This blog post synthesizes your work and learnings done to date in the MACAL program drawing on CALS 500, CALS 502, as well as the CALS 501 Unit 3 Seminar discussion. As such, Assignment 4 asks you to write a 500 – 700 word critical reflection on climate science, impacts, and services and the competencies required to effectively work and support others (e.g., communities, businesses, government departments) to work with climate science concepts and information in service of climate action.
Climate science concepts (climate models and projections, IDP curves, emissions scenarios) are complex. For non-climate-scientists, these concepts can seem opaque, confusing, and too complicated. But for climate mitigation or adaptation plans and actions to be effective and accepted, they need to supported/informed by science. You have just completed a course that provides you with foundational knowledge about the science of climate change and its impacts on human societies and the biosphere, and in the assignments you have worked to convey some of that information in blog posts and papers.
In this blog post, you are asked to consider your experience in CALS 500, and the skills you developed in CALS 502 to frame a blog post that helps people understand the science behind climate change. You can decide which concepts are most important to convey, and how to convey them in ways that are engaging and understandable to non-climate-scientists. Consider making these concepts concrete and relevant to a specific context or audience that you hope to reach with your blog.
As always, the goal of these blogs is to (1) critically reflect on your learning to date; (2) cultivate and demonstrate transdisciplinary thinking about complex concepts, issues, and ideas related to climate action leadership; and (3) in this specific case demonstrate your deepening thinking about climate science.
Consider questions such as:
- Why is it important for people to understand the science behind climate change and climate action?
- How can understanding climate science support and empower climate action?
- What were some surprising ideas/information that you encountered related to climate science, impacts and services?
- What made them surprising?
- How does this idea/information inform your own understanding of climate action and how might it inform and support others
- How do the different disciplines and theories (e.g., climate science, adaptation, leadership, Indigenous science, communication theories) inform your thinking about this idea?
- What evidence would you use in supporting your argument about climate communication?
Think of your blog posts as critical academic reflection where you are analyzing and synthesizing as you make connections between theory and practice. As such, your blog posts will need to provide evidence of critical thinking, transdiciplinary thinking, and be supported by research/evidence. Remember that these critical reflections are meant to demonstrate your ability to analyze and synthesize ideas, think critically about them, bring together ideas from multiple perspectives and disciplines.
Your blog should adhere to APA citation and referencing style. You are expected to incorporate APA standards for citations, formatting, and references and to back up your writing with evidence and appropriate academic literature as necessary. You are required to pay attention to grammar and clarity and to avoid colloquialisms. References are not included in the assignment word count.
Academic blogging requires critical reflection and critical thinking and writing, a process of analyzing and synthesizing ideas, making links between theory and practice, and in the case of MACAL, applying a transdisciplinary lens to your thinking. This resource on Critical Academic Blogging may be helpful to you and don’t forget to explore the resources on the RRU Writing Centre as well, specifically around creating a detailed outline for your writing assignments, specifically the planning with PowerPoint section. You may also consider using creative commons licensing on your blog but that is optional. For more information on Creative Commons licensing see the resource provided on the MACAL program webpage.
Weight: 15%
Submit: Post your critical reflection on your blog. Also submit a word document copy to the Moodle Drop box so that your instructors can provide feedback on your blog.
GD/MA CAL Program Blog Assessment Criteria and Marking Rubric:
Student blog posts provide critical academic reflection where you are analyzing and synthesizing as you make connections between theory and practice. Given the open learning nature of the program, you may also consider using creative commons licensing on your blog but that is optional. The program blog assessment rubric will guide the expectations of how your course blogs are crafted, however each instructor will set their specific expectations related to the content and the word count.
