Ask someone the following question: “What does the word 

curriculum mean to you?”  You can

phrase the question any way you would like but your intent is to get a general understanding
of curriculum from the speaker.  Your choice of speaker (stranger, business partner, family
member, co-worker, principal and so on) is up to you but if you want to make it interesting,
maybe ask someone who is not directly involved in education.   

Ask the person to explain his or her viewpoint.  Where did s/he collect the information? Ask
follow-up questions to get more details. 

Take note of the speaker’s response and write down or record the details immediately following
the discussion.  Who did you ask?  When did you ask them?  Where did you ask them?  What
was his/her immediate reaction?  This discussion should take no more than thirty minutes.  

Now, create the written narrative of the exchange.  Write about the experience and draw upon
your notes to help build the story of the exchange.  In addition to constructing the story, describe
the setting.  Conclude your written work by reflecting on the talk.  What did you learn about
curriculum from this dialogue?

 The purpose of this assignment is two-fold.  In this course, you will be dialoguing the
term curriculum with your online peers but in this activity, you discover what others in your
immediate environment think/know about curriculum. 

The second purpose is to begin practicing the ideas of academic research specifically how to
present a question to a participant, to collect data, and to record data.  Researchers have to begin
somewhere and usually, they start by asking someone a particular question and taking notes.  I
am not asking you to keep extensive data but just ask this question, take a few notes and
compose a short summary of the exchange.  Use the narrative voice when writing to recount this
experience.  

Submit a paper which is 2-3 pages in length (no more than 3-pages), exclusive of the reference
page. The paper should be double-spaced.  The paper should cite at least 2 additional sources in
APA format.  The paper should be well-written using Times New Roman, 12 point font. Check
all content for grammar, spelling and to be sure that you have properly cited all resources (in
APA format) used. A rubric will be used to evaluate your paper.

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent
information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style. The OWL
website can be accessed here: 

Purdue writing lab - resources. (n.d.). Purdue

University. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

 Save a copy of this assignment and keep it handy because you will revisit it in the next
unit.
 Proofread your work to make sure your responses are clear and coherent. Please be mindful of
the quality of work you compose and turn in at the graduate level.   Contact your instructor if you
have any questions or concerns.  

Papers will be peer-assessed using this rubric.