Assignment Details, Spring 2007

This project provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of Issues in Science and Technology, and how they relate to your interests or discipline.

All topics should be decided during the first weeks of the term. In addition to the Scientific and Technological aspects, your research must include consideration of political, cultural, economic, and religious issues. Be sure to explicitly address these aspects in your written paper.

Don't forget that Data and Information (rubric) will be due on date assigned for your oral presentation..

A very helpful essay to read as you consider all of these issues is Garrett Hardin's Tragedy of The Commons.  He wrote it in 1968, but it is perhaps even more valid today.

Try to address to all the different techniques of decision-making in your report. Use all  Six Thinking Hats - Looking at a Decision From All Points of View

"Scaffolding"/Peer Evaluation/ Technological and Information Literacy (60%)

List of Five Issues in Science & Technology (2%)

Using a variety of resources, prepare a type-written list of the five most interesting issues in Science and Technology that face us today. There are several magazines (Scientific American, Popular Science, Smithsonian, Science News, Omni, Discover, New Scientist, National Geographic) that should aid you in identifying topics to consider. Links are available from the course website. State each of the five you select in the form of an issue. Take a stance on an issue. This stance will be your starting point of a defensible position you will attempt to disprove.

Essay #1

Compare and contrast Science and technology.  Here is a rubric for the first essay.

Forming a Question/ Making a Research Plan Worksheet (5%)  Forming a Question Worksheet Instructional brochure

This assignment assists you in your initial research of your independent topic. It was prepared as part of the information literacy program, and should be completed as soon as possible after the advanced library training session.  The purpose is to hlep guide you through the initial steps of forming a question using the library resources. click on the brochure link above for detailed instructions. Your assignment is  to attempt to falsify your hypothesis regarding an issue in science and technology. You should include as much detail and exact resources you can at this time, so that I can provide you with valuable feedback, and potentially additional resources to aid your work. You should be working closely with the reference librarians who can help you find appropriate and valuable information. You could consider this worksheet a draft of your annotated bibliography.  Use the resource pages available on this website in addition to the library databases. Take this and the other deadlines seriously and you will have a final project that is interesting, informative and earns a great grade! You should strongly consider making an appointment with My Librarian soon.

Mining Resources (5%)   Resources Rubric

Mine the resources pages I have collected (available from the the course web pages or by clicking on resources pages ) to find information regarding your issue that will assist you in preparing your timeline and final project. Consult the rubric for grading details. My goal with this assignment is to get you to look at lots of resources to find out the breadth of what is being said and by whom. It is probably true that you can find a single website that has a whole lot of articles about your issue. Asking you to "mine the resources" is an attempt to help you find that there are other resources in addition to any single great one to help with the task- and if you take all the articles from that site you won't get the breadth of perspectives that you can with a wider search. Select a particular article (from each site) for this assignment. That way you can end up with the assignment showing that you have got all aspects of the issue covered with specific articles for your bibliography. I imagine that you may find that you see a lot of the same information in many places, and that helps you understand what weight to give the information. It may well be that for the Website evaluation you'll use a particularly rich website "portal" as one of your best pro or con... sites. Don't forget that this work should be helping you with the timeline too- think about the historical perspective as you select the terms you use to mine those resources for helpful information.  Be sure to keep good track of your citations as you'll be using these resources for your timeline and the final report. Here is a sample Mining Resources assignment.

Evaluation of Websites (4%) PRO/CON website Evaluation Worksheet

Select what you consider to be the most valuable websites that are for and against your stance (pro and con) that you have encountered while researching your topic, and complete this critical analysis using the Evaluation Worksheet.  The goal is for you to demonstrate your proficiency in evaluating information, and recognizing the bias of authors. This assignment should take you no more than 1 hour.  Please keep track of the time and how it was spent doing this assignment so we can discuss the process.

Draft Annotated Bibliography (7%)   Rubric for Bibliography Instructional brochure

A draft is due on the date listed in the schedule that contains a minimum of 2 resources per category.  A revised final version is due with the written report. The instructional brochure link about will help explain what I am expecting. Write a short summary of how each resource relates to your project (not necessarily what the article was about!). Also provide information about the author and publisher for the resource. Use APA format (or some similar science style citation source (like Chicago). MLA is not acceptable.. Consult rubric!! Here is a description of the types of scholarly works that may help you understand this assignment.  This sheet compares primary, secondary and gray literature. Here is an exemplary annotated bibliography (about hydrogen and fuel cells for transportation) as a sample.

Timeline of Independent Topic (7%) Instructional brochure

Detailed instructions for the timeline assignment Be sure to utilize the brochure for access to helpful resources Due on the date listed in the schedule, this is worth 7% of your final grade.  A revised final version is due with the written report, and will contribute to the final paper- perhaps as an appendix. Even though this does not address the social and economic issues, here is an example of a timeline (about St. John's Wort as a treatment for mild depression) that is exemplary in how it addresses the scientific and technology aspects of the issue.  This was submitted by a student in a former class who gave permission to share with you.  Here is another sample timeline- development of standardized testing.

