Community Impact Group Project & Presentation

As much as instructors work to predict the challenges and success students will experience
during their transition to college, topics of inquiry also emerge organically through your own
experiences. The Community Impact Project research empowers you to inquire about such
topics and engage intrinsic motivation for. Assignment topics and presentation formats should
be proposed to the instructor, with time for instructor feedback and subsequent student
revision, prior to the presentation delivery itself.

Community Impact
As a member of the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) community, you have an obligation
and responsibility to impact the campus environment in a positive way. Each student will be
assigned to work with a group of peers to identify, investigate, and propose a solution to a
challenge or issue facing NSU students. The presentation must research a community issue that
impacts not only yourselves as students, but the broader communities of which you are a part.

Evidence-Based Presentation
Each group will present on their evidence-based findings, including:
 the identification and definition of the studied issue
 how the issue affects/may affect the student population at NSU
 how the issue affects/may affect the larger community
 explanation of the research that the group members conducted to better
understand how this issue has affected students
 what solutions have been suggested and attempted in other environments to
address this issue
 the team’s recommendation for impacting the NSU community through positive
change in this area.

The presentation itself should include:

 Title slide with all group members’ names
 evidence from at least 3 scholarly sources
 evidence from at least 3 popular/trade sources
 a proposed solution (evidence-based) and
 a bibliography in APA format

Assessment Criteria (on the following pages)

 Instructor assesses each group using the “Instructor Evaluation/Checklist”
 Peers assess each of their group members using the “Peer Evaluation”
 Community Impact
Instructor Evaluation/Checklist

Team #:

Content and Organization (3 points) Points Earned:

 Clearly identified a problem facing NSU students.
 Provided relevant evidence from internal and external sources that the problem exists.
 Offered research-based solutions to solving the problem.
 Presentation was well organized and included the required presentation elements –
o Title o evidence (external)
o problem o proposed solution, and
o evidence (NSU) o bibliography

Comments:

Technical Elements (5 points) Points Earned:

 Bibliography was formatted using APA style. Included at least three peer-reviewed
journal articles and at least three other sources (e.g., web sites, blogs, news articles,
videos) to support the problem and/or proposed solution.
 Presentation included proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
 Used clear and appropriate visual aids (e.g., graphics/photos) to support message.
 Slides are visually appealing – font size large enough to read, colors are visually
attractive (e.g., use light background with dark text or dark background with light text).

Comments:

Delivery (2 points) Points Earned:

 Students are professionally dressed (no t-shirts, sandals, etc.)
 Students demonstrate effective oral presentation skills (good eye contact; minimal use
of “um”s, “uh”s, and “you know”s).
 Students spoke using minimal visual cues or note cards and did not read from the
screen.
 Students work together co-presenting, each demonstrating their contribution to the
group’s success.

Comments:

Total Points:
 Community Impact
Peer Evaluation

Instructions: Please complete the following evaluation for each member of your group.

YOUR NAME:
______________________________________________________________________________

Team Member Name:

______________________________________________________________________________

What was his/her team role (i.e., project manager, recorder, checker, spokesperson)?
______________________________________________________________________________

5 = Excellent 4=Good 3=Average 2=Fair 1=Poor

Attended meetings regularly 5 4 3 2 1

Made serious efforts at assigned work 5 4 3 2 1
Made contributions to group meetings 5 4 3 2 1
Completed tasks in a timely manner 5 4 3 2 1
Was an asset to the team 5 4 3 2 1
Following team contract 5 4 3 2 1

Based on your ratings above, assign an overall evaluation (PLEASE CIRCLE ONE RESPONSE):

Excellent: Consistently carried more than his/her fair share of the workload.

Very Good: Consistently did what s/he was supposed to do, very well prepared and
cooperative.

Satisfactory: Usually did what s/he was supposed to do, consistently prepared and cooperative.

Ordinary: Often did what s/he was supposed to do, frequently prepared and cooperative.

Marginal: Sometimes failed to show up or complete assignments; sometimes prepared.

Unsatisfactory: Consistently failed to show up or complete assignments; rarely prepared.

Comments: Provide at least one comment that supports your overall evaluation.