Assignment:
For the past several units, you have been focusing on the skills of locating, reading, and interpreting scholarly literature. To demonstrate the skills you have developed, for this assignment you will create a literature review addressing how multiculturalism affects curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
As a scholar, you are developing and demonstrating several academic skills by completing both parts of this assignment. Creating an annotated bibliography of articles (Part 1) shows your ability to focus on the main components of an article and to think critically about empirical studies. Developing a literature review that is an integrated discussion of the literature that you read (Part 2) shows that you can think in a big-picture way; synthesizing what you read into main ideas to draw conclusions and make recommendations demonstrates higher-order thinking skills. You will frequently apply these skills as a master's-level scholar-practitioner. A literature review begins where your annotations end.
The purpose of doing the annotations is to identify the major themes in each of the articles. Then, the literature review combines those themes into an integrated whole. A template that contains appropriate headings in APA format is provided for your use. The template is pre-formatted with levels 1 and 2 headings. Organize your information under the headings. You may insert additional headings if necessary. Do not change the overall formatting of the document, since the options are already set to APA format standards. Do not insert extra page breaks; just let the pages break naturally as you enter your information. Include the following (note that the bullet points below correspond to the headings in the template):
Assignment Instructions
- Locate 4 to 5 articles-at least 3 of which are not among the readings in this course-on multiculturalism and how cultural issues inform curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Be sure to include both empirical articles and other types of articles about which you learned in the Unit 5 studies. Use articles published within the last five years.
- Complete Part 1: Draft an annotation for each article. Annotations are short summaries that encompass the main information from the article. For empirical articles, include the purpose of the study, data collection and analysis details, and the findings. Identify any limitations of the study. For other types of articles, describe the author's main premises. Refer to Sources and Evidence (linked in Resources) for further guidance with format and content.
- Complete Part 2: Provide a 2 to 3 page summary in which you synthesize the research. This should be an integrated discussion of the literature you read versus a list of article summaries; combine the substance of articles into a thematic whole. In this case, the theme might be one particular issue related to multicultural issues related to curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Again, in writing a synthesized summary:
- Do identify the theme or issue and discuss it, using citations from the articles. In your discussion, draw overall conclusions based on the literature you read, make recommendations for teaching practice, and connect the practice in your own setting to the research.
- Do not write a list of the main points of the articles as your summary.
Parts 1 and 2 are to be prepared in the same copy of the template. Do not create a separate document for each part.
Additional Requirements
- Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
- APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current edition APA style and formatting.
- Length: 5 to 6 double-spaced, typed pages of content (plus title and reference pages).
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.