Main Question
For your final paper, you will reflect on the way these different ways of learning and sources of information contributed to your understanding of diversity and human development. Respond to the prompts below in a cohesive, formal paper.
1.
Identify one concept or topic that you learned about during the semester where the
juxtaposition of the online lessons and the personal narratives (memoirs, your own experiences, your classmates’ experiences, and/or interviews) led you to a deeper understanding of the course material. For instance:
· Did you understand the concept
more deeply as we explored different personal narratives?
· Did your understanding of the concept
change as we added more narratives?
· Was your understanding of the concept
challenged by one or more narratives?
2.
Through the body of your paper, describe how the combination of information sources helped you learn more deeply. Be sure to provide details from the online lessons and personal narratives to support your main points. As you think about your answer, reflect on the following:
· How would you have understood the concept or topic with just the material from the online lesson, but no personal narratives? Would your understanding have been complete, or was something missing?
· How would you have understood it with just one of the personal narratives? Would your understanding have been complete or would something have been missing?
· How did your understanding of the topic or concept deepen or change with additional sources of information?
· Which information sources most strongly influenced your understanding of the concept or topic, and why?
· What did you learn that was new, different, or deeper from each information source?
3.
Conclude by providing a more complete and complex description of the topic or concept, based on the nuances that you explored in your paper.
Choice of Paper Topics
To help you get started, here is a list of some of the main topics we covered this semester. As you learned throughout the semester, many of these topics overlap. You are welcome to bring additional course concepts into your paper, but be sure to stay focused on one main topic.
This list is not exhaustive – if you have a different topic that really interests you, ask the instructor if you can write about it. We want you to pick a topic that really interests you.
· The influence of context on development
· The appeal and dangers of a single story
· Inequality
· Diversity
· A good life or a meaningful life
· Agency within structural constraints
· Resilience
· Culture
· Risk and protective factors
· Internal working models & adult relationships
· Gender roles
· Family relationships & interdependence
· Factors influencing decision-making
· Balancing critical reflection & empathy
· Being open to alternate ideas
Paper Structure
Introduction
Introduce the topic you will be discussing in the paper, along with which personal narratives you will be using (memoirs, sharing posts, and/or interviews).
Tips: The introduction paragraph should not be too long because you want to get to the heart of the paper relatively quickly, but it should be long enough that it gives the reader a good sense of the overall tone of your paper and what the reader can expect going forward. The introduction paragraph should be a road-map for the reader.
Presentation and Analysis of Evidence
For the heart of your paper, discuss your topic in depth and provide examples to back up your claims. Here is a sample structure for the paper:
·
Point #1 (one or more paragraphs): Describe what you learned about the topic from the online course content, along with references to that content. What did this information contribute to your understanding of the topic?
·
Point #2 (two or more paragraphs): Describe what you learned about the topic from the personal narratives (memoirs and/or interviews), along with references to the narratives and citations where necessary. For each personal narrative, be sure to explicitly discuss how this information further shaped your thinking about this topic.
·
Point #3 (one or more paragraphs): Take a step back and compare/contrast the various information sources. How does the combination of the two sources bring you to a deeper understanding of the topic? Describe the evolution of your thinking as you learned about this topic.
·
Point #4 (one paragraph): Be sure to explore alternate ideas, narratives that don’t make sense given what you know about the topic or questions you still have about your topic.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should provide a summary of the main points in your paper as well as any final thoughts you have on the material. In your conclusion, be sure to:
· Provide a more complete or complex definition or description of the topic or concept.
· Summarize the way multiple information sources helped you develop this more complex understanding of your topic or concept.
Tips: A good conclusion not only reminds the reader about what the paper was about, but also pushes the discussion just a little bit further so that the reader is still thinking about the issues even when the paper is over.
The Nitty Gritty
· 3-4 pages, double-spaced
· 12-point standard font (Times New Roman, Calibri, etc.)
· APA style in-text citations
· APA style reference list, if you draw from outside sources. You do not need a reference list if you are only using class resources.
· Writing style matters! Make sure you have an introduction, one clear point per paragraph, a logical order to your paper, and conclusion to help frame your paper.
· Papers must have limited typographic, spelling, and grammar errors to receive a passing grade.