My Librarian (5%)

Sign up at My Librarian, for a private, individualized session with a Science Librarian. You should have already done the advanced research that was demonstrated during the training session. This assignment gives you an opportunity to consult an expert research librarian to help fill in any gaps or discover difficult to acquire material that you may need to support your stance on the issue.

Data & Information on Topic (7%) Due with Oral Presentation Rubric for Data & Resources

As you research your selected issue, you should will find many resources that provide visual data and information demonstrating interpretations of various aspects of interest related to your issue. You will provide those data, complete with references properly cited, on the day of your oral presentation. Use the data and information in your oral presentation, and turn in a copy of them to complete the assignment.

First Draft (content-rich) Outline/Written Presentation: (5%)

By this time (end of week 4) I want to you to have a well-formulated research program. Submit as complete a draft (or outline with lots of content) as you can provide.  Here is a link to a resource that helps with outlines.   This is our best opportunity to communicate about how well you are going to demonstrate the outcomes and whether you understand my expectations.  Grading this assignment is always contentious because expectations for how critically to grade any work at this early date is different for each of us.  I'll assign a grade (5% of your final grade) based on how well your outline demonstrates that you are making adequate progress toward the final assignment.  The more you are able to explain, discuss and describe your ideas the information you have collected thus far, the more I will be able to provide the feedback you need to earn the grade we want you to earn for the class. The more complete your outline, the easier the first draft and final version will be!  Provide complete citations for material you know you'll be using and explain yourself as much as possible.  You are welcome to submit the outline even earlier for un-graded feedback if you like.  Late submissions may be docked for being late, and will certainly interfere with your ability to provide your best work for the class.

Peer Review of First Version (Draft) (3%)  Peer Review Worksheet First Version (5%)

On the day the first version is due, provide TWO copies. One will be reviewed by the faculty member, and the other by a reviewer in the class. The peer reviewed article will be returned to me to be graded and then returned to the author. Detailed guidelines for the written and oral presentations. While preparing your paper, consult the rubrics and details provided on this page to gain a better understanding of what is expected, including the following suggestions: In addition to the Scientific and Technological aspects, your research must include consideration of political, cultural, economic, and religious issues. Be sure to explicitly address these aspects in your written paper.  Try to address to all the different techniques of decision-making in your report. Use all  Six Thinking Hats - Looking at a Decision From All Points of View Cathy Muir took the a stance about standardized tests during the Spring, 2006 section of this class. Here is her second draft- missing some data and information, but providing an  excellent model.  High Stakes Testing:  Incomplete Indicator for Student Retention

Written Summaries of Presentations (5%)

Each student is expected to prepare a brief written summary of each debate.  Be sure to take notes during the presentation so that you can type up a brief (1 or two paragraph) summary and whether or not you agree with their position. After you have written all the summaries, take a moment to reflect and consider the issues we have explored.  Use this to provide part of the course evaluation; to demonstrate your acquisition of the outcomes defined for this course, providing specific examples. Each summary should contain  1.  a summary of the presenters stance  2.  your interpretation of whether they provided adequate credible evidence to sway your opinion The packet of summaries should also contain a brief summary paper (1-2 pages) in which you provide specific examples of whether or not the course helped you achieve the described student learning outcomes.   After the debates, we will discuss the non-scientific and non-technological aspects of each of your selected issues. This discussion requires that you prepare to discuss the issues aspects that are political, social, moral and ethical. The discussion is expected to show the various opinions and influences that make up these issues. During the discussion and class summary, you are expected to present discussion questions to guide further consideration of the issues explored in a meaningful way that demonstrates a global consideration of these issues. You will be graded on your participation and attendance. Below is a list of items that a previous class suggested as a basis for their discussions: How to clarify where we stand on the issue especially if we are partially on the fence on part of the issue Opportunity to ask questions about the issues that came to mind after the class. Resolution to the issues? Pro/Cons for topics? Opportunity to debate: why did you change you mind? Defend your position. Debate/Discuss the future of the issues. Alternatives? Generational, What are we doing now and what will the future be like- How many of these will be issues in the future and how many will fall by the wayside? Who is PAYING for all this? Personal creative solutions? The HOT topics! How did people choose their issues? Who got the highest grade and why? Thoughts and help for others What are your thoughts about the presentations and how to improve for future presentations?

Portfolio (0%)

The goal of this assignment is to assure that you keep an organized record of this course and your actions in it.  I hope that you keep the portfolio and perhaps look back on it at some future date to reconsider the issues we've examined and consider what the Collegium of Integrated Learning has contributed to your liberal arts education. Here are some details about what I expect to see in your portfolio.

 

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