Case Study assignment

Case Study Assignment for EDUC 140AC

Due Monday, August 15^th, by 9:00am

This assignment asks you to write a case study of some aspect of the after-school or school programs you’ve been working in, the activities you’ve engaged in there, or of child/young/person/adult or small group of students you’ve worked with there. Unlike your literacy autobiography, which was a personal essay, the case study is a type of writing that’s usually associated with the social sciences—like psychology or linguistics or education or sociology—and that relies on data— in your case mostly field notes, but conceivably interviews, audio-recordings, and artifacts or documents as well— gathered by the author. BUT…. This doesn’t mean that your case study should be dull or stilted or have no passion or voice. Quite the contrary. It should be beautifully written, represent someone or something you feel strongly and have thought carefully about, and in a general sense, provide an insightful account about your work at the after-school or school sites. And it will also need to abide by certain conventions that we describe below, such as being based on an analysis of qualitative data.

To begin: The best way to begin thinking about the case study to think about what stands out in your mind about your fieldwork. What one issue or child or event or activity or moment has struck you as most interesting or problematic? Have you come back again and again to something in your field note reflections or in your site check-ins? Here is your chance to dig deeper into some aspect of your experience at the after school or school site.

Some examples of qualitative research and case studies from our reader:

Student papers from previous semesters

Hull & Rose, “’This wooden shack place’”

Olsen, excerpt from Made in America

Lee, “Beyond the model-minority stereotype”

Lam, W.S.E., “Literacy and the design of the self”

Newkirk, excerpt from Misreading Masculinity

Skilton-Silvester, “Literate at home but not at school”

Possible topics:

· Language or gender differences

·A student’s confidence in her abilities

· Conflicts involving violence or harsh language.

·Perhaps your case study child/children/youth is one who has developed and grown over the course of the semester or one whose personality is so strong you see him/her interacting with the various people and activities in unique ways.

· Perhaps you see a group of girls work through issues of self-confidence, or you've been fascinated by watching a pair of best friends as they interact from week to week.

· Maybe there is a certain piece of software or kind of technology that you’ve seen a child or children or young people work through differently.

· Do kids’ out-of-classroom lives that have you intrigued; is there a way you can document their social worlds and explain how these come into play in after-school settings· You could also chronicle the development of a relatively new after school site, like Space2Cre8 program, or a new activity that you initiate, such as storybook reading at an elementary school.

· You could detail the process through which a particular video or digital story got created. You might also describe one interaction and then analyze all the influences that created that interaction.

Having trouble deciding or finding a topic? Read through your (and your classmates’) field notes. Take notes on patterns you notice. Think of scenes you remember. While working on-site, you should keep in mind your possible topic. Gear at least part of your field notes towards this topic. If applicable (and if you have permission from teacher and participants), use a camera, tape recorder or camcorder to document your topic (observe a pair of kids working together, or capture the different layouts of the snack/homework space each time the tables are moved.) Feel free to informally interview children or to ask them to produce something for you, if applicable. If you are doing a case study about an individual, you might also want to collect other information about him/her besides the information you have in your field notes, by visiting him or her at school or maybe doing an informal interview.

You will analyze your data, and you will use your findings to make an argument, as we will see from the case studies we discuss in class. Be sure your arguments are grounded in evidence—that is, material from the course and real lived experience. Finally, be sure to incorporate the ideas and readings we have worked with in class about literacy, learning, language, and development. These should be illustrated, supported or refuted by the evidence/data that you’re including in your case study.

Your paper is due Monday August 15^th, by 9:00am. Your paper should be from 6 to 8 pages double-spaced (not including Appendices). It should be well-written and documented with data. Make sure to define your key terms and concepts. Our hope is that this paper will be both fun to write and read! You should write the paper for someone who does not have any experience with the after-school or school settings where you are working, describing the programs rather than assuming that your reader already knows about them.

Here is the structure we would like to see in your paper:

Introduction: Background/Setting/Issue (1/2 to 1).

Research question(s) you hope to answer (paragraph or list)

Literature review: Readings that provide your framework (2 pp.)

Description and analysis of data you are basing your case study on (1/2 to 1 p.) and how you analyzed your data

Findings (around 2 to 4 pp.)

Conclusion (1-2 pp.)

Appendix A—Examples of Coding/Data Analysis (1-5 pp.)

Other appendices as appropriate