Make A Change Assignment

In this project, students work in small groups to choose a local research topic, conduct both primary and secondary research, and present their findings publicly through a multimodal showcase presentation.

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Make A Change is a multi-phase collaborative group research project in which students propose a local community-based topic, gather evidence through both primary methods (such as surveys or interviews) and secondary sources, and present their findings and recommendations in a public multimodal showcase.

Make A Change Learning Objectives

• Conduct introductory primary research.
• Use primary research tools responsibly (surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations).
• Conduct secondary research in a variety of venues.
• Evaluate the credibility and bias of secondary sources.
• Coordinate productively with a team.
• Make evidence-based recommendations for change based on research findings.
• Present your research in a multimodal environment.

This project is connected to the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) through:

• Writing Process Reflection
• Transfer and Contextual Connections
• Genre and Style Awareness

Genres & Formats

• A group-based research project on a local issue using primary and secondary evidence.
• Includes proposals, research tools, annotated sources, a multimodal showcase presentation, and a collaboration report.

Rubric

• Make A Change

Grading Criteria: Group Proposal

Criterion	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Choosing a topic	Your proposal includes a clear and well-crafted research question or testable hypothesis.	Your proposal includes an arguable research question.	Your proposal does not include a topic, or the topic is not arguable.
Rationale	Your proposal includes a clear and compelling rationale and identifies a variety of stakeholders.	Your proposal includes a justification for why the research is important.	Your proposal does not include a rationale.
Scope	The scope of your project is clearly defined and identifies specific constituencies that might be impacted.	The scope of your topic is appropriate (local community).	Your topic is of clearly inappropriate scope (statewide or bigger).
Secondary Sources	Your proposal includes at least 3 highly relevant secondary sources that reflect a variety of disparate viewpoints about the topic.	Your proposal includes at least 3 secondary sources relevant to your topic.	Your proposal lacks sufficient secondary sources.
Primary Sources	Your proposal includes specific plans for primary research and how those tools will be implemented.	Your proposal includes sufficient discussion of primary research tools and implementation.	Your proposal lacks discussion of primary research.
contract	Your proposal includes specific and detailed descriptions of group logistics and responsibilities of each member.	Your proposal includes a group contract that describes group logistics and roles.	Your proposal lacks a group contract.

For a copy of Group Proposal rubric: File:Proposal Grading Criteria.pdf

Grading Criteria: Primary Research

Criterion	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Design	Research designed to collect valid and reliable data from a variety of perspectives.	Research methodology designed to collect valid and reliable data.	One or more serious problems in your primary research prevent data collection.
Scope	Presentation of research tools is clear and augments the credibility of researchers through a thorough understanding of the target population.	Presentation of research tools is clear to the population in question.	Presentation prevents comprehension or jeopardizes the credibility of the researcher.
Bias	Biases in questions/answers are balanced and designed to evoke a maximal breadth of responses.	Biases in questions/answers are minimized.	Research is heavily biased.

For a copy of Primary Research rubric: File:Primary Research Grading Criteria.pdf

Grading Criteria: Secondary Research

Criterion	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Sources	At least 4 sources that represent a variety of perspectives on issue are presented.	At least 4 relevant sources are included.	Fewer than 4 sources are included or sources are not relevant to the project.
Annotations	Annotations are included and exceed minimal expectations through thorough and detailed descriptions and discussions of relevance.	Annotations are included and meet minimum requirements (citation, description, evaluation).	Annotations are not included or missing required elements.
Evaluation	Annotations include thorough evaluations that include potential bias in author and/or publisher, and discuss ways to incorporate source in project.	Annotations include simple evaluations.	Annotations lack evaluations.

For a copy of Secondary Research Grading Criteria: File:Secondary Research Grading Criteria.pdf

Grading Criteria: Showcase

Criterion	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Visual	Visual presentation exhibits creative or innovative elements that enhance presentation of topic, background information, and primary research results.	Visual presentation successfully conveys topic, background, and primary research results.	Your project lacks a visual component, or the visual component detracts from the pitch.
Oral	Oral presentation exhibits creative or innovative elements that enhance presentation of topic, key sources, and most important findings, and involves the entire group.	Oral presentation successfully presents topic, key sources, and most important findings.	Your project lacks key elements of oral presentation.
Engagement	Presentation and audience interaction conveys excellent group engagement with topic.	Each group member participates in presentation and is able to engage with audience.	Group members unable or unwilling to engage with audience.

For a copy of Showcase Grading Criteria: File:Showcase Grading Criteria.pdf

• Reflection/Collaboration Report Piece

Grading Criteria: Reflection/Collaboration Report

Criterion	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Coverage of Project Phases	The collaboration report includes detailed descriptions of each major project phase.	The collaboration report includes descriptions of each major project phase.	Collaboration report skips one or more major project phases (proposal, primary, secondary, showcase).
Self Contribution	The collaboration report includes accurate and detailed descriptions of your own contributions, including both visible and non-visible contributions.	The collaboration report includes descriptions of your own contributions.	The collaboration report does not report your own contributions.
Team Contribution	The collaboration report accurately and fairly represents team contributions, including both visible and non-visible contributions.	The collaboration report includes descriptions of each group member’s contributions.	The collaboration report does not report team member contributions.
Takeaways & Learning	The collaboration report discusses lessons learned from the project and connects those lessons to broader takeaways from the course and/or from other group projects.	The collaboration report discusses lessons learned from the project (positive and/or negative).	The collaboration report does not consider the takeaways from the project.

For a copy of Reflection/Collaboration Report Grading Criteria: File:Collaboration Report Grading Criteria.pdf :

Assignment Focus

This writing project centers on group-based research in which students collaborate to explore a local issue using both primary and secondary sources. The project highlights cooperation, research-driven argumentation, and sharing results through a public multimodal presentation.

• Choosing a Topic

The topic must be arguable (with more than one side), significant (affecting a number of people), and local (limited in scope). Students may identify a problem and propose solutions or highlight an opportunity and provide justifications.

• Proposals

Before beginning, students submit a proposal detailing their topic, target audience, and the media/genre they plan to use.

• Group Contracts

Groups must outline responsibilities, specify what each member will turn in, and set deadlines for shared work.

• Joining the Conversation

Projects must include at least 2 outside perspectives, with one representing a viewpoint contrary to the proposed solution, and integrate them effectively.

• Presentation

Groups present their project to the class and may also share it with their intended external audience. Video/audio projects should be 5–10 minutes and follow genre conventions.

• Collaboration Reports

Students submit periodic reports assessing their own and peers’ contributions to the project.

• Reflection

Each student submits an individual reflection (at least 800 words) analyzing their rhetorical choices and collaboration methods. Reflections count for 50% of the final grade.

• Students' Project Samples

For sample projects, click to download.