IDS 400 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

Students must complete a presentation as their final project.

In this course you will explore the role of culture in today's world. It is important to recognize the value of developing culturally responsive practices and recognizing the benefits and challenges of diversity.

Issues of diversity have influence on many aspects of society, and how that is dealt with requires diverse knowledge and perspectives to investigate and change. Across many disciplines, the ability to investigate and then articulate a plan to inspire change is often necessary to achieve personal and professional goals. The purpose of this assessment is to examine the role of culture in society and how that impacts individuals through the development of a plan that addresses a local or global problem relating to issues in diversity.

This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:

Analyze the relationships among culture, diversity, and self by investigating their influence on one's discipline of study or chosen profession
Integrate interdisciplinary approaches for determining how issues of diversity affect modern societies in both personal and professional contexts
Describe the cultural and social influences on the development of personal identity by employing appropriate research strategies
Recommend strategies for overcoming obstacles in diversity to meet personal and professional goals
Articulate informed viewpoints on how to ensure cultural responsiveness in personal and professional contexts using effective communication skills
Assess the challenges of overcoming issues in diversity through the incorporation of diverse perspectives and viewpoints informed by relevant literature and peer experiences
Prompt

For this assessment, you will choose a local or global issue that pertains to problems in diversity and one or more of the topics that has been addressed in this course (sociology of diversity, biological diversity, cultural identity, diversity through socioeconomic status, etc.). In this presentation, you will explain the issue and how it pertains to culture, include problems in diversity and any applicable topics, and provide a plan of action for addressing this issue. This plan includes recommendations for improvements as well as strategies and a plan for implementing the recommendations. You will develop your plan as a multimedia presentation with an oral component. This oral component could be audio that accompanies a PowerPoint (or Screencast-O-Matic, Prezi, Keynote, Presentit, etc.) presentation, or a video presentation with audio. You will be required to provide written speaker notes that correspond with your presentation (whether it is PowerPoint or video).

Be sure to support your answers with appropriate evidence. You are encouraged to conduct interviews with individuals who are involved or affected by the issue you are addressing, but this is not required. Relevant and appropriate research is also acceptable.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed. These are not in any particular order and can be constructed in your presentation in any configuration:

I. Introduction: For this part of the assessment, you will examine the role of the individual in a global society and how issues of diversity influence aspects of culture and the individual. You will explore topics that have been discussed in this course (sociology of diversity, biological diversity, cultural identity, diversity through socioeconomic status, etc.) to help guide your analysis.

Analyze how social practices have been shaped by issues of diversity in modern culture.
Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, explain how a topic discussed in the course has or has not influenced modern society.

Analyze how issues of diversity have influenced social change. In other words, how have problems associated with diversity necessitated or encouraged some sort of change in society?

Analyze how issues of diversity have influenced the behaviors and operations of individuals in your discipline of study. In other words, look at the influence of issues of diversity through the lens of your discipline.

Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, explain how issues of diversity and a topic discussed in the course have affected modern society. In other words, how has modern society changed or been impacted by issues of diversity? How does the topic relate to issues of diversity?

Using relevant research or diverse perspectives, assess the benefits and challenges of overcoming issues of diversity.
II. Issue: For this part of the assessment, you will introduce the issue and how it relates to issues of diversity and any of the topics that have been discussed in the course.

Using appropriate research strategies, describe a social or global issue that is related to issues of diversity.i. What is the origin of the issue?
ii. What is the issue about?

Using appropriate research strategies, describe the target population of the issue.
i. Who is impacted by the issue?

ii. What is important to know about them?

Using appropriate research strategies, explain how the chosen issue relates to a topic discussed in this course.
i. In other words, how can you connect the social or global issue you have chosen with a topic discussed in this course?

ii. How does the topic inform your understanding of the issue?

Using relevant research or diverse perspectives, assess how the chosen issue is impacting the target population.

Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, predict how the chosen issue will or will not change in the future.

