Team Project: Preliminary Steps - Problem Discussion

Individual work

This preliminary step of the Team Project begins with individual work prior to our Week 8 class, , followed by collaboration to choose a group submission during our Week 8 class.  The final group submission for grading is due prior to our Week 9 class.

Access all of the Learning Materials provided for Modules 6 and 8, and the rubric attached to the “Problem Discussion” Discussion Board.  Research your topic, following the research rules in the Team Project Overview (minimum 6 sources; must include a book of some kind, a scholarly article, and a credible website).  Create the cited Problem section with an APA format References page, as follows:

 

1) Write a thorough exploration of the problem:

• Use a specific, descriptive main heading that names the problem; define the problem here and summarize the sections that follow.
• Divide your discussion into at least two sub-headings. Consider whether you need to explore any or all of the following: legal framework, statistics or trends, causes, negative effects.
• Make sure to consider the 5W’s: who, what, when, where, why – and how – and to organize your information logically; for example, “what” should come before “who” and “how many”.
• Provide an in-depth, thorough, well-organized exploration of the problem.
• Every sentence in the problem section should need to be cited: present research-based facts only, without essay-style commentary or generalizations.
• Do not assume any prior knowledge on the part of your audience (write with secondary audiences in mind).
• Use a Canadian perspective on the problem. Note: if you cannot find Canadian data (a rare problem these days), you can use US data if you:
• Clearly acknowledge the data is American in-text and
• Cite a source that clarifies that the problem is similar in both countries.
• Always organize by content, never by source.
• Ensure sure that every sentence supports the focus of the current heading/subheading, and that the connections between ideas are always clear.  

2) Following the APA Guide (https://sheridancollege.libguides.com/COMM28883, “Cite it Right” tab), create a References Page that follows APA 7th edition format and that follows the appropriate pattern for each source.

• Pay careful attention to the variety of source types for which APA provides patterns; choose the BEST match, not a “sort of” match.
• Remember that scholarly articles accessed via the Sheridan Library are NOT web sources.
• Many “web” sources have more specific patterns (e.g. statistics, government documents, newspaper/magazine articles).
• Pay careful attention to detail: capitalization, italics, punctuation, even spacing all matter in the code of APA (as does order).

3) Edit for formal business writing style (see Modules 1 and 4).

 

Submit the completed Problem discussion, with References Page as text to the “Module 8: Problem Discussion” Discussion Board (Individual Topic) on SLATE prior to the start of our Week 8 class.  Your work should be minimum 1.5 to 2 block layout pages ((LH alignment only, single-spaced, extra line between elements) with at least two levels of headings, plus the References page.

Join your team breakout room with microphone on, and collaboratively create a list of the top 5 key module principles that need to be understood and applied in order to effectively discuss the problem in depth, with appropriate research support and citations, and using appropriately formal business writing style and clear language.  Refer to the provided rubric for terminology you can use in your list.  Appoint a group spokesperson to share the list with the class.

During the time provided by your instructor in class during Week 8, use the provided rubric to assess the quality of each of the individual Problem/Solution Discussions created by the group members.  Select the best one, or combine the best elements of more than one, to form the starting point for group work.  Spend the remaining time allotted to collaboratively revise/edit/improve that work further, applying the module concepts identified above and reinforced in class.  Appoint one group member to post the group's submission to the thread: Module 8 - Revised Submission  using the html editor (not as an attachment, please) , by the deadline given by your instructor (don't be late!!). Instructor feedback will be provided in class or by reply comment.

Review the instructor feedback, and edit /improve the group’s Problem discussions collaboratively to improve the sections as needed (see the Rubric associated with the “Problem Discussion” Discussion Board for all requirements). Remember to leverage online tools to complete this process collaboratively; don’t divide up the work.  Submit the final Team Problem Discussion (ONE file per team only) to the  “Problem Discussion” DROPBOX in SLATE (Assessments/Assignments folders) FOR GRADING prior to the start of our Week 9 class. 

Your instructor will provide feedback on the quality of your Problem Discussion (and a grade using the rubric) via the Dropbox.   The team should then immediately revise and prepare a more effective discussion both as a foundation for the next component, and to use in the final report, where that content will be graded for a final time.