GUIDELINES FOR CASE STUDY PAPERS
Introduction
The case studies will be a combination of individual and group projects.
Essentially, do the assignment yourself in Google Docs (@northseattle.edu),
and then invite your group members to your document. Read each other's work,
and then create a consensus document to be submitted for grading (by inviting
instructor as reader/reviser).
Team Selection
Select between 3 and 5 classmates to work with as a team (4 in a team is ideal) via discussion the Webct Discussion board. If, for any reason, a student chooses to turn in their own answers without team interaction then the best score for that student is half of the total points possible. A person may be a member of only one team per case study, with no overlapping teams (i.e., you can't be a member of more than 1 team at a time). All members must claim each other as a part of the same team; the consequence is a zero for the whole team. You are required to be on different teams for the first 2 Case Studies. After that, if you want to stick with your group, that is fine. People not on your team should not be invited to read or revise your document. You may disinvite people, too. So if someone signs up and then resigns, you should disinvite them.
Step 1
Students should create a google document using @northseattle.edu, individually answer all of the questions listed below and on the case studies, and then SHARE their answers with other team members to see if there are points of agreement. Any COMMONLY AGREED UPON answers are to be compiled into a SINGLE PAPER. This single paper will be created on a document created by the instructor. Doing this allows the instructor to monitor group participation. If any student has opinions which differ from those of their fellow team members they may include them as an addition at the bottom of this paper clearly demarcated at the bottom. All papers will be finished by the due dates stated in the calendar.These papers should show EVIDENCE of group interaction and an exchange of information. Each student is expected to make an honest contribution to the effort of arriving at mutually agreeable answers or solutions. Do not be overly concerned if you can't all agree. Students will be expected to read the material and put in sufficient "thought time" to make meaningful Critical Thinking contributions to their group papers.
Step 2
By the due date Each student should email me a self rating of their own efforts AND a rating of fellow group members via webct. Each student assigns themselves and the others a score from 0 to 20 points. Points roughly correspond to 20 = A, 18 = B, 16 = C, 14 = D, 0 = No preparation. The average of a students self rating and that of their fellow group members will be each students grade for the activity. (For example: John Smith submits a Rating of 19 for himself and his 2 fellow group members rate him a 15 and 11. The total is 45 points and his average is 15. This is John's score for the activity.)
General guide
Important: Read the guidelines below before you begin your paper. Use the
checklist. Answer each question completely.
Read the assignment discussion case carefully. You should use your textbook and course materials. Keep your answers brief (no less than 1 ½ pages and no more than 3 ½ pages, double-spaced with 12 point font). These papers must be typed using English correctly. Grammar counts, spelling counts, as does accuracy, coherence, and clarity.
As a group, try to help each other understand the issues and select the better actions to help with the problem. Although some answers are better than others, technically there are several possibilities and as a consequence there is no "absolutely correct" choice. If you don't agree with someone's reading of the case or their answers, explain why you disagree rather than trying to show how they are wrong (Remember, there are no absolutely correct choices).
How to prepare:
Read the chapters in your text that apply to the stage of development being
considered. Read the case description and the questions carefully. Make a
brief outline or jot down some notes about your answers prior to writing.
I expect you to turn in something other than a rough draft or a simple collection
of notes.
Try to accept that some important information may not be included in these
case descriptions. Stay within the case description and don't invent or
add new things to consider. Doing so takes a 3 page assignment and turns
it into 100 pages. Remember to be brief and to the point. If you feel something
is missing which is necessary for answering, list questions that you would
ask to help clarify the situation.
Developmental issues
These are specific concepts in developmental psychology articulated within
the text. You must understand these in order to move forward on your case
discussion paper. The majority of these issues will be from the chapters covering
cognitive and social domains of development, not the biological. You probably
should have noticed by now that your book is divided into sections that cover
biological, cognitive, and social realms of development. Therefore, in preparing
your answers, you will have read these chapters.
What should be in your papers:
1. In each case, the first issue you will write about will be an Erikson's stage of psychosocial development. Find and read about the appropriate Eriksonian stage in you book. Do not spend energy summarizing Erikson's stages in your paper (although you should be able to.) You should assume that the reader is familiar with the tenets of the theory. You should, however, explain how the theory applies to the case study. What in the case study leads you to choose a particular stage of development? Once you understand the stage, explain why this stage is relevant to the case, other than simply referring to the age of the child. The stage might be important to consider because of the unique circumstances of the case, or because of what the person does that shows he/she is struggling to resolve the crisis of development articulated by Erikson.
2. In addition to an Erikson stage of development, use your textbook to identify one other important developmental problem/issue that specifically applies to the case, or is clearly illustrated by the case. Only pick one other issue in addition to an Erikson stage. Be specific! "Psychosocial development" is too broad and general, as would "family relationships" because every case has a psychosocial development issue and a family relationship, so you must be specific while using your own words. Don't re-define the issue (that's already done in the case). You have limited space to convey a large amount of information, so you should spend your time and energy on relating the text to the case.
3. Suggest actions that would help with the case. The 2nd half of your paper will be providing ideas in dealing with the developmental issue based on the analysis of the first part of the developmental issues and stages relevant to the case. Each developmental issue (including Erikson's) is a problem, or crisis, that can be handled in a variety of ways with specific actions. Self-esteem might be an issue, so a suggested action would address how to deal with someone's self-esteem. Be specific and NOT vague. "Love the child more" does not cut it.
4. Once you have suggested an action, you must explain how the suggestion will effect the situation. You must spell it out and not rely on my powers of mind reading (however powerful they are) to help you.
Check list
* Select the correct Eriksonian stage and explain how it's relevant
to the case
* Identify a 2nd, non-Eriksonian, issue define what it is, and explain
how it's relevant to the case
* Offer a specific action for each issue identified above
* Explain how the suggestions will effect the case
* Be sure to answer all questions listed here and on the actual Case Study.
In general:
* Answer completely.
* Use new paragraphs for each answer
* Pages should be: double spaced with 12 point font like Times New Roman
* Grammar counts
* Spelling counts
* Length should be between 1.5 and 3.5 pages long