TITLE: Subtitle (if needed)

CHALLENGES and OPPORTUNITIES of MEASURING

EDUCATIONAL COMPETENCIES IN A WORLD OF FAKE NEWS, 5G
NETWORKS, and AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE

NAME 1
NAME 2
NAME 3
NAME 4
NAME 5

CURRICULUM DESIGN and ASSESSMENT

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Dr. Lieve Van den Brande, Professor

Dr. Fred Mednick, Professor

OPTION B: Opportunities and Challenges of Non-Formal Learning

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[Date]

STYLE SHEET
This research paper is an academic treatment of your lens, as applied to the focus, and reflective of
your reading and engagement.
 20-25 pages maximum
 Times New Roman 11.5 for normal text; line spacing: 1.14; .06pt between paragraphs
 Cite sources using APA style in the document and in a separate bibliography (not counted in
your page total)
 Annotated bibliography of at least 10 substantial research articles (also not counted in your
20-page total)

TABLE of CONTENTS
The Table of Contents is based upon MS Word’s Headings style; please use them because it makes
navigation a lot easier for the reader.
 For example, if you change the title in the Table of Contents section (below), it won’t work.
 If you change the title of a heading in the document itself, it will work.
 After you make changes to a heading, it can appear in the Table of Contents IF...
o You go to the Table of Contents itself and right-click (or Ctl click)
o Choose Update Field, then
o Update Entire Table to refresh the Table of Contents with the new titles and page
numbers. Voilà!
 Points will be taken off for sloppy attention to detail.

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Table of Contents

Abstract............................................................................................................................................4
Purpose of the Study and Intended Impacts....................................................................................4
Research Plan and Responsibilities.................................................................................................5
Literature Review............................................................................................................................5
Audience and Context......................................................................................................................5
Central Questions.............................................................................................................................6
Bias Check.......................................................................................................................................6
Findings and Assessment.................................................................................................................6
Conclusions and Recommendations................................................................................................6
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................7
Annotated Bibliography...................................................................................................................7

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Abstract
(250 words maximum)

An Abstract is the entire paper in a condensed form and includes: 1) the overall purpose of the study
and the research problem(s) you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or
trends found as a result of your analysis; and, 4) a brief summary of your interpretations and
conclusions. Citations can be used in an Abstract.
The abstract allows you to elaborate upon each major aspect of the paper and helps readers decide
whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Therefore, enough key information [e.g., summary
results, observations, trends, etc.] must be included to make the abstract useful to someone who may
want to examine your work.
How do you know when you have enough information in your abstract? A simple rule-of-thumb is to
imagine that you are another researcher doing a similar study. Then ask yourself: if your abstract was
the only part of the paper you could access, would you be happy with the amount of information
presented there? Does it tell the whole story about your study? If the answer is "no" then the abstract
likely needs to be revised.
Key Words/Tags: (list them here)

Purpose of the Study and Intended Impacts

(2-3 pages)

Do not assume that the reader is familiar with the subject. Give the reader a sense of the issue and
the need for conducting a study, as well as what you sought to discover along the way. What possible
impacts might a study of this sort seek to create? What’s the value? Some of this may feel like you
are rehashing the Abstract, but your job here is to explain the importance of the study and to explore
the value.
 For Option A, the point is that culture, history, legacy, curriculum planning, and learning
objectives can take different forms. Your comparative analysis extends the discussion of
“what works” to a broader range of options than those espoused by the loudest voices. Both
Korea and Finland are widely seen as success stories. How so? The high-stakes PISA test
performance? You may want to examine what success is. Should the measurement of these
two systems (please, choose other remarkably different systems) be conducted using the same
benchmarks?
 For Option B, you are entering unfamiliar territory with no real longitudinal studies, but at
1.7 billion users, for instance, Facebook (if you chose to focus on social networks as a trans-
or extra-global educational system (with its own set of norms, taboos, languages...) is larger
than major religions or the population of whole continents.

