1. PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THESIS RESEARCH: (presented March 22, March 29, OR April 5)
This assignment provides an opportunity for you to orally present the research findings from your thesis. You will have 20 minutes to make the presentation. You are responsible for inviting the members of your thesis committee. At least two members of your committee should be in attendance at your public presentation. The audience should include at least 10 other individuals. (A total of at least 2 committee members PLUS 10 others.)
Note: If you make your public presentation at a time other than winter semester 2000, you and your thesis chair are responsible for scheduling the presentation. The same audience criteria apply for the presentation.
Note: If you make your public presentation at a professional conference (DLLS, I-TESOL, TESOL conferences or a similar conference), 10 additional points will be awarded to you for completing the assignment.
See the separate Public Presentation of Thesis Research grading criteria form used for evaluating this assignment. You can access the form from the class web page.
This assignment IS NOT a research paper. The primary purpose is to allow you an opportunity to review a state-of-the-art article, write a summary and critique of the article, and give an oral presentation of your findings. The research article presentation provides you with an opportunity to critically evaluate an article published in a major journal in applied linguistics, language teaching, or a related field. This presentation allows you to demonstrate that you can connect theory and practice by reading the research of others and leading a discussion on the article. The written critique should be 5-10 typewritten, double-spaced pages. The oral presentation should consist of a 7-10 minute summary of the article followed by 15-20 minutes of leading a discussion on the article with the class.
Where possible and appropriate, make connections between the information presented in the article you to content from courses you have completed while in the MA TESOL program. For example, if you are presenting a article on second language reading and if you have taken LING 572, tie in information from the article to information from the course.
Select a meaningful article that does not relate to your thesis topic. Select one that has been published in a major journal within the past two years. Criteria to consider when critiquing research are found in Brown, chapter 5:
• Has the author correctly summarized the article in an abstract?
• Is the framework for the study clear?
• Is the research question well defined and significant?
• Is the review of the literature concise and pertinent?
• Are the design and procedures appropriate for the question(s)?
• Is the analysis appropriate for the question(s)?
• Is the study replicable?
• Are the results reported and interpreted appropriately?
• Is the study valid and reliable?
• What alternatives could be considered for this research?
• What are the pros and cons of the alternatives?
• Were the researcher’s choices appropriate?
I am not suggesting that your article critique be organized following the above criteria, but that you gather this information in preparation for writing your critique. I expect that the critique would be approximately 5-7 pages of summary and 2-3 pages of your reaction/evaluation of the study.
The following procedures will be used for this assignment:
See the Separate Research Article Presentation Grading Criteria form used for evaluating this assignment. You can access the form from the class web page.
All TESOL professionals should be prepared to share with prospective employers and/or Ph.D. admission’s committees a portfolio highlighting your work and teaching abilities. You will make a 12-15 minute presentation as if you were in a job interview. In addition to the oral presentation, you should submit a Curriculum Vita with at least four of the following items for evaluation by the instructor:
• four lesson plans that you have created and actually used. (NOTE: it would be appropriate to include a statement evaluating how the lesson delivery went and what changes you would make if given the opportunity to teach the lesson again.
• two academic papers written as part of the course work in your MA program. (NOTE: You would want to select papers appropriate for the job description.)
• any published text reviews.
• one videotape of your teaching.
• philosophy of teaching statement. (NOTE: A statement of approximately 1000 words (3-4 double-spaced pages) should reflect your teaching philosophy.
• student/course evaluations for classes that you have taught.
• any other item you believe reflects your skills as an educator/ prospective Ph.D. candidate. (NOTE: Please seek approval from the instructor for this item prior to submitting your portfolio.)
See the Separate Professional Portfolio Presentations Grading Criteria form used for evaluating this assignment. You can access the form from the class web page.
SELF-REFLECTIONS: You will note from the grading criteria forms that ALL assignments require that you complete a self-reflection. The purpose of the self-reflection is to have you think about what you have learned from completing the assignment. I am not interested in having you give yourself a score or a grade, but I am interested in reading a short, reflective piece explaining how you believe you have benefited from the assignment. All self-reflections should be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the day after the assignment is due. Please submit your self-reflections via email.