
    • resource politics
    • value and commodification
    • ecology and environment
    • magic and religion
    • science and technology
    • gender and kinship
    • health and medicine
    Contrastingly, what is different about the readings? Be explicit on at least 1 difference that you see between them. Please draw on at least 4 readings total.

    Flipping the perspective
    As we have discussed in class, social scientists have different ways of approaching their research, that is, different methods for doing research and writing, as well as different research goals. Depending on an author’s particular research interests, “culture” and “transformation” can come to mean several different things. Here, I ask you to reflect on this by ‘flipping the perspective’ of the 2 main authors you read this semester: Sidney Mintz and Gabrielle Hecht. For example, how would Mintz approach doing research and writing about uranium mining in Africa? What types of questions might Hecht have sought to answer, if she had work on sugar in the Atlantic World? Re-imagine one of these two ethnographic projects from the perspective of the other author. Please be specific in your discussion of research goals, methods and subject matter.

    [In addition to in-class discussion, students are expected to turn in one reading response by every Wednesday at 7pm via Blackboard’s Discussion Board feature. The response should critically engage with at least one of the readings from the current week. They were instructed to draw on these responses in preparation for their final paper.]

    —–

    REVISED ASSIGNMENT

    Final Exam
    Take-home
    30% of total grade

    Due December 12th by noon in my office: James Hall 3301G
    We will not have class that day, but you must hand in your paper in person, not by e-mail.

    Choose one of the following questions. Your answer should be in essay form, 3-4 pages double-spaced in size-12 font, Times New Roman typeface.

    Overlap and contrast
    Using readings from the course for comparison, discuss two points of overlap in concepts of “culture” and “transformation” that we have explored in our class. Concentrating on authors’ research goals, methods and subject matter, pick out and describe 2 points at which you find overlap. Overlapping points of comparison might include, but are not limited to:
    •uneven power relations
    •race and imperialism
    •resource politics
    •value and commodification
    •ecology and environment
    •magic and religion
    •science and technology
    •gender and kinship
    •health and medicine
    Contrastingly, what is different about the readings? Be explicit on at least 1 difference that you see between them. Please draw on at least 3 readings total.

    Flipping the perspective
    As we have discussed in class, social scientists have different ways of approaching their research, that is, different methods for doing research and writing, as well as different research goals. Depending on an author’s particular research interests, “culture” and “transformation” can come to mean several different things. Here, I ask you to reflect on this by ‘flipping the perspective’ of the 2 main authors you read this semester: Sidney Mintz and Gabrielle Hecht. For example, how would Mintz approach doing research and writing about uranium mining in Africa? What types of questions might Hecht have sought to answer, if she had work on sugar in the Atlantic World? Re-imagine one of these two ethnographic projects from the perspective of the other author. Please be specific in your discussion of research goals, methods and subject matter.

    • Proposal due October 25th: You must turn in a 1-page (double-spaced) proposal, detailing which option you have chosen, what sources you intend to use, and what you would like to discuss, due the week following the Midterm. You may change the topic later if necessary, but you should turn in something by this deadline even if you are not certain, in order to get credit. This proposal will be worth 5% of the course grade.
    • Summary and analysis/critical thought due November 28th: You must turn in a 1-page (double-spaced) summary, stating the main points of your paper in a more concise form. You are not expected to have a polished draft, but you should show me how you are thinking about the readings as you develop your argument.
    • Final Paper with thesis statement due December 11th. Your paper should be proofread and must state your argument clearly in the form of a thesis statement. Refer to your notes from class as you draft the structure of your essay, as well as the example from the model paper on Blackboard.

    [In addition to in-class discussion, students are expected to turn in one reading response by every Wednesday at 7pm via Blackboard’s Discussion Board feature. The response should critically engage with at least one of the readings from the current week. They were instructed to draw on these responses in preparation for their final paper.]

    #41418
    Erika Iverson
    Participant

    The attached is an assignment from a 300-level course on Human Rights. It was taught in an International Studies program from a political science perspective. I have included only the revised version. The inclusion of the grading criteria directly on the assignment was the only significant change I made. I know we spoke about not including so many questions in assignments, but this format was pretty successful. I received really strong, thoughtful memos from this prompt and structure.

    While I really like this assignment, I am definitely open to your critique.

    Best,
    Erika Iverson

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    #41493

    The attached two assignments are for my COM 1010 class, which is an introduction to public speaking. I introduced informal writing last year in the form of a “communication journal,” so that they would have a space to reflect on the class, for example, how they felt about their speech presentations or what issues around communication that were being discussed in class interested them. Unfortunately, because it was turned in in two chunks (half the journal at midterm, half at end of term) most students wrote all the entries in a hurry the night before.

    This semester I have revised the assignment and am calling it simple “informal writing.” There are fewer assignments (8 rather than 10), and I will be collecting each individually so that students take the time to write them as things are happening in the course, rather than all at once.

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