SOCIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION AMPLIFICATION OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS Click here to see Course Syllabus Dr. Makedon Papers: Please do not include cover pages on any of the papers. Simply write your name, attendance #, course, section, semester, and year on the upper left or right corner of your paper. All papers should be typed, single or double spaced, and include the subheadings/sections indicated below. Make copies of the papers for all three projects (article review, cultural visit, and Research Utilizaion Paper) for the whole class.
REVISIONS: Students have the option of revising their papers for full credit (minus points lost for turning in papers late). Each student has one week to revise his/her paper following the first distribution of the "original" paper version, and another week after that for a second (final) revision.
PRESENTATIONS: Project presentations are limited to a maximum amount of time that will be determined at the beginning of class, depending on the number of students enrolled. Students must distribute copies of their papers at the time of their class presentation.
Article/Book Review Project (20 points):
Length of article/book chapter(s) to be reviewed: Min. 20 pages. Length of paper: 1 page single or double spaced. Distribution: Please make copies for the whole class.
For full credit, please include the following subheadings/sections in your article review report:
A. ARTICLE REVIEW B. Student's Name & Attendance Number, Course, Section, Semester, Year C. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Full bibliographic reference of the article or book (or chapters in a book) being reviewed, including:
For Articles: author, title of article, periodical or ERIC ED number, date, and page numbers. For book or chapter(s) in a book: author, title of book, place of publication, publisher, year, and chapter(s) and page numbers of chapter(s) in the book. D. SUMMARY: Brief summary of the article/book (=must not be identical to the abstract being provided by ERIC or other bibliographic source). E. REACTION: Your personal reaction, incl. reasons why.
Each student reviews an article, or book, or chapters in a book on a sociological or cultural topic in education. No two students may review the same article. The total number of pages in the article/book must be at least 20. Please make an effort in the event the article is a research article, to include in your personal reaction your view on the "validity" of the research instrument or methodology used.
School/Cultural Project (20 points):
Length of paper: 1 page, single or double spaced. Distribution: Please make copies for the whole class.
For full credit, please include the following subheadings/sections in your cultural visit report:
A. CULTURAL VISIT B. Student's Name & Attendance Number, Course, Section, Semester, Year C. NAME & ADDRESS OF CULTURAL CENTER, DATE OF VISIT D. GOALS OF CULTURAL CENTER E. METHODS OF CULTURAL CENTER F. CURRICULUM OF CULTURAL CENTER G. E. REACTION: Your personal reaction, incl. reasons why. G. SCHOOL CHANGES: Make a brief comment on whether you plan to make any changes in your own school/classroom/work environment as a result of your visit to the cultural center.
Each student visits a cultural center, such as, an ethnic museum; or a cultural center within a school. Students write a 1 page report on their visit, which they distribute and present in class. The paper should include a brief comment on whether you plan to make any changes in your own school as a result of your visit to the cultural center. Cultural centers selected may include any of the cultural centers in the Chicago area, ranging from museums and art institutes, to ethnic and multicultural centers. A student may replace a "cultural center" with a travel experience to a different culture outside the United States in the last 10 years where he or she interacted with the local residents in that culture for at least 1 month.
Research Utilization Paper (RUP, 20 points):
Length: 3-5 pages single or double spaced. Distribution: Please make copies for the whole class.
To receive full credit, please include the following subheadings/sections in your RUP:
A. RESEARCH UTILIZATION PAPER B. Student's Name & Attendance Number, Course, Section, Semester, Year C. NAME OF SCHOOL/EDUCATIONAL CENTER D. BRIEF DECSRIPTION OF SCHOOL/EDUCATIONAL CENTER: ADMINISTRATORS, FACULTY* *In choosing administrators/faculty, please make sure that you take into account empirical research findings from sociological studies regarding academic achievement, and therefore what "types" of administrators/faculy may be appropriate for such school.
SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE** **In choosing school architecture, please make sure that you take into account empirical research findings from sociological studies regarding academic achievement, and therefore what "type" of architecture may be appropriate for such school.
SCHOOL POLICIES/REGULATIONS*** ***In choosing school policies/regulations, please make sure that you take into account empirical research findings from sociological studies regarding academic achievement, and therefore what "types" of policies may be appropriate for such school.
STUDENTS: NUMBER OF STUDENTS SERVED AGES, GENDER CULTURAL/SOCIAL/EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDS OF STUDENTS SERVED**** ****You design your own hypothetical here of what your student body might be like.
E. GOALS OF SCHOOL: MAIN GOAL MUST BE TO IMPROVE THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL OF ITS STUDENTS* *You may add other goals that do not conflict with, overshadow, or "take away" from its main goal. F. METHODS: Must use empirical research findings from sociological studies regarding academic achievement to justify the method(s) employed in such school. G. CURRICULUM: Must use empirical research findings from sociological studies regarding academic achievement to justify the curriculum, or "what" is learned in such school.
This project provides students with an opportunity to apply research studies that we read about in sociology of education to hypothetical school situations. Students imagine how a school of their choice might look like, including the student body, but must (a) have as their main goal the improvement of student academic achievement; and (b) justify their choice of faculty, administration, school architecture, school regulations, and methods and curriculum on the basis strictly of empirical research findings in the field of sociology of education. Such findings may be found in (a) the Boocock textbook (selected chapters); (b) other articles in the packet; (c) research findings mentioned in our textbook for the cultural foundations portion of the course; (d) articles/books reviewed as part of the article/book review project; and (e) articles or other books in a variety of databases (ERIC, library, and the like). Students are held responsible for knowing the contents at least of the required readings for the course.
Helpful Hint: Please be aware that although a program may "sound" right, research may show that it may not necessarily increase student learning. To receive full credit for the paper, no program should be included in your "ideal" school that you cannot justify on the basis of published "scientific" research. Such research should show how the program will help increase student academic achievement.
Final examination (30 points):
The final examination is closed book, and includes only multiple choice questions. Each question may have more than 1 correct answer. The questions will be derived mainly from the required readings (approx. 90%); and partly from the discussions, project presentations, and lectures in class. The final exam may be replaced by 5 quizzes worth 6 points each. The instructor will announce at the beginning of the course whether there will be a final, or 5 quizzes. |
Alexander Makedon
Chicago State University
Copyright © 1999 A. Makedon
visits since 09/01/1999