Phase A—Overall vision

Goal

"I can convey who I want to influence or affect concerning what (Subject, Audience, Purpose)."

Processes

Iterative Development of Governing Question and Paragraph Overview of project through:
Think-Pair-Share,
Initial Written Expression,
Dialogue around Written Work,
One-on-one Session,
Freewriting,
Models from the Past,
Sharing of Written Work.

In session 1
Think-Pair-Share on:

• your area of interest
• the specific case(s) you plan to consider
• the more general statement of the problem or issue beyond the specific case
• how you became concerned about this case or area
• what you want to know about this case or area by the end of the semester
• what action you think someone should be taking on this issue (specify who)
• what obstacles you foresee and what help you might need in doing the research
• who the audience for your research report might be

Initial written expression of: Governing Question and Paragraph Overview of proposed project.
(The first time you do this exercise, read the descriptions of Governing Question and Paragraph Overview once only. Over time you will develop a better idea of these tools through revising in response to comments. The point of this exercise is not to have your project defined at the very start and then to stick with that, but to begin an ongoing process of defining and refining the project.)

Sharing of Written Work: Read your paragraph to the group to hear how it sounds shared out loud with others.

After session 1
Freewriting Try this out for ten minutes at least a few times a week—it may even become a valued creative habit.

One-on-one Session: Discuss your ideas with an advisor (or instructor) in a scheduled face-to-face or phone meeting early on in the project—by session 5 at the latest.

Models from the Past: Review reports from related projects in the past to get a sense of their scope and the look of the final products.

Sharing of Written Work: Keep sharing your written work with peers -- Indeed, sharing runs through the entire process of research and writing.

Begin Phase B, finding out what others have done that informs and connects with my proposed project.

By session 3
In Dialogue around Written Work you get comments from your advisor, and respond to them. Through this, arrive at revised versions of your Governing Question and Paragraph Overview of project. The point is not to have your project fixed at this early stage, but to begin the process of defining and refining it—a process that continues iteratively—and to have a well-considered question and statement to guide your work and priorities as your move ahead and to guide the feedback others give you on your work. The paragraph may, several revisions later, find its way into the introduction of your report and the question may, somewhat shortened, be reflected in your report's title.

Follow-up

With each new phase
Iterative Development: Because your topic will change or be more focused as time goes on, take stock of that and begin subsequent submissions and work you share with the latest revision of your Governing Question and Paragraph Overview. Trying to write a tighter overview will also help to expose changes, gaps, and ambiguities in your project.

Begin Phase J, taking stock of your process, and then continue so as to feed back into your learning and your learning about learning.

All Phases | Next: Background information