SDS 425R Individual Assignments

Grade Breakdown

The following table represents the grade breakdown of this course.

Assignments	Weight (%)
Individual Assignments:
Participation Portfolio Weeks 1-6 (10%) Weeks 7-12 (10%)	20%
Op Ed Assignment	20%
Critical Policy Analysis Assignment	35%
Group Assignment:
Student-Facilitated Seminar	25%

Participation Portfolio (20%)

Key Points

Build your Participation Portfolio throughout the term, using the template provided below
Review rubric carefully (below)
Due by the date listed on the Course Schedule
Submit your Participation Portfolios to the Participation Portfolio dropboxes

Description

A key outcome of this course is to develop the concepts and language to evaluate ongoing public and political dialogue about the purposes of education and the meanings of educational equity. Regular participation is essential in order to develop this skill. For this reason, 20% of your final grade is made up of a participation mark, as follows:

Weeks 1-6 Participation Portfolio (10%)
Weeks 7-12 Participation Portfolio (10%)

You will demonstrate participation throughout the term by:

engaging in Class Discussions as part of the weekly Instructor-Facilitated Seminars,
Class Discussions
Class Discussion questions appear each week within the Instructor-Facilitated Seminar. You will see the Class Discussion icon at the end of various topic pages within the seminar material. This is your opportunity to provide an approximately 100-200 word response to the questions posed by your instructor and engage in a conversation with your classmates. You may copy and paste your original comments or your replies to your classmates’ comments into your Participation Portfolio.
actively participating in the Student-Facilitated Seminars from Weeks 4 to 10 inclusive,
completing the Optional Reflections Workbook every week.
Reflections Workbook
Please download the Reflections Workbook (PDF) and save it for your personal use. The Reflections Workbook questions that appear in the Instructor-Facilitated Seminar have been reproduced in the Reflections Workbook with space provided for you to fill in your answers (personal reflections). Save your updated workbook on your computer each week. You can copy and paste reflections from your workbook as one form of evidence of thoughtful reflection on the course materials for your Participation Portfolio.

Participation Portfolio

You will collect evidence of your participation using a Participation Portfolio template. Begin building your Participation Portfolio early in the term and continue to add to it as the term progresses. Each Participation Portfolio must contain

3 original posts and
2 responses to your classmates' original posts.

Choose your best work. Your evidence must come from the sources listed above and from different weeks of the course. Your evidence should clearly demonstrate:

your comprehension of the course material, especially your engagement with the readings;
your ability to foster further discussion with your peers;
empathy and professionalism towards your peers' opinions; and
active participation in the student-facilitated online seminars.

Please copy and paste your evidence into the Participation Portfolio template. Assign yourself a score (1, 1.5, or 2) for each piece of evidence. Use the Participation Portfolio rubric below to determine your score. Your instructor reserves the right to modify the score based on her observations throughout the term and the evidence you provide.

Note: If you want to use an audio comment from a Student-Facilitated Seminar in VoiceThread, indicate the seminar topic and week # where your audio comment can be found as well as the Start and End timestamps of the comment.

PARTICIPATION PORTFOLIO TEMPLATE (DOCX)

How To Submit Your Participation Portfolio

Please note that the following instructions pertain to this specific assignment. Instructions for other assignments may differ.

Your Participation Portfolios must be submitted online to the Weeks 1-6 Participation Portfolio Dropbox or Weeks 7-12 Participation Portfolio Dropbox by the deadline specified in the Course Schedule. Dropboxes can be accessed by clicking Submit  and then Dropbox on the course navigation bar above. In the case of multiple submissions by the same student, your instructor will mark only the final documents uploaded, so make sure your final documents are the correct ones.

Your Participation Portfolios must be submitted as a Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) file type. Your Reflections Workbook may be submitted as a PDF.

Please refer to the Submitting to a LEARN Dropbox page for general guidelines, how to submit to a dropbox.

How Your Participation Portfolio Will be Graded

A participation mark will be calculated twice during the term: once at the end of Week 6 out of 10 (/10), and once at the end of Week 12 (/10), based on your Participation Portfolio and the professor’s observations. Please consult the Participation Portfolio Rubric below for more information.

