Future Generations Graduate School: Courses

This capstone seminar is organized around each student

In this second Practicum course, the student will refine and develop their proposed research, review related literature and choose a research methodology. The student will select one or more research instruments and test them in the field. In the residential portion the student will make a presentation on their community and the proposed practicum process. In the online portion the student will cover more aspects of research theory including statistics that are useful for community based research. At the end of the course the student will present a detailed prospectus which will lay out their practicum process in detail, including the knowledge gained from testing the methodology.

In this first practicum course, students describe their community. They identify critical questions of change and conservation in their community. They study and acquire quantitative, qualitative , and alternative research methods and the necessary statistical tools to analyze data, perform community assessments, and monitor and evaluate programs. Emphases are placed on participatory and action research approaches and methods as well as the identification, measurement, and use of key indicators. Philosophical reasons behind different research approaches and methods are explored in terms of the practice and use of research.

Students work closely with community members, an assigned mentor, and the course's instructor to completely carry out a first iteration of research in community. Results and analysis are to be presented for collective critique by the end of this term.