III. Plan: For this part of the assessment you will offer recommendations and a plan to improve the issue, as well as strategies for implementing your plan.

Make recommendations for how the current issue could be addressed so that it no longer adversely affects the target population.

Explain the strategies that could be utilized to address the chosen issue.

Imagine you are in charge of addressing your chosen issue. Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, explain how you would implement your plan.

Explain the benefits of your plan and justify why your plan would be preferable. Be sure to support your justification with relevant research or diverse perspectives.

IV. Presentation: For this part of your assessment, address these specific elements in the construction of your presentation.

A. Construct your presentation in a way that ensures it is logically organized in order to convey your message to your audience.

B. Provide supporting evidence in your presentation to articulate the importance of the chosen issue.

C. Develop the audio elements to logically flow with your presentation and to articulate the importance of the chosen issue and the goals of your plan.

i. Did you emphasize key ideas in your speech?

ii. Does your speech logically flow with the accompanying presentation?

Milestones

Milestone One: Topic Selection

In Module Two, you will complete the Milestone One Topic Selection Worksheet and submit for instructor feedback. The final project represents a significant portion of your final grade, so it is imperative that your ideas are well developed. The worksheet will walk you through a few questions to help guide your selection of a topic for your final project. Your instructor will review your completed worksheet and offer feedback to help guide the development of your final project. This milestone will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.

Milestone Two: Presentation Outline

In Module Three, you will submit a two- to three-page outline of your final project presentation. Think of it as a script with notes that help add context to the points you will be making. It does not need to use complete sentences or paragraphs, but it should contain enough detail to allow your instructor to offer you some feedback. Note that this outline, with revisions, can serve as your speaker notes for the final project submission. This milestone will be graded with the

Milestone Two Rubric.

Milestone Three: Presentation Slides and Feedback

In Module Five, you will create the visual facet of your final project presentation. Keep in mind that your voice will be the primary carrier of your message and that visuals play a supporting role. You want your voice and visuals to work together and not compete for attention, so you should minimize the number of words on each slide and maximize the use of visual elements, including photos, illustrations, and graphs. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three

Rubric.

Milestone Four: Presentation Practice

In Module Six, you will practice putting it all together. For this assignment, you will orally narrate the first section of your presentation using the recording tool of your choice. Your instructor will give you feedback. This milestone will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.

Final Submission: Presentation

In Module Eight, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.

IDS 400 Milestone OneTopic Selection Worksheet

For this milestone, you will choose a local or global issue that pertains to problems in diversity. The chosen issue should also relate to one or more of the topics that is addressed in this course (sociology of diversity, biological diversity, cultural identity, diversity through socioeconomic status, etc.).In the presentation that you will create for the final project, you will explain the issue andhow it pertains to culture. Include problems in diversity and any applicable topics, and provide a plan of action for addressing this issue. This plan includes recommendations for improvements as well as strategies and a plan for implementing the recommendations.

Use the prompts below to help you decide on the specific topic you will address in your final project.

1. Briefly describe your discipline of study or chosen profession, at this point in time, and the impact that diversity issues have on it.

Student Input Instructor Comments

I am a Mathematics Major, as of right now I am an Administrative Assistant.

Because I am African American, I notice the difference of treatment or respect between myself and other Administrative Assistants in the company.

2. Describe the local or global issue you have selected to analyze for your final project. Which problem in diversity and course topic(s) does it address?

Student Input Instructor Comments

I'm not sure of which topic I want to touch on. It will be between the pay rate of African Americans vs. Others or not being qualified for a job because of your race.

3. Given that you will need to conduct serious research on the issue, is it sufficiently narrow to discuss in a presentation that is about 10 minutes in length? If not, what sub-issue within the larger one can you address?

Student Input Instructor Comments

If my topics are not sufficient, I guess I would like to do my presentation on gender discrimination.

Final Comments or Recommendations From Instructor: