Academic Practicum Assignment

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Assignment Overview The practicum experience and associated academic journal are integral components of this course. The academic journal assignment asks you to describe, analyze, and reflect upon the information and ideas you encounter in your educational practicum. The idea is that you use the journal process to make your practicum more meaningful- connecting your experiences with the readings and discussion we explore in class. Thus, your practicum will inform your Foundations of Ed course work and your coursework should help you better understand your service site. In conclusion, the over-arching purpose of the academic journal experience is to do more than merely record observations or experiences; rather it is to create a critical and reflective self-learner, a goal that is at the heart of liberal education.

Important Stages, Timelines, and Grade Weight

Part I Site Selection (10 points) To be completed and turned in by

Part II Field Notebook and Timesheet (25 points) To be completed and turned in by

Part III Research Project Smartbrief (15 points) To be completed and turned in by

Part IV Completed Journal and Timesheet (50 points) To be completed and turned in by

Specific guidelines This journal is not a journal or diary in which you chronicle or list experiences. An academic journal requires an entirely different organizational and developmental framework. For this course, you will be asked to complete the following:

1. Field Notes 2. Research “Smartbrief” 3. Completed Academic Journal

Field Notes The “raw material” of your journal should be your field notes. You will need to record notes from each experience/observation that you have at your field site. You should have a dedicated notebook for these observations. Each observation should include the basics at the top (date, time, location), a section for your actual observations, and a section for your questions/reflections at the conclusion of the experience for that day (what seemed significant? What was thought provoking?).

Research Smartbrief As you begin making field notes and encounter course readings and material, potential questions should begin to surface. These could be specific to your site (“I wonder why Bobby’s parents seem to not care about his school work?”) or more general in regards to larger educational processes (“It seems unfair that schools get most of their funding from property taxes- is there another way?”). Eventually, you will be asked to pick ONE specific question to research more in depth. The research will involve finding three academic journal articles on the subject and writing a “smartbrief” summarizing your findings. See the “Smartbrief Research Guidelines” handout for more information. Your smartbrief will be used as part of your final completed journal.

Completed Academic Journal Your final journal will be an integration of your field notes, your smartbrief, and your readings and experiences in class. It should be thoughtfully and carefully organized with attention to the creation of several specific themes and arguments. It should NOT be an all-inclusive account of your practicum experience. It should be well-written with minimal spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. DO NOT SIMPLY WRITE A CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT. Your journal should be creatively and meaningfully organized using all four modes and chapter headings as explained below. Four modes that must be addressed in your academic journal 1) Description. Describe or narrate the nature of your practicum. Where and with whom are you working? Why? Description asks you to define, reveal, picture, show, list, outline.

2) Narration. Describe or narrate your own personal reactions to the experience--doubts, skepticism, excitement, confusion, or enthusiasm. Narration asks you to tell a story, give an account, or report an interesting action.

3) Analysis. Analyze the experience. How well does your experience with an individual or group shed light on theories, data, issues, problems that you have been reading about for this course, either for class or for your smartbrief research in Lilly?

4) Argumentation. Develop the implications of your practicum (going beyond the information given). What does your experience tell you is valid about your reading in education? If the books and articles that you read are valid (or invalid), what conclusions follow, what issues become central, what applications are possible, what social results might occur, what ethical problems arise? In short, what does your experience mean? Argumentation asks you to critically examine your ideas, thoughts, and beliefs on educational issues in light of your practicum and your studies in class.

Chapter Headings You will need to divide your final journal into chapters. Dividing a journal into chapter headings helps accomplish several objectives: (1) the generations of topics to write about and the encouragement of others; (2) the necessary breaking away from the usual chronological pattern that so easily reduces itself to the "I went to, saw, helped, read" pattern; (3) the creation of a useful organizational format for both writer and reader; and (4) the assurance that you will practice different modes of writing.

Below the following four modes are some possible chapter headings, but these headings never exclude one another nor exhaust the possibilities.

Description Narration Analysis Argumentation Events Stories* Assumptions New ideas Subjects Vignettes Reversals New approaches Playground Images Realizations Views of others Classroom Quotations Revisions Teaching materials Intersections* Research Noises Questions Work room Conclusions

• "Stories" acts as the inclusive term for narrative accounts--of "strange encounters," embarrassing moments," "firsts," incidents too good to forget." "Intersections" are parallels--between readings, research, and discussions.

Evaluation I will look for several features when evaluating the quality of your journal: • Organization into chapters • The intentional use all four modes of writing (description, narration, analysis, and argumentation) • Appropriate number of pages (12 - 15, double spaced, typed pages) • Good writing • Attention to class reading and discussion • Quality more than quantity. • The journal must focus on limited topics and use specific and concrete detail to develop them, be clearly expressed, demonstrate reflection and a grappling with experience, reflection, and research.