ASSIGNMENT

Using your outline of article themes, write up the first draft of your literature review that synthesizes information from articles in each theme

This step will be a bit of a jump from the outline nature of what you have been doing up to this point, but you should have all the information you need to write well and cover a lot of ground from your annotated bibliography

8-10 page length requirement

Collect peer-reviewed journal articles (minimum 15 articles) and build a literature review (8-10 page length requirement) on a topic relevant to your educational context.

Choose an instructional method, educational policy or practice and investigate what the research has to say about this topic.

After collecting relevant articles, describing what they have to say on your topic of choice, and organizing them in appropriate themes, you will reflect on whether the practices you see in your educational context align with what the research says about those practices.

• Overview of Topic (approximately 1-2 pages).In this section, present a summary of the primary concepts related to an instructional method, educational policy or practice of your choice. This can include but is not limited to key theorists, main concepts of the topic, important terminology, etc. Try to cover the breadth of the topic, but also try to be succinct in your summary. A minimum of 3 sources should be referenced.
  • Conclude your summary with 1 paragraph that introduces the reader to the Literature Review that follows. Introduce the purpose of the literature review and why research in your specific area is important.

 

• Literature Review (approximately 5-6 pages). In this section, “zoom in” to your specific topic and look at how your topic has been researched in the field of education. Describe the research and make connections among findings. Your synthesis should present readers with the key findings of the research and be written in such a way that demonstrates your ability to read, understand, and integrate research findings.
  • This section should be focused only on describing, summarizing, and making connections among research studies about your topic. Do not include a lot of discussion of theory or implications here. I expect all sources cited in this section to be research studies (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods research) with participants.
  • Conclude your Literature Review with a 1 paragraph summary of your findings.

• Implications/Applications to the Classroom (approximately 1-2 pages). In this section, “zoom out” from your research findings and suggest possible implications or applications for educators working in schools. Pull from your own experience but try to write in a universal way so that educators of other content areas, levels of experience, etc. can relate to your suggestions.