Dear students,

 

I imagine it is hard for you to believe that you are about to finish your college degree.  For many of you this will be your last semester of courses, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with you at this pivotal point in your life.  In the next year, many of you will be transitioning to situations where you’ll be challenged to figure things out in order to best serve your clients and get along with your colleagues.  I would like to challenge you to use this course as a stepping-stone to feeding your own curiosity and taking initiative in your learning process.  I look forward to getting to know you.

 

My goals in this class as your teacher are to: if you have fears about research and evaluation, to dispel them, cover the basics, show you how research and evaluation are used by recreation professionals, and give you an opportunity to practice research and evaluation skills so that you will feel confident when called on to use research and evaluation skills in your internships and careers.

 

My goals for you as a learner are that you will take advantage of the opportunities in this class: to see how research/evaluation tools can increase the quality of programs to better serve participants, and to build a foundation of basic research and evaluation skills and knowledge.

 

My goals for you in your life and profession are that you will participate fully so that:

 

It’s going to be an adventure!


RLST 4900 Research and Evaluation in Leisure Services   Fall 2002

 

Instructor: Gwynn Powell, Ph.D.                        Office: 353 Ramsey Center

Telephone: 542-4332                                          Class hours: TTh 9:30-10:45

Classroom: 205 Ramsey Center                          Office hours: TTh 10:45-11:45

E-mail: gpowell@coe.uga.edu                            Other times by appt: 40% of my time is research

Course Description: (from Undergraduate Bulletin) The nature and value of research in leisure services.  Understanding and using research, including needs assessment and program evaluation, in management, planning, and administration of leisure facilities and programs. Prerequisite: RLST 2800 and RLST 2800L

 

Course Materials:

Henderson, K.A. & Bialeschki, M.D. (1995). Evaluating Leisure Services. State College, PA: Venture

Measuring program outcomes: A practical approach. (1996). United Way of America, Item # 0989

 

Course Assignments: Details will be discussed and rubrics will be provided, but these are the highlights:

 

Content tests, quizzes, peer feedback: 30% 

Tests: more that 2-3 chapters of material

            Quizzes: less than 3 chapters

            Peer feedback is a valuable skill that we will develop through in-class assignments

 

Research Project in conjunction with Recreation and Leisure Beyond the School Day: 60% 

In teams, our class will be responsible for conducting a research project in October for the Mayor’s Walk and Intersession Day Camps. These projects are a collaborative service project involving our department, the College of Education, Chase Street and Gaines Elementary Schools, and Athens Clarke-County Leisure Services.  We will spend a significant amount of in-class and out-of-class time on this hands-on project.  Each step will have an individually graded portion, but you will need the help of the group to accomplish the task.

 

Step 1: Conduct a review of relevant literature (10%)

            Assignment: To write a 7-8 page annotated bibliography and synthesis

Purpose: To learn what has already been studied about the topic to guide and inform our research

Step 2: Develop data collection instrument (10%)

            Assignment: Prepare a questionnaire, interview guide, or observation checklist                 

       Write a 2-3 page accompanying review and description of instrument

Purpose: To practice developing a tool to collect information from participants

Step 3: Collect data (5%)

            Assignment: To spend a minimum of three hours per week collecting data during the day camp

            Purpose: To gain data collection experience & provide data to address the research question

Step 4: Enter data (5%)

            Assignment: To enter the data collected into the appropriate electronic form

            Purpose: To gain experience in data processing & provide data in a useable format for analysis

Step 5: Make recommendations based on summary data (20%)

            Assignment: To write a summary document based on the results supplied by the instructor

Purpose: To demonstrate ability to take research data, interpret the results, communicate the

meaning, and use the information to make recommendations

Step 6: Reflect on the process (10%)

            Assignment: To write a 4-5 page reflection of your learning

            Purpose: To demonstrate reflection and integration of course concepts and practical experiences

 

Comprehensive Final Project:10% You will be responsible for identifying a management topic relevant to your specific career goals.   Once approved, you will need to find 3 research articles that give you relevant information about the topic and then design a question of interest and a bulleted research plan to conduct research to answer your question. 

Tentative Calendar

 

DAY

DATE

CLASS TOPIC

ASSIGNMENT DUE

Foundation for Conceptual Thinking and Problem-Solving

T

Aug 20

Introductions

Foundations for Conceptual Thinking

 

Th

Aug 22 

Problem-Solving Process

Research topics for the semester

(last drop/add day)

Read syllabus;

Read academic honesty policy

Ch. 1.1-1.4 Quiz

How Conceptual Thinking is Used

T

Aug 27

Research in everyday life

How to read a research article

List of 10 viable article titles

Ch. 1.5-1.9; MPO Introduction  Test

Th

Aug 29

Critical reading of research

Bring five unique articles; Ch 1.10-11 Quiz

T

Sept 3

Existing Sources of Information

2.12-2.14; 4.6; MPO  Step 2 & 3 Test

Th

Sept 5

Developing Questions

Annotations and Synthesis

Skills to Gather Information

T

Sept 10

Questionnaire construction

MPO Step 4 & App; Ch 2.5,2.7,2.9-2.11 Test

Th

Sept 12

Observations and non-obtrusive measures

 

