Before moving on to our next topic of study, I want to get you started on a more personal application of the "Thesis Generator." In following the specific tasks that are outlined below, you will generate a tentative topic for your own master's paper. Please note that this is only a tentative topic--this will not obligate you for your master's paper! However, I hope that it will help you begin to think about that upcoming project, as it is helpful to have at least a general idea of what you'll want to focus on so that you can frame as many of your course projects and activities around the topic as possible. Then, by the time you get to the point of actually working on your master's paper, you'll already have laid some of the groundwork!

You need to think carefully about your research topic and the Synthesis Question below. In the Synthesis Question for Unit 2 I asked you to consider which research paradigm you think would provide the best approach to your topic. If it is the type of question that could best be studied within a conventional/positivist paradigm, the literature that you eventually review and critique for your master's project will probably consist primarily of studies with either an experimental design or a non-experimental quantitative design. If the question lends itself more to the constructivist paradigm, you will probably be reviewing articles with a qualitative research design. We will be studying these major research designs in the upcoming weeks, and you are not expected to know about them now. However, these designs are described briefly in Chapter 1 of your textbook. Reviewing the section on different types of research will help you understand more clearly the distinctions between the two paradigms.

I'd also like you to think about a tentative theoretical framework for your topic. You won't be able to review ALL the literature on a particular topic. Choosing a theoretical framework helps you decide which "lens" you will use to guide the choice of literature to review. For example, will you be applying a feminist lens to the topic? A particular learning theory such as "constructivism," "multiple intelligences," "social learning," etc? A pedagogical theory relating to teaching or course design? An organizational change theory? Deciding on your theoretical framework, which often is driven by your particular type of practice, your values, or your worldview, can help you narrow the search for relevant literature, as well as provide a framework within which to analyze and critique the literature. It may be helpful at this point to review some of the material you learned in ADTED 460, particularly related to the theoretical basis of adult education.

Your Task:

Submit your response (in no more than 750 words) to the Unit 3 Synthesis Question drop box by the end of the next unit (Unit 4).

Note: When you send me an attachment in a drop box, or post on a discussion forum with an attachment, please put your name on the electronic file (e.g., MyName_SQ3. SQ stands for Synthesis Question.) Please also put your name on the assignment when the file is opened up. (Some students make a template for all assignments with their name as a header.)

Please do NOT submit this assignment until you have reviewed the feedback on your group Thesis Generator assignment. My suggestion is to keep your thesis question simple and down to one sentence. Focus on studying something you can easily define. (For example, avoid something like "cultural concepts" which is tough to study since not everyone would agree on the definition.)

Unit 3 Synthesis Question: Identify an issue or problem that is of personal and/or professional interest. For example, maybe you have been wondering why adult students drop out of class after enrolling. Or you may want to examine differences in student outcomes in the online compared to the face-to-face environment. What are you curious about? This question can be the same one you used for your Synthesis Question in Unit 2, or a different question. Look once more at the Thesis Generator presented earlier in this unit and answer the first 3 questions in terms of the topic you are identifying. Please state Step 1 (problem statement) as a research question, taking into account any feedback you received in the "My Research Question" forum and on your SQ for Unit 2. Also, tell me briefly what theoretical framework you think you will use for your project. You might not be able to be specific at this point (that is, you might not know that you want to use "Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences"), but make a tentative choice of the general category, such as learning theories, teaching theories, race or gender theories, etc. (e.g., "My theoretical framework will be based on a theory of organizational change.")