Description
- Assignment 2 Proposal: Personal Inquiry Project
In preparation for Assignment 2: Personal Inquiry and Resource Share: Issues in Current Policy and Practice, propose the topic of your personal inquiry. Your proposal (~150-200 words) should include:
- The topic/question regarding a current policy and/or practice in ESL/bilingual education
- The rationale (or the “why”) for your choice of this topic/question
- A brief description of your initial plans for researching this topic/question
Description of Assignment 2:
You will engage in a Personal Inquiry into a current policy and/or practice in ESL/bilingual education. This research could involve: (a) doing general research into a topic/question; (b) reading a book or series of articles on a topic/question; (c) following a series of social media accounts/blogs that discuss a topic/question; (d) doing a media analysis of a topic/question; (e) another method of inquiry that you propose. This Personal Inquiry Project should help prepare you for Assignment 3, which is your Public Service Announcement (see below).
You will propose your Personal Inquiry Project in Week 2. Once approved, you will use Padlet to chronicle your learning. There will be a Progress Check-in in Week 4, which will give me and your small group members the opportunity to see your progress and help you connect your inquiry to an advocacy topic you’ll choose for Assignment 3. Here are links to two model Padlets:
Because this course emphasizes the role of advocacy, here is a good place to start looking for topics: NJTESOL/NJBE Advocacy page (take a special look at the Talking Points for legislators and state and local Board of Education members). Other possible topics include:
- Emergent bilinguals in early childhood/Pre-K education
- Translanguaging/the use of emergent bilinguals’ home languages in the classroom
- Emergent bilinguals in special education programs
- Teaching a content area subject (i.e.: math, science, social studies, etc.) to emergent bilinguals
With your Padlet, you will submit a 2-3 page reflection paper that answers the following questions:
- What is your topic and why did you choose it?
- How did you engage in research into this topic?
- What is one resource you found in your inquiry that you believe is particularly useful? Why would this be a resource you’d like to share with others?
- What are your big take-aways from engaging in this inquiry overall?
Your assignment will receive full credit if it meets the following criteria:
- Your Padlet features at least 10 relevant and distinct (i.e. 10 separate sources) entries from a variety of sources on a topic relevant to ESL/Bilingual Education.
- Your Padlet is well-organized and easy to follow. Each entry includes a short but clear annotation of the content of the resource and its relationship to the topic.
- Your paper accompanying your Padlet answers all 4 questions in detail and clearly outlines the inquiry and what was learned from it.