Five samples of your work constitute the evidence of active course participation for your portfolios:

Three (3) original posts – all taken from different weeks

Two (2) responses to your classmates’ posts – all taken from different weeks and to different classmates

Evidence must come from a variety of sources: Class Discussions in the weekly Instructor-Facilitated Seminars, Student-Facilitated Seminars in VoiceThread, or from the Optional Reflections Workbook

Evidence must be timely, i.e., the original post or reply you are providing as evidence for participation was created during the corresponding week of the course and not afterwards

Participation Portfolio Rubric
Level:	Idea	Connections	Extensions
Score:	1	1.5	2
Detail:	Post or reply is primarily descriptive in nature: Answers what? when? who? where? Provides context, definitions, summary or details Language and tone used is respectful. Sources are cited.	Post or reply goes beyond description by providing analysis: Clearly explains why? how? or what if? Explores relationships, compares / contrasts, identifies strengths and weaknesses, provides possible alternatives and application. Refers to other content within the course, including student content. Language and tone used is respectful. Encourages further conversation or participation. Sources are clearly cited.	Post or reply shows critical thought, providing analysis, evaluation and reflection: Explains why? how? or what if? AND so what? what next? Clearly outlines implications, solutions, draws conclusions, makes further recommendations. Brings in relevant new content, makes clear connections, and appropriately judges value of content. Clearly demonstrates personal next steps based on learning. Refers to other content within the course, including student content. Language and tone used is respectful. Encourages further conversation or participation. Sources are clearly cited.

Participation Portfolio Rubric

Level:

Idea

Connections

Extensions

Score:

1.5

Detail:

Post or reply is primarily descriptive in nature:

Answers what? when? who? where?
Provides context, definitions, summary or details

Language and tone used is respectful.

Sources are cited.

Post or reply goes beyond description by providing analysis:

Clearly explains why? how? or what if?
Explores relationships, compares / contrasts, identifies strengths and weaknesses, provides possible alternatives and application.

Refers to other content within the course, including student content.

Language and tone used is respectful.

Encourages further conversation or participation.

Sources are clearly cited.

Post or reply shows critical thought, providing analysis, evaluation and reflection:

Explains why? how? or what if? AND so what? what next?
Clearly outlines implications, solutions, draws conclusions, makes further recommendations.
Brings in relevant new content, makes clear connections, and appropriately judges value of content.
Clearly demonstrates personal next steps based on learning.

Refers to other content within the course, including student content.

Language and tone used is respectful.

Encourages further conversation or participation.

Sources are clearly cited.

Reference: Library and Learning Services, Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand. Retrieved on April 17, 2017 from http://www2.eit.ac.nz/library/OnlineGuides/Descriptive%20Writing%20Compared.pdf Fostaty-Young, S. and Wilson, R. J. (2000). Assessment and Learning: The ICE approach. Winnipeg: Portage and Main Press.

Op Ed Assignment (20%)

Key Points

Write a 500 word, properly structured Op Ed piece on a priority issue
Use Weeks 1-4 course material and your own research as evidence/support
Review rubric carefully (below)
Due by the date listed in the Course Schedule
Submit your Op Ed Assignment to the OP Ed Assignment dropbox

Description

An Op Ed is an opinion editorial (“opposite the editorial”) published in periodicals (e.g., newspapers and magazines). Op Eds are not letters to the editor that are published from readers, but rather informed opinion pieces published from experts in a field. Op Eds are critical to public dialogue about issues facing our society.

For this assignment, you will write an Op Ed piece on a priority issue that schools must address to support an equitable society. You are encouraged to read several Op Eds on education prior to completing the assignment, for example, see Waterloo's University Communications: Op-Eds page. You may wish to refer to the student exemplars (PDF) provided.

Your Op Ed piece must be written in the style of an Op Ed: 500 words, 12-point font, double-spaced, excluding the Works Cited page. Include the following:

a lede (with a news hook),
a thesis (argument),
at least 3 points of evidence from reports, statistics, scholarship and/or history,
a "To Be Sure" section (i.e., a few sentences that address counter-arguments), and
a concluding statement.

Keep in mind that Op Ed pieces need to be concise, timely, supported by evidence and understood by the average reader. For more information on writing an Op Ed piece, please visit the Informed Opinions: Op Ed Elements page.

