Your Goal Grade
Highlight the header for the column below to indicate which grade you plan to work toward in the course. Meeting the basic requirements for your chosen letter grade, according to the table below, is mandatory.
| A Work | B Work | C Work |
-Misses one class or less, or completes make-up work for excused absences -Annotates all readings thoroughly -Makes substantive comments in discussions -Completes all assignments on time (or has an approved extension request) -Work demonstrates intellectual engagement, care, effort, and growth in response to feedback -Collaborates substantially, contributes to vision, works equally with peers | -Misses two classes or less, or completes make-up work for excused absences -Annotates readings -Often participates in discussion -Completes all major assignments on time (or has an approved extension request) -Completes most SAs on time -Work demonstrates care, effort and growth in response to feedback -Collaborates equally, completes required work | -Misses three classes or less, or completes make-up work for excused absences -Completes most readings -Sometimes adds to discussion -Completes all major assignments on time (or has an approved extension request) -Completes at least four SAs -Meets minimal expectations on assignments; shows limited growth in response to feedback -Completes required collaborative work |
First-Week Introduction
I chose my five goals in Reading, Ethical Reasoning, Written Communication, Information Literacy, and Skill for lifelong learning because I believe they are the five main components of research. I want my time in CODES to sharpen my research skills so that I am prepared as I can be for law school. The top 5 assignments throughout the semester interest me the most because it is new to me, and I think that style of reviewing readings can be effective. Because my schedule is a little more packed this semester due to me having two jobs instead of none like in the fall, I want to make sure to use the weekends to keep up on my work.
Midterm Introduction
Now that I am about halfway through the semester, I think just because of the topics we cover in class, my overall skill at applying ethical concepts has significantly improved. So far what I’ve struggled with is learning how to read and fully understand an uncleaned data set. I want to continue to improve my writing and text evaluation skills throughout the next half of the semester. I plan to make them my priority through this next half through the final project and reflections.
Final Introduction
Now that the semester is almost over, I feel that I’ve learned so much from this course and have retained skills that will not only be useful in my academic career, but my professional career as well. Prior to taking this course, I never knew that there were so many components when it came to research. I wasn’t aware of all the different methods of research like ethnographies, focus groups, and so on. I whole heartedly believe that this was one of the most important classes I’ve taken in college this semester and honestly should be required for every university student.
Course Goals
Choose five goals from the CODES Student Learning Outcomes that you’d like to work toward. Choose goals that are relevant to the scope of this course, select artifacts/examples based on activities assigned for this course, and explain characteristics in a way that illustrates how your artifacts/examples demonstrate your progress toward the goal.
Goal 1 (20%)
Reading: Evaluates texts’ scholarly significance to apply reading to other contexts or issues
| What will you do to learn the content/ develop the skill? | What examples will you add to the portfolio to demonstrate your learning? | What characteristics of the chosen examples demonstrate you have met your goal? |
| I will closely analyze texts for significance that I can apply to outside contexts and/or issues | I will use evidence from Top 5 assignments and Article Annotations. | The texts should show connections from the readings to real world issues. |
The four artifacts are excerpts from the Henrietta Lacks top 5 assignment, the Haiti article annotation, and Reflection #7. My excerpts touch on the historical inequities in healthcare for African Americans, the connection between water inequities in Haiti and Centreville, and the impact of archival silencing and gatekeeping. I believe that impactful and meaningful writing should contain real world significance, so it is important for me to have it in my personal writing.
Goal 2 (20%)
Ethical Reasoning: Applies ethical concepts to a question and considers their full implications.
| What will you do to learn the content/ develop the skill? | What examples will you add to the portfolio to demonstrate your learning? | What characteristics of the chosen examples demonstrate you have met your goal? |
| I will try to pretend as if I am being asked the questions to see if I feel they are ethical towards me. | I will use evidence that I gather from my interview assignment | The questions should show care for the recipients and be thought through carefully. |
The first two artifacts above are my CITI training certificates for conducting human research and responsible conduct of research. The two certificates display that I’ve completed proper training in conducting ethical research. The last two artifacts are my question set from the interview assignment. Because the person I interviewed was my grandmother, I had to refrain from questions that I might already know the response too because of my personal connection. I also kept it in mind to only asks her questions that can draw out detailed responses.
Goal 3 (20%)
Written Communication: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose.
| What will you do to learn the content/ develop the skill? | What examples will you add to the portfolio to demonstrate your learning? | What characteristics of the chosen examples demonstrate you have met your goal? |
| I will make sure to keep in mind the context, my audience, and why I am writing to make sure my writing is effective. | I will use different reflections throughout the semester as evidence for this goal. | The excerpts from my writing should show relevance to my topic and audience. |
The four artifacts above are excerpts of writing from Reflection #2, Gullah article annotation, Reflection #3, and Reflection #7. All four artifacts display that I have met my goal of keeping my writing relevant and in context for my viewers. By just reading the paragraphs or two in the artifacts, readers can understand exactly what I am writing about.
Goal 4 (20%)
Information Literacy: Accesses information using effective, well-designed search strategies and appropriate sources.
| What will you do to learn the content/ develop the skill? | What examples will you add to the portfolio to demonstrate your learning? | What characteristics of the chosen examples demonstrate you have met your goal? |
| I plan on using newly learned methods to filter out bad sources and only using credible sources. | I will use citations pages from different assignments to show my learning. | My citations pages should consist of sources that appear credible. |
The four artifacts above are all forms of citations pages that I have made throughout the semester. There was never an essay that required heavy research assigned this semester so any piece of writing I created only required one citation. The first artifact is my interview questions and responses. The responses came from my grandmother, so I made sure to give her credit for her responses. The next 3 artifacts are citation pages from my Gullah article annotation, Haiti water crisis article annotation and Reflection #2. All citations pages show where I received the information that I used to write the pieces.
Goal 5 (20%)
Critical & Creative Thinking: Transforms ideas through synthesizing knowledge from multiple domains.
| What will you do to learn the content/ develop the skill? | What examples will you add to the portfolio to demonstrate your learning? | What characteristics of the chosen examples demonstrate you have met your goal? |
| I will use prior knowledge that I might already have on topics to develop thoughts and ideas | I will use article annotation, top 5s, and reflections to show my outside knowledge. | The evidence shows me using prior knowledge to develop my thoughts and ideas in my writing |
My four artifacts that I used to demonstrate I achieved my goal of transforming ideas through synthesizing knowledge from multiple domains are screenshots from the Henrietta Lacks top 5 assignment, chapter 1&2 top 5 assignment, the Gullah tribe article annotation, and reflection #1. The first artifact from the Henrietta Lacks top 5 displays me acknowledging that the article I read did not have an overwhelming bias much like other articles similar in nature. The second artifact from the chapters 1&2 top 5 shows me understanding what a focus group is through the similarities it has with an alcoholics anonymous (Aa) group. My prior knowledge of what an AA group consisted of and what its purpose is helped me understand the function of a focus group. The third artifact from the Gullah Geechee article annotation displays me showing evidence of the article’s relevance through my knowledge of the history of gentrification in African American communities. The final artifact from reflection #1 shows me acknowledging my responses from surveys will be affected due to my personal knowledge of the people of Cahokia Heights and their efforts at reaching out for help.