University Seminar
Diversity Core Assignment
“A Mini Research Project”
Goal
of the Assignment: To demonstrate
an understanding about diversity.
Relationship
to General Education Goals:
Goal
1: The ability to communicate both
in writing and orally.
Goal
3: An understanding of historical
processes and cultural differences.
Structure
of the Assignment: To
demonstrate your learning about diversity in this University Seminar, you will
conduct a mini research project with two other students. The mini research
will center on the experiences and expectations of the three of you as new
members of an academic community. You will examine similarities and
differences with regard to your family backgrounds (family tree, naming
system, values, beliefs, traditions, etc), socio-economic context, social
interactions and relationships, challenges and strategies for success in an
academic community.
Guiding questions:
The following questions
are designed to guide you in your mini research project.
1.
Briefly describe
similarities and/or differences in your family backgrounds.
2.
Name and explain
similarities and/or differences in your socio-economic contexts.
3.
Briefly describe
social interactions and relationships in your cultures.
4.
What challenges do you
as a group face in achieving your academic goals?
5.
What role can you play
to help the NEIU community to better understand, respect, and learn from
diversity?
6.
List three strategies
that the three of you can use to succeed academically at NEIU.
7.
Comment on your
learning experiences from this group project.
To get answers for
questions 1-6, you will use different means such as participant observation,
interviewing family members, checklists, and/or drawing from your own
experiences:
Your group will present findings in class.
The group presentation is worth a maximum of 25 points. You will then write
the paper (incorporate classmates’ feedback on your presentation) and submit
it for grading. The paper will be worth a maximum of 25 points. The whole
project is worth 50 points. On the following pages, see scoring criteria for
the presentation and the paper your group will hand in for grading.
Scoring Criteria for Presentations on Diversity
|
Dimension
|
Scores:
Clarity of Content |
|||
|
Not
Clear |
Somehow
Clear |
Very
Clear |
||
|
1.
Similarities/differences in family backgrounds |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
2.
Similarities/differences in socio-economic contexts? |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
3. Social
interactions and relationships in your cultures |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
4. Challenges in
achieving academic goals |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
5. Your role in
helping NEIU community to better understand, respect, and learn from
diversity |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
6. Strategies for
succeeding academically at NEIU |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
7. Learning
experiences from this group project |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
8.Organization of
the presentation |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
9. Overall
Communication |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
10. Time keeping
(15 minutes maximum) |
Did
not keep time = 0 |
Kept
time = 1 |
||
Total possible points = 25
Grp
|
Names
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Total |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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5 |
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6 |
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7 |
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8 |
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9 |
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10 |
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Introduce the three
members of the group (use pseudonyms) outlining similarities and differences
in family backgrounds, as well as in socioeconomic contexts – (6 points)
Cultural backgrounds:
Describe key cultural
practices showing how they nurture a sense of belonging within a community.
What things make you feel a sense of belonging? Why is a sense of belonging
important within a learning community? Compare your cultural values, beliefs,
social interactions and relationships. How do they encourage high achievement
in school? (6 points)
Challenges and
strategies for success:
Name and discuss
challenges that may arise in an academic setting as you relate to, and work
with, other students and faculty from diverse backgrounds. How can you
contribute to the NEIU community’s efforts to make diversity a resource for
learning rather than something to merely tolerate? (9
points)
*Wherever
possible and appropriate, you should attempt to incorporate information (e.g.,
examples, citations) from the class readings.
What main learning
experiences did you achieve from this project? Suggest strategies that can
help students from diverse backgrounds succeed academically at NEIU (4
points)
Grammar and spelling will
count. For every two spelling errors or grammatical mistakes you will lose one
point.
Your paper should be 6-8
pages (N.B. There will be one paper
submitted per group. Whatever grade is assigned, it will be the same for all
group members, so group members should contribute equally). Include a
cover sheet with the names of the group members on it. Submit the paper on
or before [DATE]. Late submissions will lose points.
Names: 1. ___________________________________________________
2.
___________________________________________________
3.
___________________________________________________
Score:
Paper ______
+ Presentation
________
=
_________
25
25
50
KEY:
Emerging: Minimal
information provided, non-coherent discussion, numerous errors
Average:
Considerable information provided, some coherent discussion, minimal errors
Exemplary:
All required information is provided, coherent discussion, hardly any errors
|
Requirement |
Performance
|
||
|
Emerging |
Average |
Exemplary |
|
Introduction
(6 points)
|
1
2 |
3 4 |
5
6 |
Main
Body
Cultural backgrounds (6 points) |
1
2 |
3 4
|
5
6 |
Challenges and strategies for success (9 points)
|
1
2 3 |
4
5 6 7 |
8 9 |
|
Summary and Conclusions
(4 points) |
1 |
2
3 |
4 |
|
Total
Points |
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