Mathematics Education Coordinator: Peter Appelbaum

Taylor 312A

215-572-4476; fax: 4075

appelbaum@arcadia.edu

Credit/Cost:

The culminating project may be completed for credit or no credit, depending on your particular program.
If you have planned with your advisor to complete the culminating project for credit, you should register (with your advisor’s permission) for ED596 (formerly 496), and pay regular tuition costs.
If you will be completing the requirement but not enrolling in ED596, you do not need to register for anything and should simply meet with your advisor about satisfying the requirement.

The Culminating Project must:

Evolve out of your passion and interest
Be more than an academic paper
Be large enough in scope to keep you engaged for the equivalent of 3 credits of course work
Represent a synthesis of your master’s program coursework.
Connect you in some way to a world outside of Arcadia
Raise consciousness about some issue or idea
Connect you with someone else that you confer with over the semester
Include a list of at least five references that informed and helped shape your project.
Be useful or make an impact on at least one of the following: your current job; a prospective job; other people.
Include a public presentation about the project.

All work must be original and of advanced degree quality. Presentation form will vary as appropriate for the project.

Possible Formats:

Curriculum development project
Development, implementation, and assessment of major instructional unit
Field-based or classroom-based action research paper
Development, implementation, and assessment of staff development activities
Portfolio or other presentation of significant individual creative work through which themes and important knowledge gained in the program are examined and interpreted.
Extra individual study in an area related to previous work for the degree, resulting in a research paper, a performance, or a public exhibit.

Proposal Guidelines:

What do you want to do? Why do you want to do this? How does it grow out of your passion and interest? How will this project be useful or have an impact?
How are you thinking you want to start? What else are you considering for how you will go about working on this project?
What resources do you have in mind? (Be as specific as possible; cite references if possible.)
Lay out an approximate timeline
What are you considering for a final presentation format? How does this format speak to your goals for this project?

Suggested Timeline:

· Meet with advisor about possible ideas and guidelines at least 1-2 semesters prior to graduation.

· 1-2 page project proposal should be presented to and accepted by the advisor at least 1 semester prior to graduation, and before the candidate spends significant time on the project.

· Meet with your advisor in the first two weeks of the semester to plan meeting dates. Expect at least two progress-report meetings with your advisor where you may be asked to refine or revise original plans.

· Presentation to advisor of “next-to-final draft” must occur at least 6 weeks prior to graduation.

· Meet with your advisor to review a draft with your advisor no later than 6 weeks prior to graduation.

· Public presentation must occur no later than 5 weeks before graduation.

· Notification to candidate of acceptance or further revisions should occur 4 weeks prior to graduation.

· Revised project and/or public presentation must be submitted or occur no later than 3 weeks prior to graduation. If this version is not accepted, it is possible that the candidate may not graduate that semester.

!NOTE: Any substantive changes must be approved by your advisor!

Last update: Spring 2005