Adopted by SLM Faculty June 12, 2009
GUIDELINES FOR EDIT 7650 APPLIED PROJECTS
School Library Media (SLM) Emphasis
SLM Faculty view the Applied Project as the capstone activity within a program of study which leads to the Specialist Degree. It embodies an opportunity to apply the skills, knowledge, and procedures studied during the program to the solution of a real-world problem. The Project also serves as the focus of the comprehensive oral examination which is required by the Graduate School. Further, the Project is intended as an opportunity for the Specialist degree candidate to demonstrate competencies in:
identifying significant applied problems that media specialists may be expected to address,
developing a rationale for exploring a specific problem,
reviewing literature to determine what is known or theorized about the problem,
planning and executing systematic procedures for the examination of the problem,
deriving warranted conclusions related to the problem as a result of the project, and
presenting and defending the results of the project in a professional setting
In order to meet graduation schedules and to avoid receiving a grade of “Incomplete” for the course, students need to begin working on the Applied Project early in their Specialist degree program, well before enrolling in EDIT 7650. The major steps in completing the project are described in the following paragraphs.
Identify a Topic and General Approach for the Project
The project selected by the student may be conducted independently or in conjunction with ongoing research or development activities of Departmental faculty members. The specific form of the study is flexible. Options include, but are not limited to: evaluations, developmental projects, survey studies, content analyses, qualitative studies, experimental studies, extensive literature reviews (for example, critical reviews similar to those published in Review of Educational Research, applied to the student’s school setting), historical studies, etc. A listing of projects which have been conducted in the past is available from the Department and examples of completed project reports are available online for further review.
Identify a Study Director and Review Committee
A committee consisting of three Learning, Design, and Technology faculty members must approve Applied Projects. The Chairman of the Review Committee provides guidance to the student during the life of the project.
Your Study Director will normally be the professor responsible for your current Applied Project class (EDIT 7320, 7340, or 7650).
Identify a Project Topic, Conduct Literature Review, and Compose Statement of Problem
These critical initial steps are normally completed in EDIT 7320.
Prepare a Proposal of Procedures to be followed
The student should prepare a written proposal for the project which includes, at minimum, a statement of the problem and a description of the procedures to be employed by the project. Additional sections, depending on the nature of the project and the desires of the Review Committee, may be required. The Study Director must approve the proposal prior to initiation of work on the project. Once the proposal is approved, no changes in the procedures can be made without the Director's agreement. This stage of the AP is normally completed in EDIT 7340.
Secure Human Subjects Clearance
Applied Projects generally should not involve procedures that would require Human Subjects Clearance through the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). If the project is local to a particular school, part of normal professional duties, is not to be published or presented at a conference, and does not involve surveying, interviewing, or experimenting with minors outside of classroom activities, then individual IRB clearance should not be necessary. See http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/hso/guidelines/index.html.
However, to remain within the rules of the University and the ethical guidelines of research with humans, all applied project data collection must be covered under a “class IRB proposal” submitted by the course instructor. The instructor must guarantee that the proposed study does not require clearance. You must be enrolled in one of the Applied Project courses (EDIT 7320, 7340, or 7650) during the semester(s) of data collection to be covered under one of these class approvals. Your professor is then responsible for making sure that the project complies with the IRB rules.
Current IRB guidelines under “Class IRBs” include:
"Projects conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices, such as: work on regular and special education instructional strategies, or work on the effectiveness of, or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods."
Carry Out the Applied Project.
Design all necessary elements of the AP, carry out the procedures, and collect the data.
Prepare a Report of the Project
The completed project must include, in addition to any activities carried out or creative products developed during the project, a written report which, as a minimum, includes sections dealing with each of the following topics:
identification of the Problem that is being explored,
what others have had to say about the problem (review of Related Literature)
description of the Procedures that were employed in the project, and
what were the Results of the project and what Conclusions can be drawn
The Review Committee may require other sections or a more detailed outline, depending on the form of the student’s applied project. When preparing the written report, students should follow a standard style manual similar to those used for the preparation of a published report or article, e.g., APA Publication Manual, or MLA Style Manual. Approval of the completed report shall be by the Study Director and the student’s Review Committee.
Copies of the written project report are to be made available to the Review Committee online.
Schedule and Complete an Oral Examination
The student, during the final semester of the Specialist Degree program, should schedule a meeting of the Review Committee during which the results of the Applied Project will be presented and defended. This is accomplished most easily by participating in the SLM "Marathon" held once per semester. The examination begins with the formal presentation of the student’s results and conclusions to be followed by an oral examination of the student by members of the Review Committee.
Final Steps
A copy of the Applied Project, which incorporates any changes required by the Review Committee as a result of the oral examination, will be added to the password-protected Departmental collection online. Provide an electronic copy to the Study Chair.
Alignment of AP Stages with SLM Ed.S. Courses
Applied Projects are labor-intensive for all involved. In the past, much of the effort has focused on the writing of a long document. Instead, we now focus more on the inquiry itself and efficient communication of results. Therefore, we suggest the following specific interpretation of the above Guidelines.
AP components to be completed during EDIT 7320 (summer):
1. Problem statement and justification (implications)
2. Synthesis of relevant literature (proposing a one-page graphic representing all literature; an oral explanation of that literature; and an annotated bibliography rather than the traditional 30-page literature review)
3. Investigator’s notebook
4. Reflection
AP components to be completed during EDIT 7340 (fall):
1. Researchable question
2. Project design
3. Development of project components and instruments
4. A progress report on the beginning of project implementation
5. Investigator’s notebook
6. Reflection
AP components to be completed during EDIT 7650 (spring):
1. Data
2. Report describing what happened; warranted conclusions (which means you must analyze the data and support conclusions with data); and recommendations for future practice. It should briefly recap the problem, question, and literature synthesis.
3. Oral presentation of entire project (at Marathon or otherwise)
4. Investigator’s notebook
5. Reflection
Students who do not finish the entire process at the end of these three courses will receive an Incomplete and must register for EDIT 7650 again.
The Investigator’s Notebook is the log of the student researcher, submitted for supplemental review. It need not be edited or “neat.” It will be returned at the end of review.
Reflection is an essential component of enlightened practice, and thus we expect you to think about what you are doing within the context of making a difference in your school. If you find yourself thinking that you will complete this project just for the sake of the earning the degree, and cannot see its relevance to your own practice, then you have not chosen the right topic.