The Work

I will be posting the full assignment overviews, requirements, and rubrics.

Course Assignments

Assignment 1: Radical Honesty Statement

  • DUE DATE: 2/10/2022 via Blackboard Based on Williams (2016) Radical Honesty and my in class example students will craft their own radical honesty statement. Letting me know who they are. There are no specific requirements for this assignment other than introducing me to you in whatever way feels most truthful to you. Submit this assignment in whatever format feels comfortable to you. (ex: Video, written, powerpoint, prezi, audio recording, etc) 
  • Some helpful points and questions
    • When you think back on your life what has shaped you into who you are?
    • How do those things, events, people, etc influence you to this day?
    • What do you care about? What cares about you?
    • People are complex made of many parts, sometimes complementary sometimes contradictory. What are the most important parts of you?
    • What are you goals, hopes, dreams?
    • Who do you have in your life?
    • What do you do to find joy?
    • What are you morals and values?

Assignment 2: Defining Community, Context, & Power

  • Due Date 3/17/2023 Via Blackboard (24hr grace period)
  • For this assignment you will be asked to use some of the foundational concepts of community psychology to trace and detail a community of your own. In the process you will better solidify your definitions of community, context, and power. This assignment is also open format so do not feel limited to simply writing about each. If its easier to draw things out or speak about them then do so.
  • Requirements:
    • 6 pts Define Community: State a group you feel closely associated with so much so that you feel a sense of “collective we”. Describe this group and your relationship to it.
      • Helpful Questions (Please remember just answering this questions does not mean you fulfilled the requirement): Is this group identity based and large, or smaller and more experience/relationship based?What makes you feel a sense of kinship or closeness to this group?
    • 6pts Community History/Context: Describe the origin of this community? Where did it come from and what does it look like now. What are some key moments of history within the community that helped shape it.
      • Helpful Questions: Where has this group existed? Does the group have an origin you know or is it debated? Has this group broken off and formed from a larger group? If this is smaller what are the personal histories?
    • 6pts Social Ecology: Focusing on the above mentioned community and your response describe one important factor/relationship that exists within each social ecological system. (Individual, Micro, Meso, Exo, Macro, Chrono)
      • Helpful Hints: Sometimes it’s easier if folks take one issue or scenario and trace it all the way from the individual to the macro system. Remember the biggest difference between exo and macro is the exo is all tangible. So institutions, and material things whereas the macro is intangible. Ideological and attitudinal.
    • 6pts Power, Privilege, Oppression: Does this group hold any form of privilege or face any form of oppression. Describe this and utilize scenario examples.
      • Helpful hints: Use the 5 faces of privilege and oppression to make this easier. REMEMBER privilege and oppression are systemic, so connect your scenarios to larger systems not just personal circumstances.
    • 6pts Community Aspirations: Given all that was outlined above describe your aspirations and/or hopes for the future of this community.
      • Helpful Questions: Does this community face issues you want to address? Is this community on a good path you hope for it to continue down? Is this community engaging in behavior or mentalities you would like to change?

Assignment 3: Selecting and Defining a Community Issue

  • Due Date 4/7/2023 via Blackboard (24hr Grace Period)
  • This is the start of the assignments designed to come together to create your final research proposal. For this assignment you task is to choose a community issue that you find important and would like to craft project in order to address or understand better. This will involve discussing the history and context of the issue which may require background research. Community issues are any and all happenings that effect communities. Most community psych researchers engage in research projects geared toward addressing a community issue that is harming or hindering a community in some way. There are countless examples but if you are stuck please reach out I’d be happy to help you brainstorm. Use this website to see some examples of community psych projects that have been done, but try not to limit yourself/imagination.
  • Requirements:
    • 2pts Selection: Clearly state and emphasize the community issue
    • 6pts Community: Define the community that is impacted by this issue.
      • Helpful hints: Who is connected to the issue? Is this issue something that affects multiple communities? If so which do you focus on? If you are choosing a big issue be thinking about how you will need to outline the research community.
    • 6pts Detail: Give some history and background on the issue.
      • Helpful hints: What are some key moments in history from the origin of this issue till now. Might be useful to create a simple timeline with some key points.
    • 10pts Contextualize: Use the Social Ecological model to further contextualize the issue.
      • Helpful hints: Remember the social ecological model allows you to see where your issue dominantly exists, but also to think about the complex relationships between people and the world. Think of the various levels and your issue and see if you can point out where it exists, its causes, and how it manifests in the real world today.
    • 6pts Relevance: Speak to why it matters that you need to address this issue.
      • Helpful hints: Pretend I have just taken all that you said at face value now drive home why it matters to focus on and address this issue. What’s so bad about it? How could it help the community?
  • Notes:
    • If writing keep under 5 pages double spaced.
    • Cite all references please! (APA)

