This blog post synthesizes your work and learnings done to date in the MACAL program drawing on all courses completed to this point. You have been engaged in the process of finalizing your prototype (Steps 6-7). As you do that work, you will also be engaged in learning about risk and risk management (CALS 503: Climate Risk Management).
As such, Assignment 5 asks you to write a 500 – 700 word transdisciplinary reflection on the work you are doing in this course, the learning from previous courses (CALS 500, 502) and the current course CALS 503. Consider how this learning informs your thinking, your design, and ultimately your prototype. experienced in content of your courses to date, Unit 3 Seminar presentations and discussions, the MACAL 501 design challenge progress. Given your experience in CALS 503: Climate Risk Management, you can consider, for example, what risks you anticipate with the prototype you are developing. This can include risks associated with the design, and/or risks associated with the use of the prototype. The latter could include risks that might be associated with the end-user (e.g., what risks might learning more about climate change pose for a specific audience, and how might you mitigate these risks for the end user?).
Post your reflection on your blog. Your blog posts will need to evidence of critical thinking and a consideration of trans-disciplinarity. It should be research/evidence informed, demonstrate your ability to analyze and synthesize ideas and adhere to APA writing 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.
Think of your blog posts as critical academic reflection where you are analyzing and synthesizing as you make connections between theory and practice. Don’t forget to explore the resources on the RRU Writing Centre as well, specifically those focused on creating a detailed outline. 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: 10%
Submit: to 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. For more information on Creative Commons licensing see the resource posted on the MACAL program WordPress site and creativecommons.org. This 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. Don’t forget to explore the resources on the RRU Writing Centre as well, specifically those focused on creating a detailed outline.
NOTE: In order to stay connected to each other via the course blog and your own WordPress blogs – be sure to set up your Feedly (see the program website for resources on setting up Feedly and OPML files – You will need to add these for each course).
| Course Learning Outcome/Assessment Criteria | Excellent (A+ to A) | Proficient (A- to B+) | Satisfactory (B to B-) | Unsatisfactory (F) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citation and APA format | All citations and APA format are correct. | Most citations and APA formatting are correct. | Some citations and APA formatting are correct. | Few citations and APA formatting are correct. |
| Style, Grammar, Spelling | All aspects of grammar and spelling are correct. | Most aspects of grammar and spelling are correct. | Some aspects of grammar and spelling are correct. | Significant spelling and grammar errors. |
| Transdisciplinary Thinking | Relevant terms, concepts are identified and defined; presentation/discussion of same shows evidence of transdisciplinary thinking including: drawing from multiple disciplines identifying and/or creating patterns, abstract thinking; finding the relationships between and amongst ideas/concepts; modeling (creating physical representations of ideas/concepts; playing with ideas; synthesis or transferring ideas from different domains and areas of life into new combinations; embodied thinking (e.g., empathy) | Relevant terms and concepts are mostly identified and defined and discussed but do not consistently reflect the transdisciplinary nature of the focus. | Relevant terms and concepts are somewhat identified and defined and the transdisciplinary nature of these is inconsistent or missing. | Relevant terms and concepts are not identified or defined and the transdisciplinary nature of these is missing. |
| Organisation and flow | Blog post begins with an overall summary and flows seamlessly using section transitions as needed. Blog post is clearly structured and is well organized to support understanding and follow main points and sequence of ideas. | Blog post organization is generally well organized, but needs some improvement in coherence, flow, organization. The reader can periodically follow the main points of the argument or sequence of ideas. | Blog post organization needs significant improvement. Missing transitions lead to blocky sections. Or blog post is written as bullets or other non-prose style. It is difficult for the reader to follow the main points of the argument or sequence of ideas. | Blog post is not organized in a way that the reader can make sense of the author’s position or arguments. |
| Position statement | The author’s overall position is clearly stated in the first paragraph. | Position is stated but is unclearly stated. | Position is not stated, unclear and confusing. | Blog post does not include a position. |
| Content | Blog post is thoughtful and original. It demonstrates excellent development of each idea and focuses on relevant details and a synthesis of pertinent research surrounding core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation.
|
Blog post is somewhat thoughtful and may include some original ideas. Blog post contains adequate development of ideas, but will benefit from more research/support and from more intentional, synthesized thought around the core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation. | The blog post has some development but lacks sufficient discussion or contains irrelevant details that do not yet develop a clear sense of purpose. Additional support for relevant ideas is required; as is greater evidence of synthesis of thinking around the core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation. | The blog post needs more details on every level. It lacks relevance and originality and does not address the assignment requirements and/or is missing a connection to core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation. |
| Analysis | Statements are backed by relevant evidence from the literature surrounding core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation. Information is analyzed, discussed, summarized and applied in context, not just stated. | Supporting information is summarized but not synthesized/connected with other perspectives on the core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation.
Synthesis is minimal or lacking. |
Supportive information is stated and not summarized or backed by supporting evidence from the literature examined on core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation. | Information is stated but lacks relevance and connection to the position statement. Statements are not backed by evidence from the literature examined on core concepts of climate action, resilience and reconciliation. |