Each learner will write a thorough, in-depth literature review paper on one of the major topics from this course. The subject may be any of the major topics of the course (e.g.: principles of curriculum, principles of instruction, learning productivity, program or instructional design in corporate, non-traditional, or distance learning environments, evaluation, mobile learning, technology based learning methods, informal learning, mico-learning, gamification, etc.). Feel free to provide your own “angle” or point of view, but the paper must be research-based and thorough. If you are contemplating an education-based dissertation, this paper can serve as a good portion of your literature review (Chapter 2).

Please turn in a one or two paragraph description of your proposed topic via email not later than . The write-up can be very brief—I just want to know what you plan to work on. It is important to share your topic with me and decide on it early so that we can make sure it is appropriate for the course and that the scope is about right (a topic can be so broad that a thorough review of literature might take over a hundred pages or so narrow that there are only a small handful of articles about it). We also need to decide on the topic early enough that you will have time to conduct your research, read all of the relevant articles and books, and write your paper.

The paper will be graded on the quality of research, thoroughness, and quality of writing. A good review of literature should review all of the most important research on your chosen topic. There is no page requirement, only a thoroughness requirement. Therefore, you should select a topic that you can thoroughly review in approximately 15 pages and should consider at least 20 scholarly articles or books on your topic. If you end up with a broader topic that requires more pages than that, it is perfectly acceptable.

Additionally, each student will deliver a brief, high-level overview of his/her topic and why this topic is important in the field of education or adult learning on (our second face-to-face meeting). This informal, oral presentation should be a maximum of 10 minutes (including questions and discussion). Consider sharing any initial findings and issues, and do so in a way that sparks your audience’s interest. Use what you know about andragogy to craft an engaging presentation.