Major Learning Outcome 4: Research and Technology
Outcomes:
4.1. Students become familiar with appropriate research methodologies and are able to apply such in their studies.
4.2. Students will use appropriate technologies in research and studies relative to Japanese language and culture.
4.3. Students will collect, manage and analyze current and emerging technology-based resources to develop and produce their scholarly work.
Courses:
JAPN 400: Advanced Japanese for Interpersonal Communication:
I learned how to properly conduct professional research using various resources. I learned about databases such as JSTOR and Worldcat; I learned about how best to utilize the library; and I learned of various sources for statistical data, such as the U.S. Census Bureau. I also began to develop a functional understanding of how to utilize Google Drive as a technology for creating research projects.
JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese for Presentational Communication:
In this course I developed and carried out my own research project. I learned how to use Google Forms to create a survey, which I distributed to Japanese and American students online. I then learned how to organize and analyze the data using Google Forms as well as Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets. Finally, I created a PowerPoint presentation to present my research and findings for the Capstone project. Throughout the semester, as I was developing this presentation, I practiced presenting the rough drafts in front of the class and Japanese teachers.
Reflective Narrative:
The fourth major learning outcome for the Japanese language and culture major is research and technology. In order to fulfill this major, students must develop a deep understanding of multiple types of research technologies, and when which ones are appropriate. Students then must appropriately apply these research tools to their own studies of Japanese language and culture. Finally, students must collect, manage, and analyze various technology-based resources to produce their own scholarly work.
As a Japanese major, I developed an understanding of this major learning outcome through every class I took. Every class had some project or presentation requirement, and in order to successfully fulfill the assignment we would have to conduct research; sometimes the research would be about Japanese culture, sometimes it would be about the language, and sometimes it would be about various technologies that could be used to create presentations. In this way, my understanding and effectiveness in conducting scholarly research and how to present it, in other words MLO's 4.1 and 4.2, developed with every course I took.
One specific example of this is the course JAPN 400: Advanced Japanese for Interpersonal Communication. In this course we began to develop an in depth research project, requiring the use of multiple research strategies and technologies. Once we had decided on a topic of research, we had to conduct background research on this topic. This required the utilization of various research tools, ranging from Google Scholar, databases such as Jstor, and old-fashioned library searches. This helped develop my understanding of MLO 4.2. Once we had developed a deeper understanding of our topic, we had to apply that information to creating a survey to be distributed to the target group of the research. This was done using Google tools, such as using Google Docs to create outlines and Google Forms to create the survey itself, thereby helping me to understand MLO's 4.1 and MLO 4.3.
The follow-up course to this is JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese for Presentational Communication. This course helped me finish our background research, and complete the development of our surveys. Upon the completion of the surveys, I utilized various methods of distributing the survey to the target group. Because my survey was a Google Form, it was a simple matter to distribute my survey across the internet and get replies from my target group. This process gave me a functioning understanding of MLO 4.1. Finally, I analyzes the results of my surveys, wrote a paper explaining the research and findings, and created an effective and easily understood presentation about my research and findings, to be presented in the target language, Japanese. This developed my understanding of MLO 4.2.
These two courses, furthered my understanding of all of the tools and technologies at my disposal to conduct research and produce work that is not only effective but scholarly as well, helping me to create my Capstone project and develop an understanding of MLO 4.
Sample:
Refer to Capstone Project page
4.1. Students become familiar with appropriate research methodologies and are able to apply such in their studies.
4.2. Students will use appropriate technologies in research and studies relative to Japanese language and culture.
4.3. Students will collect, manage and analyze current and emerging technology-based resources to develop and produce their scholarly work.
Courses:
JAPN 400: Advanced Japanese for Interpersonal Communication:
I learned how to properly conduct professional research using various resources. I learned about databases such as JSTOR and Worldcat; I learned about how best to utilize the library; and I learned of various sources for statistical data, such as the U.S. Census Bureau. I also began to develop a functional understanding of how to utilize Google Drive as a technology for creating research projects.
JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese for Presentational Communication:
In this course I developed and carried out my own research project. I learned how to use Google Forms to create a survey, which I distributed to Japanese and American students online. I then learned how to organize and analyze the data using Google Forms as well as Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets. Finally, I created a PowerPoint presentation to present my research and findings for the Capstone project. Throughout the semester, as I was developing this presentation, I practiced presenting the rough drafts in front of the class and Japanese teachers.
Reflective Narrative:
The fourth major learning outcome for the Japanese language and culture major is research and technology. In order to fulfill this major, students must develop a deep understanding of multiple types of research technologies, and when which ones are appropriate. Students then must appropriately apply these research tools to their own studies of Japanese language and culture. Finally, students must collect, manage, and analyze various technology-based resources to produce their own scholarly work.
As a Japanese major, I developed an understanding of this major learning outcome through every class I took. Every class had some project or presentation requirement, and in order to successfully fulfill the assignment we would have to conduct research; sometimes the research would be about Japanese culture, sometimes it would be about the language, and sometimes it would be about various technologies that could be used to create presentations. In this way, my understanding and effectiveness in conducting scholarly research and how to present it, in other words MLO's 4.1 and 4.2, developed with every course I took.
One specific example of this is the course JAPN 400: Advanced Japanese for Interpersonal Communication. In this course we began to develop an in depth research project, requiring the use of multiple research strategies and technologies. Once we had decided on a topic of research, we had to conduct background research on this topic. This required the utilization of various research tools, ranging from Google Scholar, databases such as Jstor, and old-fashioned library searches. This helped develop my understanding of MLO 4.2. Once we had developed a deeper understanding of our topic, we had to apply that information to creating a survey to be distributed to the target group of the research. This was done using Google tools, such as using Google Docs to create outlines and Google Forms to create the survey itself, thereby helping me to understand MLO's 4.1 and MLO 4.3.
The follow-up course to this is JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese for Presentational Communication. This course helped me finish our background research, and complete the development of our surveys. Upon the completion of the surveys, I utilized various methods of distributing the survey to the target group. Because my survey was a Google Form, it was a simple matter to distribute my survey across the internet and get replies from my target group. This process gave me a functioning understanding of MLO 4.1. Finally, I analyzes the results of my surveys, wrote a paper explaining the research and findings, and created an effective and easily understood presentation about my research and findings, to be presented in the target language, Japanese. This developed my understanding of MLO 4.2.
These two courses, furthered my understanding of all of the tools and technologies at my disposal to conduct research and produce work that is not only effective but scholarly as well, helping me to create my Capstone project and develop an understanding of MLO 4.
Sample:
Refer to Capstone Project page