Centre collégial de développement de matériel didactique

Step 2

 CREATE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

  • This scenario is designed for students to produce a written Research Proposal (individual or group) and to complete the Research Scholar Script Form. A grade value should be assigned not only to the final production, the Research Proposal, but to the process work, the Research Scholar Script Form. The script form allows you to validate the preliminary work for the Research Proposal. Script form work also takes up most of the 25 hours estimated for a six-week run.
  • Review the timeline in your script and the Research Scholar Script to determine how best to align your own course plans with the six-week timeline provided. You may opt for an extended plan or remove some steps for a more compressed scenario. Either way, while writing up your assignment instructions, be specific about what you expect for the timeline and the students’ proposal and script work.
  • Decide whether you want the students to produce Research Proposals individually or in small groups. Evaluation is certainly more clear-cut if you ask for individual proposals, but if you opt for the group proposal, be clear on how the grade values will be determined. Also, be clear on how individualized you expect the Research Scholar Script Form to be. You may want to itemize this in the evaluation grids.
  • The assignment instructions should include a statement about how this scenario fits with the overall course objectives/competencies, a timeline, grade values, due dates and evaluation criteria/grids.
  • Complete the assignment instructions and deliver them to the students in advance of the start date. This will give them a chance to visit the TRC website.

Suggestions

  • Carefully review the completed assignment instructions with the students during class time.
  • Navigate through the main touchpoints of the Research Institute material to ensure they understand the connection between your assignment instructions and the TRC website material.
  • Since the literature review work is unusually time-consuming, limit the number of sources required for the review. Finding, reading, summarizing and synthesizing scholarly sources can take some students double or triple the time of others.
  • Consider making adherence to the Research Institute Code of Conduct worth a portion of the grade. Also consider making the draft proposal worth a portion of the grade.