syllabus
calendar
blackboard
student.email resources

last.updated 1.02.08

 

Methodological Proposal

Purpose

Anybody who goes into teaching will want to connect their pedagogy to their student's practices, or, at the very least, they want to do research that accesses the success of a class or program. Rather than using cultural commonplaces to inform the work that you do in these contexts, you will want to learn what L2 writers actually know and how they (choose to) interact with English. This assignment gives you the opportunity to think about and articulate how you would conduct research to learn more about L2 writers and L2 writing–at least in local contexts–and how you would make contributions to scholarly or local conversations.

Instructions–Epistemological Process

Start by thinking about an exigency that needs to be addressed. This may be an issue that arose from the readings this semester. Or it may be an issue that emanates from a local situation (i.e., classroom, workplace). In either case, you want to connect the issue from the readings to a local situation and vice versa, rather than trying to solve universal issues.

Once you have chosen an exigency, you will want to develop guiding research questions. This is what you want to learn from your research. You should design your research to answer these questions.

Also start thinking about resources that you would have access to if you were to do this research.

Instructions-Writing

For this 2500-3500 document you will submit to the instructor, you will compose a formal, professional document (i.e., headings, single-spaced, block paragraphs). Use the following generic structure and the heuristics to guide, but not limit, the composition of your proposal:

  • A statement of the problem: What exigency will your project address? What are your research questions?
  • A brief review of literature: What have other scholars said about the same (or similar) problems? What have other researchers done methodologically to address similar problems? (This is where you bring in the scholarship on the issue that you are studying and show how you are positioning yourself in the conversation)
  • A methodological design: What will you specifically do to address the research problem? What steps will you take to collect and analyze data? This should be designed with enough detail that anyone could pick up your document and understand what to do.
  • A design rationale: Why will the plan that you designed yield the information that you need to answer your research questions? This will be a meta-discussion of your methodological intentions and will be supported by scholarship. (This is where you bring in the scholarship on research methodologies; again you are positioning yourself within another conversation)
  • A statement of anticipation: What problems do you anticipate will arise when you execute this plan? How will you handle these problems if they arise?

You will also need to include a references list or works cited for the sources you reference.

Instructions-Poster Session

Using one or two pieces of poster board, design a poster that...

  • is visually appealing and tastefully related to topic you are studying
  • presents all five sections for the document you will submit in concise form. In other words, you do not want to just put the detailed document you are submitting to the instructor on the poster; instead present it so your audience can quickly skim it and get the essential information. Consider consulting Professional Writing Principles for Instructors.

On April 23, 2008 you will bring your poster to class for the poster session. You will be expected to talk to your peers and any guests about what you have produced, as well as talk to your peers about what they are proposing. Use your audience's feedback to inform final revisions on your document for the instructor.

Although your poster is only being graded for completion (to be factored into your overall assignment grade), you will want to present yourself professionally.


Criteria

Logistics:

In addition to the general evaluation criteria, the instructor will be looking for evidence of...

  • an informed understanding of the course material and its application
  • a sense of audience–this should be formal and written for an academic audience
  • a document that is "original," at least in the context in which it is being applied
  • a document that is viable; can this research reasonably be executed as it is designed? Does it help to answer your research questions?
  • a design that considers validity; does the design measure what you want to learn?
  • a rhetorical awareness of the situation you are proposing to work within
  • an ability to articulate your knowledge of the course material
  • appropriate use of conventions, including MLA or APA citation formatting