Professional Preparation and Reflection SLP

The goal of the Session Long Project (SLP) Assignments is the completion of an 8- to 10-page paper on a topic of interest that is directly related to your concentration. There are four components to the SLP, and you will complete one component within each module.

Students are expected to incorporate any instructor feedback into each assignment.

SLP Assignment Expectations

SLP 1 will include:

1. Introduction: Identify the Topic (1 page)
2. Statement of the Problem (1/2 page)
3. Guiding Question(s) and Strategy (1 page)
4. Reference List

Introduction: Prepare an introduction to your SLP identifying a current (within one year) unique, special, or critical issue you are interested in professionally. The topic should be related to your concentration of study, thus providing an appropriate context for your writing. Include at least 3 articles from peer-reviewed journals that support the relevance, timeliness, and importance of the topic.

Statement of the Problem: Prepare a statement of the problem. Use the information below to assist you in the development of a problem statement related to the topic.

The statement of the problem “is an education issue or problem within the broad topic area that you believe is important. For example, within the topic area of distance learning, there might be issues or problems relating to a lack of student interest or accuracy of assessment of performance” (Christensen and Johnson, 2013, p. 71). In this example, the topic is distance learning and the problem is lack of student interest or accuracy of assessment.

A statement of the problem includes the following components:

• This situation in/within (societal organization/institution/policy, etc.)
• Has created a problem (describe it in a few words).
• In (name the context of your study), this problem plays out and creates this situation (be specific and give data to quantify the issue, reference the literature).
• This problem impacts (name population) because (describe impact). 

Guiding Questions and Strategy: Provide at least one guiding question and discuss what resources you will use to examine the issue. 

Provide at least one guiding question (1 – 3 is acceptable). A guiding question (or research question) describes the purpose of your paper. This question is strongly related to the topic and issue you have identified in the problem statement. 

You will write a literature review to address the topic and issue. You will use peer-reviewed journal articles to describe what is currently known about the issue. Provide a brief overview of the strategies you will employ to locate relevant and timely resources related to the topic/issue. Identify at least two strategies you will employ to locate resources. This may include specific peer-reviewed journals, education databases, government resources, etc. Hint: Use the Module 1 Reading Succeeding with Your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students (Chapters 1 and 3) by Oliver for guidance. 

Chapter 1: The Nature and Purpose of a Literature Review

Chapter 3: Doing a Literature Review

Oliver, P. (2012). Succeeding with Your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education

Reference List: include an APA formatted reference list

MAED SLP Grading Rubric

Assignment-Driven Criteria (10 points): Demonstrates mastery covering all key elements of the assignment in a substantive way.  

Critical Thinking (6 points): Demonstrates mastery conceptualizing the problem. Viewpoints and assumptions of experts are analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated. Conclusions are logically presented with appropriate rationale. 

Scholarly Writing (3 points): Demonstrates mastery and proficiency in scholarly written communication to an appropriately specialized audience.  

 Quality of References and Assignment Organization (3 points): Demonstrates mastery using relevant and quality sources and uses appropriate, relevant, and compelling content to support ideas, convey understanding of the topic and shape the whole work. 

Citing Sources (3 points): Demonstrates mastery using in-text citations of sources and properly format full source information in the reference list (bibliography).

Timeliness (5 points): Assignment submitted on time or collaborated with professor for an approved extension before the module due date.

Required Reading

Bennett, S. (2014). The Elements of Résumé Style: Essential Rules for Writing Résumés and Cover Letters That Work. New York: AMACOM.

Chapter 1: The Nature and Purpose of a Literature Review

Chapter 3: Doing a Literature Review

Oliver, P. (2012). Succeeding with Your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education

Chapter 1: Teachers Self-Assessment of Reflection Skills as an Outcome of E-Folios

Milman, N. B., & Adamy, P. (2009). Evaluating Electronic Portfolios in Teacher Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Journal Article

Roberts, C. (2008). Developing future leaders: The role of reflection in the classroom. Journal of Leadership Education, 7(1), 116 – 130.

Websites

Job Search Advice: Cover Letter Tips (2016). Retrieved from https://www.higheredjobs.com/career/resumes.cfm

Herman, L. (2016). 8 Resources to Help you Nail your Next Cover Letter.   Retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/8-resources-to-help….

Monster Worldwide (2016). Cover Letter Examples and Resume Samples and Resources. Retrieved from http://www.monster.ca/career-advice/cover-letter-r….

OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab (2016). Resume Workshop. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/719/1/

OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab (2016). Introduction to and Expectations for Resumes. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/564/01…

Resume Resource. Retrieved from http://www.resume-resource.com/