Assignment 4: Reflexivity, Positionality, & Ethics

  • Due date 4/21/2023 via Blackboard
  • For this assignment students will craft a reflexivity and positionality statement in relation to their topic and discuss an ethical consideration they would take into account. This means that they must speak to how they relate to the issue, what knowledge they have concerning the topic they hand, where there biases lie, as well as think about complex dynamics of power, privilege and oppression at play if they were to engage in this research. These statements should be concise and emphasize only the most relevant components. OPEN FORMAT AS ALWAYS. Below are the definitions of reflexivity and positionality.
  • Reflexivity:
    • Reflexivity is the process of examining both oneself as researcher, and the research relationship. Self searching involves unpacking one’s “conceptual baggage,” one’s assumptions and preconceptions, and how these affect research formulation and decisions. Reflecting on the research relationship involves examining one’s relationship to the research topic, respondent, and how the relationship dynamics affect responses.
  • Positionality:
    • Understanding ones one social position in relation to power, social systems, and access. Researchers naming their positionality involves understanding complex social locations, intersectionality, and interlocking systems of power. Researchers must be able to name, place, and speak to their own experiences with privilege, oppression as they relate to the community and topic around factors such as: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, Citizenship, Body, Ability, Language, & Religion.
  • Requirements:
    • 2pts: State issue: Clearly state the community issue you are focusing on
    • 3pts: Define Sample: Clearly define who exactly you would work with and ask to participate in the research
      • Helpful Comments/Questions: Remember a sample typically cannot be the ENTIRE population effected by the community issue. You need to be a little focused on who you plan to work with. Use demographic identifiers such as age range, location, specific group membership, identity markers etc to clearly define this group.
    • 10 pts: Positionality Statement
      • Helpful Comments/Questions: Use your matrix of privilege and oppression to first think about your social location. Think about what forms of privilege and oppression exist within and around this community/issue. Think about the macro level forces shaping the context. Place yourself within that context. How does your social location relate to this issue? What power do you have as a researcher and how can this power be held accountable?
    • 10 pts: Reflexivity Statement
      • Helpful Comments/Questions: How am I connected to this community and this topic? How does this connection or lack thereof influence me? What do I know about this community and this topic? Where did this information come from? How does it influence the way I think and how I will make decisions? Remember reflexivity is not just saying I relate/do not relate to this issue/community. It’s fleshing out how this connection or lack of connection influences how you understand, think and behave.
    • 5 pts: Ethical Consideration: Discuss an ethical consideration you would need to take into account when working with this community on this issue.
      • Helpful Comments/Questions: Remember I and other community psychologists take ethics VERY seriously and recognize that you need to be able to think about ethics not just as a set of standards or principles applied generally but rather ethical considerations tailored especially for each different community. So if you simple state and define a general ethical consideration you will receive 0 points. You need to tell me what the consideration is and it matters for this issue and/or this community specifically.

OPTIONAL: Assignment 5: Course Hiatus Improvements

  • Due Date: 5/14/2023
  • This is an optional assignment all students will receive full credit regardless of if they submit it or not. I am not teaching this course for about a year while I finish my dissertation. As such this course will be on hiatus, but I also want to offer the syllabus and content up for other folks who might want to teach it. With that being said I would love some feedback on how to improve the course.
  • Requirements:
    • Syllabus/website improvements: How did you feel about the work load, the readings, the accessibility, and the layout of the syllabus and website? Are there any areas that need improvement or attention?
    • Lecture/Teaching Style Improvements: How did you feel about the structure of the lectures and class activities? Do you believe this course would benefit from a more structured or more fluid approach to teaching? Are there specific areas of improvement related to lectures/teaching?
    • Assignment Improvements: Did the assignments of this course help you understand challenging aspects better? Do you feel the approach of working up to the final is useful? What kinds of assignments would you like to see? Are there specific areas of improvement?
    • What to keep: Are there any aspects of the class that should ABSOLUTELY stay part of teaching this course? Which aspects helped you grasp community psychology the best? Which did you find most engaging and important?

