Each week, students are expected to note what they read and for each chapter make one entry. During pandemic times, you only need to make an entry for one chapter each week. You are encouraged to do all chapters to support you retaining and engaging with course material. Choose a chapter that you found most interesting.
Entries may:
Address one of the Critical Thought questions at the end of the chapter. Be sure to restate the question and then address it.
Identify, define, and apply a single concept from the chapter to something important to you. In this case, you are demonstrating understanding by using CP concepts to make sense of something. It may also be providing an illustration of the concept. You can include news links, video clips, websites, whatever helps you illustrate your example and apply the concept.
Identify, define, and critique a single concept/topic from the chapter. In this example, you would reflect on what you think is missing or problematic about the concept/topic.
Analyze Quotes from the Readings.
Quote(s). Select a quote or set of quotes related to a core component of the article. Type, verbatim, with citation including page number.
Paraphrase quote(s). State what you think the author is trying to say.
Raise your scholarly voice. State why you are highlighting this quote. Is it related to Praise, Problems, or Perplexations? Be clear about why you think it is important to raise (Implications? So what?)
Additional reflection questions:
What were the most important revelations or insights? Why were these important?
With what do I disagree? Why? How would I reconceptualize this point?
What implications do these readings have for understanding social problems, intervention, and/or policy?
What questions do I have now about the topics of these readings?
How do these topics relate to others we have explored in class to date? Be specific.
In your Responses, please a) be clear about your goals in the essay, b) name and define the concept on which you are reflecting, and c) add your insights.
You are also welcome to apply community psychology principles to examine local or national news stories, advertising, or other forms of media. Please embed links, images, and/or videos into your submissions when relevant!
Pro-Tips!
1) Beyond Summary. Restating ideas from the text is a critical piece of these assignments. However, your essay needs to go beyond summary. This is about putting YOUR voice, YOUR ideas on paper. This can be by applying concepts to an example, presenting a critique of the ideas, further elaborating the value you see in the concepts (beyond what is stated in the text), among others. If you aren’t sure how to do this, come talk to me. We can come up with some concrete prompts to get you more comfortable.
2) Explain your ideas. Sometimes people write declarative claims without explaining or backing them up. If you think X concept is a valuable tool, you need to say why. What makes it valuable? A tool to do what? Is it valuable relative to some other practice? Does it improve on a “broken” approach? If so, state that as a means of explaining the argument underlying your claim. Provide explanation and evidence wherever you can.
In general, imagine you are writing for someone who has not read our text, who knows nothing about your training. That should help you write clearly, with explanations.
3) Define CP concepts and weave throughout. Remember, these are responses to CP readings. You need to be clear in what you are responding to. Name the concept and define it in your own words. If you quote the text, include a page number. This shouldn’t be a “this reading made me think of X” essay that never ties back in the concepts from the text. In what way is that thing you thought of related to the readings and why is that important? How are the readings helpful or problematic in relation to what you were thinking about?
