Select a topic to research. For your research, you must use Google Scholar, the GCU Library or another reputable site. Use Lecture 2 for a description of what is considered a scholarly article. Use APA formatting style for references.Create a title page and a reference list with 10 references from the last 5 years. Include the permalink for each reference.Include the following types of references:
Book
Journal articles
Website
Dissertation/thesis from a database
Streaming video
Book chapter
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
Communicating as a Graduate Student at GCU
Introduction
Learning to communicate appropriately and effectively in a variety of settings and in a variety of formats is an important skill in both academic and professional environments. In an online learning environment, learning to communicate effectively through writing is particularly important because it is, by far, how the majority of communication occurs. Review the learning objectives for this module within the course syllabus and use the following lecture, which is about various forms of written communication used in the online graduate setting, to accomplish them.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing the ideas of others is a requirement in academic writing and graduate study. Paraphrasing is using your own words to restate ideas or information from a source material. Paraphrasing will help you grasp the full meaning of the source material and allow you to appropriately reference the source material to support your own ideas and academic writing. Paraphrased material is usually shorter and more concise than the original information. The following are some common guidelines taken from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (2012), which may assist you with learning to paraphrase information gathered from reading materials for use in completing your coursework.
· Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
· Set the original passage aside and, on a note card, write what you think the passage means in your own words (paraphrase).
· Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later of how you plan to use the information. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
· Compare your paraphrase with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information.
· Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phrase you copied exactly from the original source.
· Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can cite it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into a paper or discussion question response.
The following is an example of paraphrasing (Purdue OWL, 2012), which includes proper citation, per APA style, of the original source material.
The original passage
:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.
Lester, J.D. (1976).
Writing Research Papers
(2nd ed.). New York, NY: Publishing Clearinghouse.
A legitimate paraphrase:
In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note-taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester, 1976).
Lester, J.D. (1976).
Writing Research Papers
(2nd ed.). New York, NY: Publishing Clearinghouse.
When reading course materials, it is important to make connections between the meaning of the reading material, your course learning objectives, your personal experience with the topic, and the completion of course assignments. Below is an example of a paraphrasing assignment that includes taking a direct quote, writing it down in your own words, and making a connection.
Quote From Required Module Reading
|
Meaning of Text
|
Module Learning Objective
|
Making a Connection
|
"Women are the mules of the world."
|
I think Hurston means that women do most of the work in the world, but don't get the credit for it.
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Discuss perceptions of male and female roles in society.
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It makes me think of myself, working full time both at home (cleaning, cooking, buying groceries, etc.) and this information relates to my paper because my paper is about the role of women and men today. This is one example of how women are perceived in society.
|
(Alvermann, Phelps, & Ridgeway, 2007)
Summaries
This week you are required to complete a summary of an academic article. You will use academic articles to increase your knowledge and understanding of topics covered throughout your program of study, as well as to support your articulation of concepts learned. Following are some guidelines for writing an effective summary:
·
Explanation:
Explain what the article is about and how it is relevant to the topic of study. Include all important aspects of the article.
·
Clarity and completeness:
Express your thoughts about the article clearly and completely.
·
Impartiality and objectivity:
Be neutral and objective when summarizing theories, study results, and comparisons with others' work. There is no place for opinion or emotion when summarizing a journal article.
·
Order: Summarize the article in an order that coincides with the structure of the article as written similar to how the article is written. For example, if summarizing a research study, you would not begin by discussing the results of the study, but rather the research problem and research questions.
·
Accuracy:
Be sure to accurately articulate the meaning of the article that the author intended to convey.
·
Simplicity:
Do not use excessive jargon, flowery language, or long words (e.g., utilization instead of use) for their own sake; the ideas and concepts must stand on their own without unnecessary enhancement.
