Sample Projects for Small to Medium-Sized Classes
Created by Melanie Williamson for FCHD 1500.
Class size: @100 students
A good example of using scholarly sources for a real world product. Students develop skills in summarizing and applying complex information in a small, focused final product. Scroll down to Final Project in the course syllabus for a complete assignment description.
2. Exploring Issues in Newspapers
Created by Brenda Cooper for JCOM 2010
Class size: @100 students
MEDIA SMARTS: Making Sense of the Information Age
Final Project & Presentation—News, Hollywood & History: "Select a film based on an historical event/person/issue, and compare how the film frames the gender, race, or controversial events and/or issues, to how the event/person/event was framed in the news in comparison to historical accounts. I will provide a list of films. Teams make presentations the last two weeks of classes. Extensive outlines highlighting the major arguments are required."
3. Nailing the Issue (scroll down for the assignment description)
Created for ANTH 2010 by David Lancy, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology
Class size: @ 30 students
Students take a recent issue in the news and identify and analyze the central issue, cutting away the rhetoric and getting at the heart of the issue, based on their new knowledge from class and their own research.
4. Research Announcements in the News
Adapted by Deleyne Wentz from “Suggestions for Assignments” from Gustavus Adolphus College.
Students find an announcement of social science research in the news and then locate the original study. Students then compare the two in order to analyze how research results get reported in the news.
5. Dissecting Editorials
Adapted by Deleyne Wentz from “Suggestions for Assignments” from Gustavus Adolphus College.
Students find an editorial about an issue related to class and dissect it, looking for claims and identifying issues that might be clarified by research in the scholarly literature.
Sample Projects for Large Classes
The following activities are designed for classes with more than 100 students.
1. Finding the Best Article
Adapted by Deleyne Wentz from “Suggestions For Assignments” from Gustavus Adolphus College.
Students and instructor decide on a topic of interest for the class. A librarian shows students how to find articles related to that topic. The entire class discusses and determines the criteria for what makes a really good article, based on the articles they found. Students write an annotation of their article based upon the class-generated criteria. Can be staggered throughout the semester, with smaller groups of students. Can also be completed via an electronic discussion board, such as Blackboard.
2. Archaeology in the News
Created for USU 1320 by David Lancy, Department of Anthropology
A short, written assignment, similar to Science in the News, that introduces students to popular reporting about archaeological discoveries.
Description
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