Citizen Scholars: Social Justice
CAL Open EnrollmentProgram Contact Information
Discovery Project Plan + Updates
Back to Citizen Scholars: Social JusticeThe Discovery Project immerses you in a research project more advanced and in-depth than those done earlier in the program. It requires you to find and work with a mentor who can guide your research and review your results. The final aim of the project, which is presented in Phase 3, is to create a public-facing artifact accessible to and informative for a broader public beyond MSU (for instance, a web page, a work of art or a series of art pieces, a performance piece , a film, etc.) If the final artifact does not include direct references to the discovery process, sources, and objectives of the project, it must be presented with a critical statement identifying the issues and ideas, referencing the process of discovery , sources, and objectives -- an artist's statement, in effect.
The Discovery Project Plan defines your Discovery Project, establishing the specifics of the project and the timeline you plan to follow to complete it. You should create a draft of your Plan that includes:
· a brief description of the project's focus and purpose
· the name of a faculty mentor you will work with (we can help with that, so please contact us if you need help finding a mentor!) As you’re developing your Plan, you should talk with your mentor about your project, share your proposal, and respond to their feedback
· a preliminary list of the resources and materials you will consult to build your expertise in this area (you will continue to build this as you develop the project and discover new resources
· comments from your mentor suggesting revisions and developments for the project (share your Discovery Project folder in the eportfolio with your mentor so they can comment directly in Digication on your project)
· your final draft of the Plan in which you take your mentor’s comments into account, and that indicates your mentor’s approval of the project to be carried out
As you develop the research for this project, indicate which resources from your Bibliography you’ve consulted and cited by annotating your Bibliography.
When you and your mentor are satisfied with your proposal, upload a link to the space below.
Each semester, at the end of the semester, write an update on your progress indicating what you have accomplished, and refining your plan and timeline accordingly.
Share each semester’s update with your mentor, and ask them to comment on your update in your eportfolio, evaluating your progress and making suggestions for refinement and development.
You should also provide a final Project Assessment, identifying strengths and accomplishments, and indicating where you think further development would be beneficial, particularly in a Civic Engagement context.
Submitting your work:
When you are ready to submit work to the Achievements System, make sure you are doing that within the specific tasks (or achievements) that are relevant. Once you submit something, an icon will appear on your program roadmap (the general screen where you can view your program progress). The green icon with a check mark means you have completed that task and that it has been officially approved. The yellow icon indicates that whatever you submitted is currently under review (meaning that you have done what you need to for the moment and program administrators are reviewing your submission). The blue icon with the pin is used for handful of achievements that require you to submit something multiple times. This might be, for instance, a project plan that requires additional updates. For submissions of this sort, once your plan has been approved, the blue pin icon will appear (indicating that you are "good for now, but will have to submit something else in the future" before the entire achievement has been completed). Finally, the red icon with the explanation mark means that something you have submitted has been reviewed, but not approved and requires revision.
NOTE: This is a submission that utilizes the blue pin icon.