 Activity:
Group Presentation Project.
This activity is designed for
students in FSU's Psyc
210 Child Development class but can be adapted to fit any class at any
university.
The purpose of this activity is to
utilize a step-by-step
procedure leading to a presentation on a topic in psychology by several
students. The step-by-step approach breaks the task down into
easier
steps, spread across the semester, to help students learn about a
particular
topic more thoroughly than researching a topic the last 2 weeks of
class.
The following tutorials may be reviewed
before starting
this assignment:
Phases
of research
Sources
for Information
Journal
Articles
and maybe: On-line
Searches
Step 1: Assignment to groups.
As a student, you will be assigned to a particular
group based on topics in psychology. This assignment may be done by
your
professor or you may choose your own group. (Students in Psyc 210
will be assigned to one of 8 group topics related to child development
based on their interest in the topic.)
Step 2: Group article.
After you know your group topic, everyone in the
group will read the same "starting journal article". This article
will either be provided for you (as is the case for Psyc 210) or you
will
have to find it for yourself. At this step, each member of the
group
will read the same journal article on the group topic as an
introduction
to the topic. By everyone reading the same first article, all
members
will be at the same starting point.
Step 3: Outline the group article.
After reading the starting journal article in step
2, each member of the group should outline that article using the
outline
below. Students may or may not discuss the article together at
this
point - consult your professor (Psyc 210 students are allowed to
consult
for this step but do not have to.) However, each student needs to
complete their own outline of this first article.
| Outline #1:
I. Research Question(s) /
Purpose of the article
II. Hypothesis
III. Variables
A. Independent Variable
B. Dependent Variable
IV. Methodology
A. Who participated?
B. What did they do?
V. Major Findings
|
Below is a brief explanation of each of
these sections.
If you need more assistance, please review this activity.
I. Research
Question(s) / Purpose of
the article
Every article has a purpose or a main research question to guide
it.
Sometimes this is formally stated while other times the reader must
glean
this information. You can find this information in the article's
Introduction and, sometimes, the abstract.
II. Hypothesis
You can usually find the hypothesis (or hypotheses) in the introduction
and, sometimes, the abstract. Sometimes the hypothesis is
formally
stated; other times it is phrased as "We believe such and such will
happen"
or "We think this will happen".
III. Variables
The answers to finding both the independent and dependent variables is
usually found in the introduction and method sections (and sometimes
the
abstract). You can also figure out these variables from the
hypothesis.
It is usually best to first figure out the main variables or constructs
of the study, and then choose which one is the IV and which one is the
DV. Remember: The IV influences the DV. (For more
help,
please review tutorials listed at the top of this page.)
IV. Method
For this part of the outline, you want to read through the Method
section
to see who participated in the study and what did they have to
do.
Under the who participated section, you'll want to briefly
state who did the study. Children? Ages?
Gender?
Parents? etc. Under part (B) you want to describe what the
participants were instructed to do.
V. Major Findings
Did
the results of the experiment support their hypothesis? What were
the major findings of the article? What happened? The
research
article is a story of sorts. It starts by making a prediction and
ends with telling us if they were right. Usually, if it is a well
written article, this answer is at the beginning of the Discussion
section.
But you may have to look around the Discussion section for it.
Step 4: Independent
Article.
For this step,
each student
in the group will read a second journal article related to the
topic.
This article must be different from the other group member's
second
article and, of course, different from the first group article.
Make
sure you are not reading the same article as another student in your
group.
(Psyc 210 students: several second articles have already been
chosen
for you and will be giving to you in class later in the semester.)
Step 5: Outline the
independent article.
After reading the
second independent
article related to the group topic, outline it using the format
below.
Group members should not consult with each other at this point since
each
one is doing a different article. The only difference between the
first outline and the second outline is part VI.
| Outline #2:
I. Research Question(s) /
Purpose of the article
II. Hypothesis
III. Variables
A. Independent Variable
B. Dependent Variable
IV. Methodology
A. Who participated?
B. What did they do?
V. Major Findings
VI. Relation to first article
A.
Discuss how the two articles relate to each other
(e.g., modifies or contradicts the findings, discusses a different
aspect,
etc.)
B.
Discuss how the two articles relate to the overall topic for your group
|
Step 6: Group meeting.
It is now
time to meet
as a group to discuss the articles everyone has read. (For
Psy210,
this will take place during class time as listed on your
syllabus.)
When you meet, bring in both outlines. Discuss both articles you
have read and then have a discussion about the topic as a whole,
integrating
everyone's articles. Then, discuss how you want to present the
information
to fellow classmates.
Step 7: Group
Presentation.
As a group,
present your findings
to your fellow classmates. Consult your professor for more
information.
|
