Assignment 1: LASA 2 Identity Formation

We have learned that adolescence is a time of transition between childhood and adulthood. A critical milestone of this stage is the ability to successfully achieve a sense of identity. Around the world, there are different rites of passage to mark the transition to adulthood. In the United States, this might include obtaining a driver’s license, landing one’s first job, senior prom, or high school graduation. In this assignment, we will explore the role that family and society play in the development of the individual’s sense of self.

By Saturday, August 24, 2013, create two documents for parents of minority teens 1) A 9–12-slide PowerPoint presentation (complete with speaker’s notes) and 2) an accompanying 1–2-page handout/flier in Word document or PDF format. Be sure that both illustrate the following:

1. Describe common rites of passage from two cultures around the world and compare them to a common American rite of passage. Possible resources might include National Geographicand the Argosy University Online Library.
2. Compare and contrast these rites to common US rites of passage. Do they coincide with the physical, cognitive, or socioemotional changes taking place at this age? Describe which specific changes (physical, cognitive, or socioemotional) they coincide with. Does this explain their importance in a particular culture?
3. How might such a social ritual, such as a rite of passage, influence the identity formation process of adolescents?
4. In light of Erikson and Marcia’s theories, discuss how the process of identity development is affected when the adolescent belongs to a minority group (racial, ethnic, sexual, or religious). Be sure to explain these theories and how they apply to identity development.
5. Summarize research from at least two peer-reviewed* studies on the effect of minority status on identity development, ensuring you describe the main findings of the study as well as the research methods used to study the topic.
6. Apply the information you gathered from the online notes, textbook, and research articles to provide at least three practical recommendations for what the family, school, and community can do to ease the process for adolescents.

*Peer-reviewed means an article from a reputable journal, which can be found in the Argosy University Online Library. Peer reviewed indicates that other professionals in the field have reviewed and deemed it worthy of publication, in contrast to much if what we find online: someone posting something he or she wants to, without someone else verifying that the research methods were rigorous enough and the study is valid. Use your textbook and course lectures as your primary resources, as well as articles from the Argosy University Online Library. If you must supplement from a website, do NOT use .coms. Instead, look for .org, .gov, and sometimes .edu for more reputable sources. Never use Wikipedia or about.com.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Assignment 1: LASA 2 Identity Formation