| Assessment Criteria | Excellent (A+ to A) | Proficient (A- to B+) | Satisfactory (B to B-) | Unsatisfactory (F) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content 40% |
Blog post is thoughtful and original, demonstrating insight and critical reflection. Relevant terms & concepts are identified and defined | Blog post is somewhat thoughtful and may include some original ideas and evidence of critical reflection. Relevant terms & concepts are mostly identified and defined | Blog post provides minimal insight and evidence of critical reflection. Relevant terms & concepts are not clearly identified or defined. | Blog post provides no evidence of insight or critical reflection. Concepts and ideas are neither relevant nor clearly defined. |
| Blog post provides a clearly articulated, focused point of view/thesis, and these ideas and arguments are effectively supported with examples, hyperlinks to relevant resources and websites. | Blog post provides a specific point of view that could be more focused & clearly articulated. Ideas and arguments are mostly supported with examples, hyperlinks to resources and websites, some of which may not be as relevant as they could be. | Blog post presents a point of view that is not always clearly articulated; while examples and links provide some support, this is not always consistent. | Blog post does not provide a point of view, or if one is implied, it is neither clearly articulated or adequately focused. There is a lack of supporting examples, links, or those that are provided do not add value or are not clearly relevant. | |
| Focus of the content of the blog post is clearly relevant to the learning outcomes/foci of the MACAL/GDCAL program and there is clear evidence of transdisciplinary thinking (patterns & relationships between multiple disciplines/theories). | Focus of the content of the blog post are mostly relevant to the learning outcomes/foci of the MACAL/GDCAL program and there is clear although inconsistent evidence of transdisciplinary thinking (patterns & relationships between multiple disciplines/theories). | Focus of the content of the blog post is at times relevant to the learning outcomes/foci of the MACAL/GDCAL program transdisciplinary thinking is not well evidenced. | Focus of the content of the blog post is not relevant to the learning outcomes/foci of the MACAL/GDCAL programs, nor is there evidence of transdisciplinary thinking. | |
| Composition 35% |
Blog post is well written, creative, and designed to stimulate dialogue and commentary. | Blog post is well written and there is some evidence of creativity, and some elements are designed to stimulate dialogue and commentary. | Blog post is inconsistently written with little evidence of creativity, and only minimal elements that would stimulate dialogue and commentary. | Blog post is poorly written and is unlikely to stimulate dialogue or commentary. |
| Blog post is clearly structured and is well organized to support readers’ understanding and follow main points and sequence of ideas. | Blog post organization is clear but requires more thought and some reworking of sections to support readers’ understanding and help readers follow main points and sequence of ideas. | Blog post organizations requires significant restructuring, including transition statements/phrases. A clearer narrative structure is required to support readers’ understanding of the sequence of ideas. | Blog post is disorganized and fails to provide a clear and coherent narrative. | |
| Style 15% |
Blog post clearly & consistently reflects the author’s voice and the blog style demonstrates a consideration of the intended audience., | Blog post clearly reflects the author’s voice but not consistently, and the blog style itself is inconsistent in relationship to the intended audience. | Blog post is written in a style that either does not make the author’s voice clear, or that does not consistently demonstrate a consideration of the intended audience. | Blog post has no clear voice and does not reflect a consideration of the intended audience. |
| Blog post demonstrates a clear grasp of effective academic writing style and elements (clear, concise, spelling & grammar & punctuation) are correct, evidence of proof reading). | Blog post demonstrates a grasp of effective academic writing style and elements (clear, concise, spelling & grammar & punctuation) evidence errors and lack of consistent proof reading. | Blog post only minimally demonstrates a grasp of effective academic writing style and many elements (clear, concise, spelling & grammar & punctuation) are absent or require proof reading. | Blog post fails to demonstrate a clear grasp of effective academic writing (clear, concise, spelling & grammar & punctuation) with many errors. | |
| Citations/APA 10% |
All citations, media, and objects display appropriate copyright permissions and citations are accurate and consistently provided. | Most citations, media, and objects display appropriate copyright permissions and citations are accurate and consistently provided. | There are many citations, media, and objects that are missing appropriate and/or accurate copyright permissions. | There is minimal to no use of copyright permissions and citations. |
| Blog post includes thoughtful additions of high-quality graphics, multimedia that enhance the narrative and the visual appeal. | Blog post includes some thoughtful additions of graphics and multimedia, but these are not always enhancing the narrative nor the visual appeal (because of quality) | Blog post includes some additions of graphics, multimedia but these are not of good quality and do not consistently enhance the narrative or visual appeal (because of quality). | Blog post does not include additions of graphics, multimedia or those that are included do not enhance the narrative or visual appeal (because of quality or relevance). |
Dr. Robin Cox & Dr. Elizabeth Childs
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.