Assignment #2 – Inquiry Project and Presentation

On this page:

• Assignment Purpose
• Connection to Learning Outcomes
• Assignment Description
• Assignment Guidelines
• Assignment Templates for Teaching

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to implement the inquiry-based learning process and demonstrate academic literacy through the investigation and completion of an inquiry project focussed on an organization or movement that is working to help make the world a better place. It also allows you an opportunity to reflect and discover meaningful connection between the topic you have chosen and the impact it may have had on your life journey.

Connection to Learning Outcome(s)

This assignment contributes to the following course learning outcomes:

• Process printed information analytically and critically (READ)
• Communicate clearly, precisely, and persuasively at an academic level (WRITE)
• Communicate orally in a professional manner (SPEAK)
• Participate in discussion of real-life issues as informed, critical members of the group (INQUIRY)
• Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, retrieve, use and reference information from a variety of sources for success in university (RESEARCH, CITATION)
• Demonstrate awareness, understanding, and application of academic integrity (RESEARCH, CITATION)
• Demonstrate ability to identify and apply academic strategies for analyzing, synthesizing, and critically evaluating information (CRITICAL THINKING)
• Utilize strategies or methods for effectively receiving, processing, retaining, retrieving, and utilizing information in a variety of formats and contexts (LEARNING)
• Identify and apply appropriate note-taking, study skills, and time management strategies to their academic studies, as well as understanding the variety of resources on campus that can support their learning (AWARENESS)
• Illustrate effective use of online learning tools (DIGITAL AWARENESS)

Assignment Description

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Mahatma Gandhi

After viewing the resources about the Blessed Unrest phenomenon described by Paul Hawken^[1] in the Bioneers segment (2009)^[2] and the Democracy Now! interview (2007)^[3], choose a focus of inquiry for your Blessed Unrest Inquiry Project based on your interests, passions, or possible area of study/major.

Consider an organization or movement that is working to help make the world a better place, possibly confronting issues that are named in Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest such as destruction of the environment, abuses of free-market fundamentalism, the loss of Indigenous cultures, and social justice issues related to race, class and gender. This can be an organization or movement that is new to you or one that you have experience with and wish to investigate more deeply. It can be local, regional, national or global. Contribute to the Google Sheet by adding your topic.

Sources: Once you have chosen your focus for your inquiry, begin investigating your topic by finding resources and interpreting the information. You should have a minimum of 3 creditable resources (a combination of websites, news sources, videos, blogs, magazines, books or scholarly articles).

Represent your learning and report your findings in one of the optional formats: traditional expository essay in Microsoft Word or Google Document, Sutori, WordPress…)

Presentation: give a mini-presentation (approximately 3-5 minutes) describing your inquiry project organization or movement to your instructor and peers (see video recording instructions below).

Review the Inquiry Process diagram and the suggested structure at the end of this assignment sheet.

Assessment and Evaluation:

Your project will be evaluated based on the following success criteria: quality of written expression, depth of reflection and meaning making along with effort in addressing the multiple layers of this project: representation of your findings in written expression and oral presentation.

Please review your Course Syllabus for the due date.

Assignment Guidelines

Topic Selection

After viewing the resources about the Blessed Unrest phenomenon described by Paul Hawken in the Bioneers segment (2009) and the Democracy Now! interview (2007), choose a focus of inquiry for your Blessed Unrest Inquiry Project based on your interests, passions, or possible area of study/major.

Consider an organization or movement that is working to help make the world a better place, possibly confronting issues that are named in Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest such as destruction of the environment, abuses of free-market fundamentalism, the loss of Indigenous cultures, and social justice issues related to race, class and gender. This can be an organization or movement that is new to you or one that you have experience with and wish to investigate more deeply. It can be local, regional, national or global. You may wish to choose a topic that is listed on the collective class Google Sign Up Sheet or you may wish to add a topic of your own. Once you have decided, be sure to add your name next to the topic you have selected.

Suggested Structure

This is a suggested structure to give a bit of guidance in the representation of your findings. Please feel free to modify as needed to fit your individual inquiry and learning style. Sutori suggestions: provide a balance of blocks/segments for text/video/image: approximately 10-15 segments/blocks. Traditional essay recommendation: 1000 words (4 pages), double spaced, 12-point font with standard margins.

Introduce topic/organization/movement

• origins of organization/movement
• historical context
• geography/place
• leaders/people involved

Problematize:

Summarize/describe the “problem” that your organization/movement addresses. Shine a light on the issue by unpacking the negative social and/or environmental impacts of issue.

Describe and Analyze your organization/movement:

Describe multiple aspects of the organization/movement. This may take several paragraphs. Sutori: Provide a good balance of text/video/link/image blocks. Make sure to include substantial captions in your video/link blocks to point out the significance of the video. Include relevant in-text citations (Sutori and essay).

Personalize:

Why did you choose this topic? What significance does it have for your life? To what extent are you impacted by this topic? Do you have a story to share here?

Concluding Synthesis:

Offer a conclusion to your inquiry that may include a narrative about your inquiry process, the integration of what you have learned, synthesizing themes from our course and elements of your inquiry to make connections and say something original. Reflect on your learning from this assignment and how it may have impacted your life journey.

Reference List:

Choose a citation style such as APA, MLA or Chicago. Be consistent. Cite your sources: including in-text citations and a reference list/bibliography at the end of your project.

Online Writing Lab | Purdue University (citation style guides): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/resources.html

Composing the Presentation | Video Recording

 Prepare a short presentation (3-5 minutes) on your inquiry topic

1. Highlight the main ideas about your topic in the presentation
2. Identify what is exciting or interesting about your topic
3. Practice your presentation a few times before you record
4. Turn on Zoom and record the presentation on the “cloud”
5. Share the link (and password) of the presentation on our course Discussion board, so your classmates can also watch your presentation and offer feedback.

If you are considering other recording or presentation tools, you may wish to refer to the Digital Tools for Learners site or explore your own.

The Inquiry Process

Created by educators in Australia, the Inquiry Process diagram (2011)^[4] helps to visualize the inquiry process and gives some examples of questions that may help guide your inquiry process:

Assignment Templates for Teaching

If you would like to revise these documents for your own teaching and learning settings, we have provided a number of templates (listed below) that you may access, download, and adapt for your own contexts for this assignment:

• Inquiry Project and Presentation Assignment Template
• Inquiry Project and Presentation Sign-up Sheet Template
• Course Syllabus Template