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 For Option C, you will have to make a case for a critical eye toward the whole embrace of
competencies as a framework for educational decision-making, curriculum development, and
assessment. Is it simply a new wine in the same old bottle? A rhetorical device? Or a set of
helpful guidelines. This means doing an historical deep dive on a central issue. This is also a
comparative analysis so you will have to explore when and if these competencies are helpful.
Be careful here...you will need to be super clear about what you want to demonstrate before
rushing to conclusions.
 For Option D, the grant application really takes precedence over the structure of this paper.
Nevertheless, you will have to make your case.

Research Plan and Responsibilities

(1-1.5 pages)

Consult the Canvas page: Group Research Responsibilities. This is where you describe what you
seek to know and how you are going to go about gathering, synthesizing, and vetting your research in
order to provide a credible analysis of the Option you have chosen. Examples: your general research
sources and a snowball technique (whereby sources cited in one paper can be explored, then the
sources from that new paper explored further). Consider conducting interviews, surveys, and
observations.
Follow this by a list of who is responsible for what aspect(s) of the paper.

Literature Review
(3-4 pages)
The background and context piece for the field. The Options tend to emphasize one theme
(competency, teaching, assessment), but all three are necessary. This is where you describe the
origins and evolution of the issue you are exploring; trace it back from today to its origins. The
purpose is to demonstrate your expertise in the field. This will become evident as you dive right in.
For instance, you can summarize existing expertise, resources applied to the issue, consult data
bases (World Bank has good ones), partnerships, policies, funding, incentives.
Then, describe the patterns, consistencies, contradictions...i.e., what does the literature point to?

Audience and Context

(1-2 pages)

Who are the stakeholders and beneficiaries? Is there a disconnect? Or does it work? What have been
their contributions to the development of the issue? What competing forces do they represent? What
is driving them? Examples: In Option A, what voices have been included? Excluded? (Do not judge,

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just describe). In Option B, the potential is unlimited (in theory) for inclusion of stakeholders and
beneficiaries, but what are the challenges? In Option C, this issue is of particular importance because
of its connection to history and politics. In Option D, grant applications have a specific audience in
mind. You will have to explain why and how this audience will benefit, so it’s not as easy as it looks.

Central Questions
(2 pages per question)
Since you are responsible for at least three questions, list them here and summarize why you have
chosen them, how they fit together...
V.1 State the question (in bold print)
Connect the question to your purpose, literature review, and audience
V.2 State the question (in bold print)
Connect the question to your purpose, literature review, and audience
V.3 State the question (in bold print)
Connect the question to your purpose, literature review, and audience

Bias Check
(1 to 1.5 pages)

Good researchers, like good reporters, report the evidence and do their best to avoid succumbing to
bias. We strongly recommend that you read this site about the 200 cognitive biases that rule our
everyday thinking. Examine YOUR biases (a paragraph or two) AND the biases of stakeholders,
policymakers, beneficiaries...or others. The point here is to promote academic integrity (yours and
others’).

Findings and Assessment

(2-3 pages)

The title speaks for itself. To the best of your ability, identify what challenges you see, obstacles you
noticed, or deficits that have emerged in light of the Option you chose. Return to the three themes: (a)
competencies (b) teaching and learning, and (c) assessment. Have they been faithfully executed? Is
something missing? Base your response on the evidence you provide in the paper, rather than
introduce a new concept here.

Conclusions and Recommendations

(1-2 pages)

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What challenges do you forecast ahead? How might those challenges be identified? What
predictions do you have about the future, based upon what you learned? What would you
recommend (for example...to scale the program, or to address deficits, or to leverage assets).

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Bibliography

 Separate page, not included in page count

 Include all sources footnoted and consulted in the document
 APA style format

Annotated Bibliography
 Separate page, not included in page count
 See more on Annotated Bibliographies: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/
 Include how the work has enhanced your understanding of your chosen Option
 Approximately 150 words per annotation
 At least 100 pages total

Source Annotation # of pages

(in article or
APA style Abstract of the article and contribution to the field
chapter)