The Final

This final will ask you to put together all that you have learned throughout the semester to create a research proposal. This research proposal will be addressing a community issue of your choosing. You will give background on the issue, discuss why and how you came to be interested in this issue, discuss community involvement, outline some important aspects of your ethical framework, talk about methods, talk about challenges, tell me how you plan to analyze the data, and finally give a brief picture on what you plan to see. Like always the format of this final is open meaning it does not have to be a written essay style assignment.

Assignment Details

5 pts Project title

            Required: Students have given their research project a name

Helpful questions/Comments: “Community Psych Final” is not a title it is the name of the assignment. Think of something engaging that would make someone want to read or engage with this project. Clearly state what the project is about. Is there a way to summarize all of this into one short title?

10pts Reflexivity & Positionality

Required: Students write a reflexivity & positionality statement that details who they are in relation to this issue and this community. Reflexivity & Positionality statements name connections, disconnections, strengths, biases, challenges, knowledge, power, privilege, oppression and why all of these things matter in the context of this project.

Helpful Questions: Why did you chose to focus on this issue? What wells of knowledge are you drawing from? How do they influence you’re thinking and engagement with this topic? What makes you more or less equipped and capable of working on this issue or with this community? What do you need to be mindful of? What are the limits of your knowledge and understanding? Where does the power lie in this project? Are there levels of oppression and privilege that need to be taken into consideration? How will you do so?

15pts The Issue  

Required: Clearly state the issue that you are dealing with. Detail the history of said issue and how it looks now. Explain why its important to better understand and/or address this issue.  Explain which communities this issue impacts.

Helpful Questions: Does this issue have a specific name? Who are the people most impacted by the issue? Where did this issue come from? What does it look like now? How has discourse surrounding this issue changed over time? Why is it important that someone do something about this or learn more about it?

10pts The Community & Reasoning

Required: Clearly state exactly who you plan to work with (include relevant experiential or demographic data about this population including their roles in the project). Also discuss why this particular group is important.

Helpful questions: Who exactly are you hypothetically reaching out to? Detail Where do they exist? Why do they matter? What about them is important? Knowing that this group might not encompass EVERYONE affected by this issue why do they still matter and help address issue?

5 pts Research Question

Required: Write a research question that summarizes the central goal of the research project. This is somewhere clearly emphasized.

Helpful Questions: What exactly do you want this research to do or say? If you were to think about addressing this issue and speaking with this community what might be a statement that explains the common goal within the project? Do you want to describe something? Better understand the relationship between multiple things? Or do you want to prove that something causes something else?

15pts Methods

Required: Detail the research methods you plan to use in this project. State why this methods are the best suited for answer your research question and working with this community on this issue.

Helpful Questions/comments: What methods are you using and how are you planning on using them? If you are using a quasi-experiment, be sure to detail exactly what the intervention is and why you think it will work. Are these methods good at gathering the kind of data you need? What do you want to know? Will these methods help you get there? Explain how.

10pts Ethical considerations

Required: Describe 3 ethical considerations the researcher must keep in mind when working with this community. At least one of these have to be directly related to the methods the researcher is choosing to use when working with this community.

Helpful Questions: Does this community face a particular level of oppression, violence, misunderstanding? How will you navigate this within the context of the project. What will your interactions with this community look like? Thinking about the particular ethical considerations of community psychology and those of the APA what might you need to think about more deeply? What is the best way to engage with these particular methods and community ethically?

5pts Limits of the Project

Required: State in which way the project is limited or may fall short. Whether that be in scope, methods, theory, ethics, or ability to engage with the community.

Helpful Questions:  Does this one research project fully eradicate the community issue you are focusing on? Why not? Does the research relationship complicate or trouble engagement with the community in some way? How? Is there any prior work or literature surrounding this topic to help bolster your findings or project? How does that influence your project?

10pts Conclusions & Action

Required: State exactly what you hope your projects’ conclusions will be. Based on your conclusion state your hopes for this project outside of research.

Helpful: What are you hoping to do or find with this project? In your wildest dreams what impact will your project have on the world? How far do you think your findings will be able to go? Will the insight worldwide change? Will they change the culture? Will they alter mindsets? What do you want to happen? This might even be easier to write before diving into the research aspect of the prompt.

5pts References

Required: MUST cite at least 5 sources; 2 of which should be peer reviewed academic works

Notes:

  • No more than 10 pages (excluding references)