Ed 41 Final Project Assignment

Link for  document version 

ED 41 Policy Study Assignment

In this assignment you are asked to select an educational problem or topic that is addressed through policy.  The Critical Policy Studies reading guide provides you with the various aspects of your policy topic that I would like you to research over the course of the second half of the semester. There are multiple parts to this assignment that are listed below, but the end goal is the writing of a policy paper (posted on our WordPress site, page length 6-8 pages), and a companion policy statement (1-2 pages) that you will present to your classmates.  

Please use a consistent citation style format for the written portions of your work (consult with your instructor).

Pre-paper Activities:

Individual Work

• Identify your specific policy topic or problem and gather readings that give you broad perspective on the issue
• Use the Critical Policy Reading Guide to organize your research about policy.
• Maintain a list of citations either on a citation manager or a document (This will be included on your final policy paper blog posts)
• Twitter: Share reports, papers, blog sites, etc that you are reading and you find informative.
  • Tag #CritEdPol

Group Work

• You will work together in “Policy Area” Groups
• Together come up with a set of readings that give us a sense of some of the various issues that your group is looking at (These readings should come from what you are looking at in your independent work)
• 24 hours before the day you are presenting each of you will write a a short paragraph that you will post on our blog (https://critedupolicy.swarthmore.edu/) as an introduction to your topic and the reading for that week. The abstract should address the policy problem you (indvidually) are examining  and a rationale for why you think this is important to look at.
  • Please go to the categories box on WordPress and check off “ED41,” “#CritEdPol” and whichever policy area your work is a part of (ex. LangEdPol, Curriculum, EdFinance, etc)
• As a group you are expected to generate two to three discussion questions for the class to address the are related to your collection of readings. Bring the questions with you the day your group leads discussion.
• You are then responsible for facilitating discussion for that week (I will consult with you the week prior to your turn to facilitate discussion)

Documents You Will Produce

1. Policy Paper (Follows the Critical Policy Reading Guide)
   1. Length 6-8 pages, but will be posted on WordPress (On moodle wordpress site)
   2. Sections:
      1. Identify and discuss the Problem
      2. Background
         1. Looking at the history of the issue
         2. pre-existing policies
         3. political players (individuals/institutions) involved in this policy, and identifying their stances
      3. Policy Proposal
         1. Identify elements of your proposal
         2. Who will manage this policy
         3. How would this be funded
      4. Policy Evaluation
         1. How will you know it is working?
      5. Plan of Action
         1. How would you move this from a proposal to possibility?
      6. References

1. Policy Statement

• one to two pages, single spaced

• Can also take on a different visual form (Poster, Storify, comic, etc)
• Sections:

1. Identify the issue/problem being examined (framed as a question or a compelling statement)
2. Background and research on the issue and pre-existing policies
3. Policy recommendations
4. Argument for why these recommendations would help to address the problem

Presentation of Policy Statement

• Presentation format will be determined in consultation with me (later)
• Will be 10 minutes (max)
• Presentation should make clear all components of the policy statement
• Should have some form of interaction with the audience
• Audience should have a better understanding of the issue and be able to think about action.