You will need to refer in-depth to the course material from weeks 1 to 4 inclusive and it is expected that you will include some of the required readings from those weeks. However, you will also need to conduct additional research to provide supportive evidence for your argument. While Op Eds typically do not include citations, you will be expected to cite your sources for the purposes of this assignment.

This is an individual assignment. Please refer to the Academic Integrity statement in the University Policies page in the Syllabus, if needed. Please be sure to use a proper and consistent Citation Style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)

How To Submit Your Assignment

Please note that the following instructions pertain to this specific assignment. Instructions for other assignments may differ.

Your assignment must be submitted online to the Op Ed Assignment Dropbox by the deadline specified in the Course Schedule. Dropboxes can be accessed by clicking Submit and then Dropbox on the course navigation bar above.

Your assignment must be submitted as a Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) file type.

Please refer to the Submitting to a LEARN Dropbox page for general guidelines and how to submit to a dropbox.

How Your Assignment Will Be Graded

The assignment is worth 20% of your total course grade and is marked out of 20. Evaluation of your Op Ed piece will be based on:
persuasiveness of the argument (i.e., hook, thesis);

critical use of evidence (e.g., course material and additional findings); and
structure and writing style.

Op Ed Assignment Rubric
Category	5 = Exemplary (A range)	4 = Accomplished (B range)	3 = Developing (C range)	0-2 = Beginning (D - F range)
Argument	The student makes a clear and persuasive argument (i.e., hook and thesis) concerning a priority issue schools must address to support an equitable society.	The student makes a clear argument (i.e., hook and thesis) concerning a priority issue schools should address to support an equitable society.	The student takes a clear position on a priority issue for schools to support an equitable society.	The student addresses an issue for schools to support an equitable society.
Evidence x 2	The student thoroughly supports the argument with a critical use of evidence from the course and from additional research.	The student supports the argument with a critical use of evidence from the course and from additional research.	The student supports the argument with convincing evidence.	The student provides evidence to support the argument.
Structure and Writing Style	The student follows the structure and writing style of a publishable Op Ed (i.e., concise and accessible), with proper grammar, spelling, and full citations.	The student follows the structure and writing style of an Op Ed (i.e., concise and accessible), with proper grammar, spelling, and full citations.	The student follows the structure and writing style of an Op Ed, with full citations.	The student writes a personal opinion piece, with citations.

Critical Policy Analysis Assignment (35%)

Key Points

Conduct a critical analysis of a policy intended to create greater educational equity
Options: traditional essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words or creative works (must be approved by Week 4)
Draw from the course material and your own research
Review rubric carefully (below)
Due on the date listed in the Course Schedule
Submit your Critical Policy Analysis Assignment to the Critical Policy Analysis Assignment dropbox

Description

For this assignment, you will complete a critical analysis of a policy. You must select a policy that addresses equity in education. According to Sandra Taylor (1997) (see Course Reserves reading), critical policy analysis reveals:

the political processes that shape policy-making;
the social context in which policy is created; and
the social power relations that frame policy texts.

Your analysis will touch upon these factors, as you provide a critique of, and a position on the selected policy.

Your critical policy analysis may take one of two forms: a traditional essay or a creative work.

Traditional Essay

An essay will be 6 to 8 pages in length (1,500 to 2,000 words, typed, double-spaced, excluding Works Cited page).

Creative Work

Creative works require a 4-page written component (1,000 words, excluding Works Cited page) that summarizes the content of the project.
Possible examples of creative works:
- Digital short
- Play
- Website
Important: Students choosing to complete a creative work must contact the professor via email by the date indicated in the Course Schedule to discuss expectations and evaluation.

The policy is your choice. You may find it helpful to find a policy that relates to a course topic or originates from a seminar leadership topic. You may not choose a policy from your own student-facilitated online seminar. Policies may relate to topics such as bullying, corporate funding, book banning, standardized testing, separate schools, teachers’ right to strike, policing in schools, social justice curriculum, treaty education, conflict resolution, etc. Early in the course you should explore websites that discuss education policy initiatives (e.g., school boards, teacher federations, ministries of education, non-governmental organizations, and community institutes/networks).

