Introduction
The University’s Mission Statement announces as its first goal the education of, “the new generation of leaders for the 21st century, men and women capable of shaping a global community with vision, justice, and clarity.” NCC Associate Dean Nance Lucas, in her welcome to visitors to NCC’s web site, argues that, ”an Integrative Studies Degree prepares students to solve some of society’s most pressing problems, integrating knowledge and practical experiences from a variety of disciplines and fields.”
And Joseph Tussman, one of the educational reformers whose work inspired the foundation of New Century College itself, contends that the very fact of citizenship in a democracy means each of us fulfills a critical public office. He contends, “It is this dual status—private person and public official—that makes the theory and the practice of democratic life so difficult and demanding.” These aspirations shape the research inquiry group project for NCLC 203.
The Project
Literacy once meant only the ability to read and write sufficiently to navigate everyday familial, professional and social obligations. Contemporary societies, however, have expanded the concept to understand more thoroughly the emotional, psychological, social, judicial, political, and technological capacities each citizen requires to achieve his or her full potential. This semester, NCLC 203 will investigate four areas of this wider literacy of particular relevance to our local communities: homelessness, education, family and new media.
In each of these literacy areas, individuals in our community face crises and challenges. The cohort will divide into four groups (each comprised of 6 – 7 students from each seminar), each of which will research in depth, throughout the semester, a critical issue where action might be needed within our community. As a group, you will research:
- the scale of your chosen issue at the local level and within our wider society
- the structural context to your chosen issue, that is, the changes and pressures at the local, regional, national and, if relevant, international levels (political, economic, cultural, etc.,) which have driven, or are driving, your chosen issue to crisis point
- how other researchers have investigated your chosen issue, the possible solutions or ameliorations they have proposed, and the relative success of such initiatives
- a research-based, rigorously evaluated plan for future action for your chosen issue which might lead to its amelioration, not simply in the short term but also in the longer term.
The Value of the Project
Through this project, you can work collaboratively on an issue that concerns you deeply, or about which you are passionate. You will expand your understanding of a critical community issue, make contact with individuals who devote their professional or personal lives to your chosen issue, and understand the structural contexts to what often seem like inexplicable local or community changes and crises.
Thus, your research in this learning community might provide the basis for an internship or service-learning placement within the field you are researching. It might trigger ideas for an independent study you could pursue within your concentration or as an elective. It might lead you to forge deeper links with your community or the campus on which you can draw as you search for professional or volunteer mentors, or move towards the job market or graduate school in your chosen field. Use this research assignment to move your education as a citizen conclusively forward and pry open new avenues for action and understanding.
Research Perspectives
As practitioners of action research, with a commitment to partnership, inclusion and the intellectual authority of multiple perspectives, including those of working in the field and those individuals most disadvantaged by the crisis or challenge you are researching, you will integrate into your project:
- theoretical research (based on academic monographs, journal articles and public scholarship (blogs, online briefings, etc. from thoroughly evaluated, credible authors/organizations)
- field research (based on the knowledge of community officials, grassroots leaders, and representatives from all parts of the community most concerned in your issue, with a commitment to representing fully the socio-economic, ethnic and cultural diversity of our community)
In the practice of action research, remember that the knowledge and experience of each stakeholder is equally important. If you are researching homelessness in Fairfax county, for example, the voice and authority of the homeless person in Reston is as intellectually valuable as the voice of the university-trained theoretician (and vice versa)
Research Methodologies
Each researcher in NCLC 203 will also develop expertise in methodologies particularly appropriate to action research. These include:
- interviewing
- rhetorical and descriptive analysis
- observations and focus groups
- survey research and questionnaires
Each research inquiry group will integrate the three most appropriate of these methodologies into its investigations and analyses.
Social Change Literacy Areas outlines in more detail the four areas NCLC 203 will research this Spring, while the Research Inquiry Group Project Worksheet will guide you and support your progress through the successive stages of your research and synthesis.
Final Presentations
The research inquiry group project requires two presentations:
- an oral presentation to the cohort and your invited guests (from the specific communities where you have worked) of your research and the presentation of your proposed plan for amelioration
- a final group electronic portfolio which will chronicle your research process, tabulate and explain your conclusions, include all your research to support your proposed plan for amelioration, and reflect upon the success of your research project
The Presentation Guidelines and RING Portfolio Guidelines amplify the requirements for your final presentations.
Due Dates
|
Due Date |
Assignments |
Guidelines and Expectations |
| 12 February | Group Management Plan | Submit completed group management plan to your RING facilitator |
| 26 February | RING Project Worksheet | Submit completed sections A – D of the Project Worksheet to your RING facilitator |
| 16 April | Draft of RING research and plan for future actionInvitation of guests to Oral Presentation of your RING project | Submit the Draft of your RING research and your plan for future action to your RING facilitator and to key stakeholders with whom you have worked over the semesterInvite key stakeholders and others with whom you have worked on your RING Project over the semester to the final presentations on 29 April |
| 23 April | RING Project Worksheet | Submit Section E of the RING Project Worksheet to your RING facilitator |
| 29 April | Oral Presentation of your RING project | Present the key elements of your research and your plan for future action (supported by rigorously evaluated research) to faculty and invited guests |
| 6 May | Final RING Project Portfolio | Submit your final portfolio to your RING facilitator, including your completed, up-to-date, RING Project Worksheet |