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EDUC 124: Multicultural Education in K-12 Schools

PODCAST + PUBLIC WRITING ESSAY ASSIGNMENT

Assignment Scope

One of the main outcomes of this course as it pertains to the core competencies of the Education Sciences major is to develop your public communication skills as you become a future leader in the field of education, or a civically-engaged citizen advocating for educational equity. You should embrace the fact that you a bright, informed scholar, and that you should confidently speak of the knowledge—and experiences—that you have gained at UCI. In that light, this assignment will help you develop these skillsets. While being able to speak and write for an academic audience is important, so, too, is being able to speak and write for a public audience, particularly around issues of multicultural education that affect so many people. As scholars, we should strive to share our research and knowledge—and that is particularly true in a practicum-based field such as education. (Think of all the teachers, parents, educational activists, and administrators who would benefit from this class!) Today, more and more scholars are being asked to write essays in outlets such as the The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and many others. Moreover, podcasts, videos, and other forms of communication continues to grow too, so that our scholarship can reach a wider audience. Writing and speaking in this way, however, are skills that take practice, and in this assignment, you will write and create a “podcast” about an issue or idea in schools today that we have talked about this quarter.

Assignment Details

You are being asked to select a population of students that we have discussed and examine their experiences for the purpose of informing others. For example, we have talked about students of color, low-income students and students in poverty, immigrant students and English learners, girls and boys, LGBTQ+ students, and disabled students. As you know, each of these students experience school in unique ways. What do people—educators, administrators, policymakers, the world—need to know/learn/(re)consider/remember about the challenges these students face?

Pick one population/group of students that you are passionate about, either from personal experience or interest/curiosity. This group can be broad (i.e., boys, Latinx students, etc.), or more specific (i.e., first-generation Chinese immigrant students, students who experience homelessness, etc.).

Then, think about someone who you can interview either from one of these groups (i.e., friend, classmate, co-worker, family member, neighbor, etc.), or who would be knowledgeable about this group (i.e., all of the above but also teachers, professors, counselors, people in education, etc.). See below (page 2) for additional details.

And, please frame your essay around at least one research study or work of scholarship that we have read in class. (You can agree or disagree with the scholarship, but make sure to frame the issue around something discussed in a reading.) In other words, think about a study or work of scholarship that you think is important on a group of students we discussed in Theme II, with the goal of sharing its importance in a publicly-accessible way. Put most simply, this is your chance to share about something—and make an informed argument based on scholarship or some scholarly debate—with the world.

There are two parts of this assignment: one, create a “podcast”/oral interview with someone whose experience you will seek to learn about in education; and two, to write a short public essay, intended for public sharing, that includes information from the podcast/interview.

To promote collaboration, you are welcome to partner with another student to complete this assignment (i.e., both will be on the podcast and the essay co-written).

PART 1: Interview Details and Requirements (25 points)

You will interview, in the framework of a podcast, someone about their educational experiences or knowledge base speaking about the population of students in which you are examining. This could be a former teacher or administrator, a family member or friend, a classmate, a scholar, a public official, a community activist, and so on. Everybody has some experience with going to school, and you will be tasked with speaking with that person about their experiences. What do you want to know from this person? As you have this conversation, think about the ways in which his/her responses support or build upon the study (and topic) you have chosen, or the ways in which these responses challenges or even just call to question the study (and topic).

It is up to you to shape—the best you can—the scope of your interview. (It is fine if your interview goes in different directions, and that is often what happens!) It is also your job, as an education scholar, to be prepared for the interview. This preparation should most certainly include references to texts/studies that you have read about or just ideas you want to bring up. To conduct a high-quality interview, you must be prepared.

Part 1 Requirements:

ü Draft preparation notes for the interview (informal)

ü Record the interview at a length of around 15 to 20 minutes (approx.)

ü Use your phone or other recording device

ü It is not supposed to be “perfect” or edited, as it is a conversation

ü It can be recorded in any language, but if not recorded in English, please provide rough transcript

ü Include 100-150 word abstract/summary of key points of interview

PART 2: Analysis Essay and Requirements (35 points)

After your interview, you will write an essay geared toward a public audience, that has some sort of argument regarding the population/topic you have chosen to write about. What do you want to say? What should educational stakeholders (re)consider? What are you trying to inform the larger public (or, if you make clear, a specific audience) about? It will be your job to synthesize the viewpoints of your interviewee, the study (or studies) in which you refer to, and your own opinions into a readable, accessible short essay as part of your argument or point of clarification.

In addition to the study/scholarship in which your interview/essay is framed around, please include at least three additional links/“references” that are synthesized and then linked in your essay (these can be other readings but other links such as news articles, podcasts, Twitter, etc.).

Finally, make sure to have at least a small section about suggestions or “action steps” that we can take to provide a more equitable schooling experience for students. Do not forget this! Think about Theme III of the course on multicultural approaches and what tangible things that we can do inside schools that can help the student population in which you are writing about.

This is an informal essay, and it is up to you to shape its scope and direction.

Part 2 Requirements:

ü Between 800 and1000 words (soft max)

ü Single-spaced, in paragraphs (i.e., like an article)

ü Frame essay around at least one text/study/work of scholarship based on some idea in class (or future classes)

ü Include at least three additional links/“references” in your essay 

o At least one must be a link to scholarship (i.e., Amazon.com or Google book page, JSTOR article, scholar’s website, etc.)

o Other links can be current news articles, podcasts, Twitter, etc.

ü Formal citations not necessary, and only need to be referenced in the text (i.e., “as discussed in Restoring Opportunity by ….”) or linked

ü Includes at least a small section on “action steps” or suggestions on a more multicultural educational approach to teaching your student population

For tips and guidelines for writing this essay, please see “Public Essay Writing Tips” page.

Due Date Information

This assignment is due in Friday, March 22 (Finals Week) at 12:30pm. As a reminder, your assignment should have four components that you turn in:

1. Interview/podcast recording (audio/video file)

2. Preparation notes (informal, can be picture of handwritten notes)

3. Brief abstract/summary of interview

4. Public essay

For additional grading information, please see the rubric on Canvas for a detailed point breakdown of this assignment.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ask questions ahead of time and to turn in all four of these elements of your project on Canvas by the due date. Due to the logistics of giving you until the final moment and the size of this course, NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.