T

Sept 17

Interview guidelines

 

Th

Sept 19

Instrument workday-meet in computer lab

MPO Step 5 Quiz

T

Sept 24

Instrument critique

Two copies of Draft Instrument due

Practice Gathering Information-Crunch Time

Th

Sept 26

Data collection practice

Revised group instrument due

T

Oct 1

Data collection practice

MPO Step 6 & 7  Test

Re-revised group instrument due

Th

Oct 3

Data collection practice

MPO Step 8 Quiz

Project Implementation and Data Processing

Mon

Oct 7

Mayor’s Walk at Bishop Park-

 

T

Oct 8

On-site data collection

 

Th

Oct 10

On-site data collection

 

T

Oct 15

On-site data collection Withdrawal deadline

 

Th

Oct 17

On-site data collection

 

Additional Skills and Techniques for Research and Evaluation

T

Oct 22

Statistics Overview

Data Processing Due; Ch. 3.1-3.7 Test

Th

Oct 24 

Mail Survey

Ch. 2.8 Quiz

T

Oct 29

Sampling

Ch. 2.6 Quiz

Th

Oct 31

Fall Break!

 

T

Nov 5

GRPA-No Class

 

What did we learn? How do we apply it in the future?

Th

Nov 7

Data Reporting

Ch. 4.3-4.5 Quiz

T

Nov 12

Share drafts and insights

Two copies of Summary draft due

Th

Nov 14

Applications to internships and careers

 

T

Nov 19

Share reports in-class

Summary paper due

Th

Nov 21

Share reports in-class

 

T

Nov 26

Course evaluation and recommendations

Reflection paper due

Th

Nov 27-9

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

T

Dec 3

Applications to internships and careers

 

Th

Dec 4

Awards banquet Dec 6…hope to see you!

 

Fri.

Dec 5

Wrap-up and questions

Bulleted research proposal due

Tues.

Dec. 17

Final Exam Period: Tuesday 7-10 pm 

Process the research proposals

 

Attendance and Due Dates: Attendance will be taken on a regular basis and reinforced by in-class tests, quizzes, activities, discussion, and skill development.  There is a strong connection between class attendance and comprehension of material and grade performance.  Excused absences must be cleared with the instructor in advance (e-mail/phone message acceptable), unless documentation is provided after an unexpected illness/emergency. Make-ups for any assignment that occurs during the class meeting will not be allowed for an unexcused absence.  In the case of an excused absence for a quiz, test or peer feedback, the paper or make-up written assignment for in-class activities is due at the beginning of class, one week after the original date. All assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class; otherwise, they will be considered late.  Late assignments will result in automatic lowering of the grade 10% for each 24-hour period.  Students participating in university-sponsored extracurricular activities (including intercollegiate athletics, conferences, field trips) must bring notification of class days to be missed in advance of the event in order for the absence to be excused.

 

Tests and Quizzes: Due to the nature of the class and the integration of content and application to work-place scenarios, it will be important to gain an understanding of the content quickly and at a steady pace.  For this reason, frequent quizzes and tests will be used to help you stay accountable for the reading and as a springboard for discussion and activities in class.  One lowest quiz grade and one lowest test grade will be dropped (if a quiz or test is missed, a score of zero will be entered).  If the absence is excused, the make-up quiz or test will be a detailed summary of the reading material assigned for that day.  It must be submitted by the beginning of class within one week of the date missed or it will not be accepted.

 

Written assignments: All assignments are to be TYPED, 1-inch margins, 12-point font, follow APA formatting guidelines (double-spaced, in-text references, reference list).  Spelling, grammar and formatting mistakes will count against the overall grade of the assignment.  Please take advantage of the computer services and writing center on campus.

 

Academic Integrity: “Academic honesty is vital to the very fabric and integrity of UGA.  All students must comply with an appropriate and sound academic honesty policy and code of honest behavior (p37-38 Undergraduate Bulletin).”  “All students are responsible for maintaining the highest standards of honesty and integrity in every phase of their academic careers. The penalties for academic dishonesty are severe and ignorance is not an acceptable defense (A Culture of Honesty).” All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty."  Each student is responsible to inform themselves about those standards before performing any academic work.  See: www.uga.edu/ovpi   Please be aware, the most common mistake made by writers is that of paraphrasing without giving credit.  Make sure when you use information from another source that you give appropriate credit…either direct quotes with reference, or reference the idea. See the UGA website: http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/apastyle.html for further citation information.

 

Special Needs: Any student with special needs should speak to the instructor the first week of class.  Every effort will be made to effectively accommodate disabilities and special needs.

 

The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary. This syllabus is as accurate as possible at this time, any changes will be discussed in class and communicated through e-mail. 

 

It is your responsibility to check the e-mail account you provided regularly.