Annotated Reference Lists
Throughout your courses, you may be required to complete annotated reference lists (also known as annotated bibliographies); in fact, next week you will be required to complete an annotated reference list. An annotated reference list or bibliography is one way to organize references or information gained from various sources, most likely academic or professional journals, in preparation for completing a writing assignment. An annotated bibliography is essentially a list of references you have found that are related to the topic of your writing assignment and includes:
1. A brief summary of the source and its relevance to the topic you will be writing about (annotated means "noted" or "explained")
2. An APA citation of the reference
The following is an example of the beginning of an annotated reference list:
Outlines
An outline is a great way to help focus your writing when beginning any writing process (summaries, essays, research papers, etc.). Without an outline, you can easily veer off topic, and end up with a rambling piece of writing that fails to meet the assignment objective. For additional information on how to write an effective outline, visit Purdue's Online Writing Lab by clicking here.
Communicating in Forums
· Communicating effectively with your instructor and peers in an online learning environment will ensure that your learning experiences are valuable. The LoudCloud environment offers the following five forums in which you may communicate with others:
· Main Forum
· Individual Forum
· Questions to Instructor Forum
· Collaborative Learning Community Forums
· Class Wall
The Main Forum is where discussion question responses are posted, while the Individual Forum is reserved for personal communication between you and your instructor only. The Questions to Instructor Forum is where you may post questions for the instructor in such cases as the answer may be beneficial to all students. The Class Wall is an informal place where you may communicate with both your instructor and classmates. When communicating in any forum of the classroom, you are expected to be respectful, professional, and to always use language appropriate for the academic setting. However, there are also specific expectations for communicating during discussions in the Main Forum.
Discussions in the Main Forum
All students are encouraged to strive for high academic performance. One way to do this is by posting quality responses in all discussion forums (in-class discussions, online discussion questions, and collaborative learning communities (). A quality response is constructive, meaningful, respectful, concise, distinctive, and timely. The following are guidelines used to assess discussion forum responses:
Guidelines for Evaluating Students' Participation in Class Discussions
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Participation clearly demonstrates
understandingof the subject matter at an appropriate depth of
analysis and evaluation
.
|
Participation clearly demonstrates
applicationof the subject matter with appropriate examples
from student's own experiences or research
.
|
Participation includes
relevantmaterial and conveys more than a general message.
|
Participation provides adequate
support
for assertions
from varying perspectives demonstrating the ability to analyze philosophical differences
.
|
Participation posts online are
writtenclearly and for an audience of peer professionals.
|
Participation posts online are writtenrespectfully and
withappropriate tone.
|
Students ask
relevant questions
related to the subject matter
illustrating utilization of Bloom's taxonomy
.
|
Participation
affirmsthe value of others' opinions.
|
Participation adds
value
beyond the assigned discussion questions.
|
Online discussion and ground in-class discussions are similar in nature. Someone asks a question, another gives an answer and others contribute in new ways to the discussion by presenting different views, opposite opinions, filling in gaps, or taking the conversation in a related, but different, direction.
Attending class online requires your virtual presence, while actually participating in class requires your intellectual presence as well. Being
engaged
in the learning process is at a higher level still, requiring also your emotional presence. This means that you should always actively participate in discussions by thinking critically about discussion questions and making connections to your personal or professional experiences prior to posting a response.
Discussion promotes independent thought and helps you integrate the learning material with your prior knowledge of the topic of discussion. You are expected to critically think about ideas, debate issues, defend your perspective with facts, and apply theoretical concepts in discussions. Your initial and follow-up responses should integrate course theories with practical application, offer a personal observation or experience, or reference real-world examples, current events, or further research you have done on the topic.
Quality discussion responses should demonstrate deeper or broader thoughts about a topic rather than just rephrasing what the textbook has to say on the topic, and encourage further discussion and ongoing dialogue with other students in the class. It is important to do more than repeat information that others have given or simply agree with or acknowledge the contributions of another.
Communicating in Teams
Collaborative learning involves assigning students to teams so that they can learn to work together to achieve common goals. Doing this successfully requires effective communication regarding team roles and expectations, deadlines for assignments, and agreement on how the assignment should be completed. These collaborative projects will give you an opportunity to work together with your team members to determine the best solution to a problem or present a summary of material for example. One goal of collaborative learning is the accomplishment of joint, rather than individual, goals, similar to that of working collaboratively as you would on a team project in the workplace.
Success occurs when all members of the team achieve the goal. This is the basis of the Collaborative Learning Community (CLC). Many class assignments throughout your courses use CLCs. In addition, students are encouraged to form CLCs as study groups to work on assignments and to prepare for exams, as long as each student contributes substantially and contributes individual work.
