SHS 250-Group Final Project
Written portion due:  March 12, 2007; Presentations on:  March 12th, 14th, and 19th

For this project you'll work in groups toward a goal of some type of change-a new law, policy or procedure change, community awareness, etc.  It's important to focus on a system change rather than providing direct service.  The final project will include an individually written paper, action to implement the plan you develop, and a report back to the class.

Requirements of the project

The process (in class we'll discuss the different steps in detail)

1.  Identify a fundamental issue you're interested in; discuss with classmates to narrow it down to a specific issue.
2.  Begin research to learn more about the issue.  Key questions include:  what is the problem, why does it exist, who is affected by it, who has a vested interest in it changing, what is already being done to address it?
3.  Identify a reasonable goal to work on during the quarter.  Be optimistic and enthusiastic in deciding on a goal, but realize the time limits you're working under.  Brainstorm strategies to achieve the goal with your group and select the best ones that you can take action on.
4.  Plan the details of your strategies and implement them.
5.  Evaluate your work as a group:  what worked, what didn't work, what were the group dynamics like, what would you do differently?

The outcome

1.  Each individual will write a paper, including the following components.  You are free to share information (you will need to in order to work effectively as a group) but do your own writing.

• Give an introduction to the issue, including answers to the questions in #2 above, along with statistics relevant to the problem. (3 pages). 

• What other work is being done on this issue, both locally and nationally or internationally?  (1 page) 

• A clearly stated goal and explanation of your strategies, e.g. why you chose these strategies, details about the strategies, the hindering and helping forces.  (1-2 pages) 

• What strategies worked well?  What difficulties did you encounter?   What were some of the lessons learned?  What would you do differently next time?  (2-3 pages)

• A reference page, including articles, books, people, etc. that you used in your project.

2.  A group report to the class which includes information about the issue as well as how you went about accomplishing your goal.  Each group will be given 30-45 minutes for their report and you can get creative with how you present the information.  Planning this portion of the assignment, however, should not take up a lot of your time...your priority should be on development and  implementation of your plan. 

Grading criteria

Please be sure your writing is clear and grammatically correct.  Up to .5 points may be deducted for errors and/or unprofessional presentation