Addressing Community Challenges

Step 1: Addressing Community Challenges White Paper: 12-18 typed, doublespaced pages
The culminating project from the larger trajectory of your work this semester, this project should propose some sort of solution or change you might actually implement in your site's community. While your previous papers focused on exploring complex community situations and mapping scholarly conversations related to those situations, this paper will (hopefully) offer insight as to how best to address the challenges you have uncovered. This argument will form the basis for the final "Implementation" project you will complete at your service site. The key here is to develop a proposal that is viable and sustainable given the resources and context of your site. Unlike your previous assignments, this essay should be a collaborative effort between all of the servants working at a particular site. Your use of our Facebook page, collaboration tools (Gdocs, Hangouts, Skype, Scheduling and Deadline Apps, Responsibility Contracts), and will ensure your success. Throughout the process, I will ask you to post updates, links to drafting materials, and pertinent web sources to our FB page for class (and public) review. Not only will I be able to track your progress, but class members and your FB network will also have the opportunity to see, comment, and even circulate your ideas. Talk about PR! The paper has five sections: 1. Overview the research on your topic, show the topics significance, and present your thesis statement. Explain why readers should care about your topic. Section 1 (Introduction): 1 2 pages. 2. Use at least five outside sources to show what researchers say about the specific challenge your project addresses. For instance, if youre addressing challenges in teaching early literacy to urban students, show what researchers say the problems are. For example, what causes some children to have trouble developing literacy skills? What problems seem specific to, or more prevalent among, urban children? Section 2: 2-3 pages. 3. Use your outside sources and, if applicable, articles were reading for class to show what researchers say about the solution to this problem. If youre focusing on early literacy, what do researchers say can help students who are struggling to develop literacy skills? What solutions seem specific to, or more important for, your sites particular context (for example: urban children in an economically distressed community)? Section 3: 2-3 pages. 4. Explain specifically how the challenge youve identified takes shape at your service project site. What evidence of it do you see or have you heard people at your site describe? What can you learn from key texts or other artifacts from your site, for instance, assignments and student work, a mission statement, project description, or other documents or materials? Section 4: 2-3 pages. 5. Explain specifically how your final project draws on particular solutions proposed by researchers. Give a detailed, step-by-step description of all components of your final project, and explain clearly and persuasively how they a.) address the challenge in your site b.) draw on research to do that,

and c) could actually be implemented given the resources and contextual factors youve analyzed. Section 5: 3-4 pages. Make sure your paper is structured as an academic argument that presents a thesis in the introduction and uses the sections listed above (not necessarily in order) to support that thesis. Divide your paper into sections by using section headings appropriate for your own essay.

Step 2: Implementation Project

Following the Proposal Argument, your implementation project must make a practical contribution to your community site. We aren't trying to save the world here. Instead, you are taking the academic paper you've written for our class and finding a way to translate it into appropriate action given the context, resources, and people of your service site. Considerations about audience, sustainability, and material constraints will be paramount. The final project requires at least four pages of writing (or its equivalent = 1000 words) designed and drafted in collaboration with me, your fellow servants, and your community partners.

Step 3: Community Connections

Finally, you will need to think of some way to advertise this project (and your site, obviously) to a wide audience in order to build hype and positive press that your partner organization can build upon. Separate from the project itself, you'll need to think about how you can best represent your project via a variety of different media for various audiences. For steps 2 & 3, youll need get approval on the following items: - what your project will actually contribute to the community site - what forms, genres, or modalities will your project utilize - what "writing" will be completed - what materials will actually be submitted to me and in what form - what criteria will be used to evaluate this project - how you will advertise this project to a greater community (Video, Pamphlet, Presentation, Social Media Campaign, White Paper) To be submitted (portfolio style) with the final draft of your proposal, timesheet, and service evaluation during your conference presentation.