While you will draw from course material for your analysis, you are required to conduct substantial additional research. Please refer to the evaluation rubric below for details concerning the marking of this assignment.

Please feel free to consult the following Critical Policy Analysis exemplars (PDF).

How To Submit Your Assignment

Please note that the following instructions pertain to this specific assignment. Instructions for other assignments may differ.

Your assignment must be submitted online to the Critical Policy Analysis Assignment Dropbox by the deadline specified in the Course Schedule. Dropboxes can be accessed by clicking Submit and then Dropbox on the course navigation bar above.

Your assignment must be submitted as a Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) file type. If you choose to submit a  creative work, follow your professor’s instructions for submission. In the case of multiple submissions by the same student, your instructor will mark only the final document uploaded, so make sure your final document(s) is the correct one.

Please refer to the Submitting to a LEARN Dropbox page for general guidelines and how to submit to a dropbox.

How Your Assignment Will Be Graded

The assignment is worth 35% of your total course grade and is marked out of 35. The Critical Policy Analysis will be evaluated according to:

the relevancy or ‘meaning’ of the policy for equity and education;
discussion of the social context or ‘problem’ addressed by the policy;
demonstrated awareness of the policy stakeholders;
analysis of the intended outcomes from the policy initiative;
demonstrated knowledge of pertinent literature that support and/or questions the ‘official’ policy text;
use of social justice concepts and arguments from the course;
your position, insights, and conclusions about the policy; and
communication of your ideas in a clear, organized, and concise manner.

Critical Policy Analysis Assignment Rubric
Category	5 = Exemplary (A range)	4 = Accomplished (B range)	3 = Developing (C range)	0-2 = Beginning (D - F range)
Policy Section	The paper explores the meaning of one current education policy. The student justifies his/her policy selection based on its relevancy to equity and education.	The paper explores the meaning of one contemporary education policy. The student justifies his/her policy selection based on its relevancy to equity.	The paper explores the meaning of an education policy as it relates to equity.	The paper explores an education policy.
Critical Analysis x 2	The student critically examines the processes and persons that shape the creation of the policy 'problem,' the social power relations and social contexts that frame the policy text, and the social issues related to the intended outcome(s) from the policy initiative.	The student examines the processes and persons that shape the creation of the policy 'problem,' the social power relations and social contexts that frame the policy, and the social issues related to the intended outcome(s) from the policy initiative.	The student examines the processes that shape the creation of the policy 'problem,' as well as the social contexts that frame the policy initiative.	The student examines the social processes that frame the policy initiative.
Position / Argument	The student takes a clear and well-supported position on the policy. Argumentation is consistently developed throughout the paper, supported by social justice concepts and insights from the course. The student draws evidence from their interpretation of differing sources.	The student takes a clear position on the policy. Argumentation is developed throughout the paper with reference to social justice concepts from the course. The student relies on interpretation of differing sources as evidence.	The student takes a position on the policy. Argumentation is evident in the paper with reference to social justice education.	The student refers to arguments and personal opinions regarding the policy.
Resources and Evidence	The student demonstrates knowledge of an array of pertinent literature that questions the official policy text, including academic, government, community, and media resources. The paper critically draws upon course material for evidence.	The student demonstrates knowledge of an array of pertinent literature that questions the official policy text. The paper draws upon course material for evidence.	The student uses literature, including class material, to question the policy.	The student uses course material to question the policy.
Organization and Logic	The student consistently develops a thesis throughout the paper. The paper includes a clear introduction, focused paragraphs that provide logical transitions from one supporting point of evidence to the next, an original summation, and proper citations.	The student develops a thesis throughout the paper. The paper includes an introduction, paragraphs with evidence, a summation, and proper citations.	The student addresses a theme with an introduction, paragraphs with evidence, a conclusion, and proper citations.	The paper addresses various themes within a loosely formatted paper and with proper citations.
Writing Clarity	The student presents ideas in clear and concise sentences, with active and fluent word choices. The student uses correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	The student presents ideas in concise sentences, with active word choices. The student uses correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.	The student presents ideas in clear sentences. The student uses correct spelling and grammar.	The student uses correct spelling and punctuation

Shared from SDS 425R with permission from Dr. Kristina Llewellyn

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