In both the classroom and the workplace, participants do not always contribute equally. In the workplace, inequity of effort and contribution leads to variation in promotion rates, bonuses, and salaries. In this classroom, inequity of effort and contribution to CLC projects will lead to variation in the grade given to each participant.
For each CLC, you will be assigned to a team of three to five students. You may access the team forums from the "Tasks" tab or from the home page of your classroom in LoudCloud. The team forums are distinguished by color (Blue Group Forum, Green Group Forum, etc.). Please make sure that all communication regarding the CLC and all individual submissions for team evaluation are posted in these team forums (no personal exchanges through email) so that all team members can read and review what other team members are thinking, and so that the instructor can evaluate each team member's contribution to the project.
Failure to communicate and procrastination by a team member are some of the most frustrating interactions that can occur within team projects. Please be considerate of your team. For example, many of your team members might be very busy outside a class and may be unable to wait until the last minute to complete the project. By participating in a timely manner, you can avoid causing them frustration.
After the team has created an agreed-upon document for submission, one of the team members will submit it to the designated drop box in the module for the module in which it is due. The final submission must be created in Microsoft Word and include appropriate citations where applicable unless otherwise noted in the course syllabus.
Assignment Grading Rubrics
For many of the assignments you submit, your instructors will use a grading rubric to assess the level of knowledge and/or skill demonstrated in your assignment. Assignment grading rubrics are also used to communicate with you the expected level of quality which is to be demonstrated in order to receive a particular grade on the assignment. Rubrics include the criteria in which you will be graded on such as content, organization and effectiveness and format as well as elements required in the assignment to achieve a particular performance level such as satisfactory, good, or excellent. If an assignment will be graded with a rubric, it will say so within the assignment description. The assignment rubric may be reviewed at the assignment submission box. You should always review the assignment rubric when available prior to completing an assignment so that you have a clear understanding of what's required to successfully complete the assignment.
APA Format and Turnitin
In this module, you will be asked to turn in an article summary that requires APA format and submission to Turnitin. Always look for these requirements within the assignment directions of your course syllabus.
APA format is the basic format required for all written assignments submitted in GCU classes, with some exceptions as indicated by your course syllabus. The proper use of APA format provides an effective and consistent way to produce academic writing which is both original and credible because it gives you the ability to integrate and cite sources you have referenced to complete a writing assignment. Learning to properly use APA formatting takes practice and is important in order to avoid plagiarizing, which will be discussed in the next module. For more information on how to format your writing assignments using APA, complete the "APA Formatting" tutorial by clicking here.
Turnitin is a software program used by GCU to analyze the originality of submitted writing assignments. If a Turnitin originality report is required, it will be indicated in the assignment instructions within the course syllabus as well as at the assignment submission box. The LoudCloud Walk to Class Tutorial discusses Turnitin under the Tasks (Forums and Assignments) tab. Review this section again for more information on how to submit assignments to Turnitin. Ultimately, Turnitin protects everyone; it helps ensure that the work you turn in is original. Students must complete their own work. If you turn in work that was completed by another person, it is considered plagiarism in which there are serious consequences, including expulsion. Students who are expelled for plagiarism are often unable to enroll in other colleges because the expulsion stays on their academic record.
Conclusion
Communicating as a graduate student entails many things, including learning how to produce useful forms of written communication such as outlines and summaries, as well as understanding appropriate tone and language for an online learning environment. It may seem overwhelming, but remember that you have a great support network to rely on, including instructors, counselors, librarians, and your classmates. Being a GCU student involves being a part of a community. Even though you are an online student, it does not mean you are on an island by yourself. Be sure to take full advantage of this time in your life to develop your communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with others. There is no better time than graduate study to accomplish this.
References
Alvermann, D. E., Phelps, S. F., & Ridgeway, V. G. (2007).
Content area reading and literacy: Succeeding in today's diverse classrooms.
Boston, MA: Pearson Education, LLC.
Purdue Online Writing. (2011).
OWL: Paraphrase: write it in your own words. Retrieved on February 10, 2011 from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/