Advanced Projects (APs)

Annotated Sample AP Research Papers:

“Poiema” by Douglass Carrington is a research paper on poetry that accompanied a chapbook of original poems. This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2006.

“Victory Against Nature: Chicago, Sewerage, and the Artificial River” by Stephen R. Jones is a research paper that accompanies a collection of photographs from the Chicago Department of Sewers that the author digitalized and published on the Internet for the Chicago Public Library. This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2006.

Additional Advanced Projects:

"SWOT Analysis of Friends of the Orphans" (AP product) and "Analysis of SWOT Analysis" (AP paper) by Kelly Friskics won an Excellence Award in 2011. Kelly Friskics conducted a SWOT analysis of Friends of the Orphans and analyzed the SWOT analysis method itself.

"Workplace Bullying: A Timely Exploration of a Timeless Problem" (AP paper) and "Workplace Bullying: An Online Resource to Help Address and Prevent Bullying at Work" (AP product) by Colleen Moran won an Excellence Award in 2011. This project aims to "increase awareness about, and provide solutions to, the problem of workplace bullying."

"The Paralegal Profession: An Examination of Its History and Viability in the Current Job Market" (AP paper) and "The Successful Paralegal: Building a Career in a Fast-Growing and Competitive New Field" (AP product) by Gabrielle Heard won an Excellence Award in 2011. This project provides advice to new paralegals and "explores the history of the paralegal profession, its impact on the practice of law, the challenges involved in pursuing it and its prospects as a sustainable career option over time."

"An Exploration: How the Arts Impact Teaching and Learning" by Stacey Grieff. This project "combines content research and experiential learning to explore the ways in which arts-based instruction can help kids learn and teachers grow and develop further as educators. It includes a discussion of instruction methodology for using the arts within the context of the classroom and the ways in which the quality and structure of implementation impacts students’ ability to connect with, learn through and learn from the arts. Also included are: a reflective account of creating and implementing an arts-based lesson, the lesson plan and handouts developed for use with the lesson, an evaluation of the lesson plan and its implementation and finally, samples of student work resulting from the lesson." This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2010.

"International NGOs Projects/Programs Design, Implementation and Evaluation Processes in Central Africa" by Claude Chofi. Building on his education both in the Eastern Democratic Replublic of Congo and at SNL and his professional experience working for NGOs as well as interviews with current and former NGO project directors, Claude Chofi shows the need for including "all the stakeholders with a particular attention to the beneficiary population whose support and participation are needed for the success of the project. In other words, the beneficiaries must be at the center of the project; they must fully participate in all phases of the project from the design to the evaluation." This Advanced Project won the Weinberg Award in 2010.

"An Analysis of the Creative Writing Process and its Elements" by Jason Barry. Jason observes that, "Every college student knows how to write. After all, most of us have been writing papers as early as high school and stories as early as grade school. However, as students grow into adults, the process of writing naturally gets more complex. By the time a student reaches the undergraduate level it becomes evident that writing is not all that easy; and that creative writing takes skill and practice. This project will explore exactly what creative writing is, where it comes from and how it works. After the creative writing process is analyzed, in order to show the practical application of the process, a short story will be provided and related to the material discussed." This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2010.

"Progress & Privilege: Blackness, Femininity, and the Evolution of the Talented Tenth" by Joy Boggs. In this Advanced Project, Joy reports on her research interviewing black women who have completed graduate degrees. This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2009.

"New Relationships in Old Music: Is there a Connection Between the Music of Medieval Spain and the Music of the French Troubadours" and "Qiyan Heritage" by Christine A. Dirks. In this research paper and start of a novel, Christine uses academic and creative writing to explore the evidence for the largely neglected connection between two musical traditions. Her research, in showing how Arab and European cultures in the Medieval period were linked challenges some popular assumptions about the relationship between these cultures.

"Careless Girls and Repentant Wives: Gender in Postwar Classroom Films" by Megan Stemm-Wade. Megan analyzes the representations of women and women's roles in the educational films of the fifties and early sixties, showing that "Beneath the lessons about dating and etiquette were some very specific messages to women in particular: deny your sexual urges; take on all responsibility for keeping boys in line and marriages harmonious; and in all things except sex, be submissive to men." This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2008.

"Cultural Attributes of Successful Entrepreneurship Among Non-Western Countries" by Vincent Dabney. After reviewing the scholarship on entrepreneurship in non-western countries, Vincent concludes that the literature indicates "a strong correlational relationship between institutional culture, firm culture and national culture to the formation of enterprises.  The literature also indicates that cultural attributes that influence entrepreneurship vary across countries and depend largely on the social and political context in which economic exchange occurs." This Advanced Project won an Excellence Award in 2008.

AP Writing Tasks:

Advanced Projects typically included a product and a substantial research paper. Students work on their Advanced Projects with their professional advisor (PA) and faculty mentor. Advanced Projects are the culmination of the student’s work in his or her focus area. Students submitting APs have three to four writing tasks:

Advanced Project Worksheet – This worksheet helps you brainstorm possible Advanced Project ideas. Once you complete it, share it with your faculty mentor and professional advisor to get their feedback.

Advanced Project Proposal and Contract – Use this form to formally propose your Advanced Project to your committee. You can expect to revise the form a few times as your committee helps you develop, focus and refine your ideas.

The Research Paper – the examples above include a vareity of different papers. Note how each author has adjusted the format and the content of his paper to meet the particular needs of his project. Even more than most SNL competences, there is tremendous variety in the projects and, thus, papers students do for Advanced Project. To get a sense of this variety, look at the examples in chapter 5 of the Foundation’s book.

Some projects, like the poetry chapbook mentioned above, can also be written.

More Help:

See chapter 5 in the Foundations Book for more on the Advanced Project.

Ideas and Examples for the Advanced Project

Student A has dreamed about entering into an entrepreneurial business. For the Advanced Project, she will develop a business plan with a 5-year marketing plan.

Student B will carry out a study proposed in Research Seminar where she will work with a team in her neighborhood to create an alternative to youth sentencing based on Balance and Restorative Justice. Her Focus Area is in Work Studies.

Student C will examine the impact of technology on daily life. He will research computer crime, presenting the types, techniques and relevant law.

Student D will research and develop a counseling program for the treatment of drug and alcohol dependency. This will form part of her Focus Area in human resources.

Student E will analyze the change in management anticipated in the second millennium and the reduction of middle manager positions. She will approach this problem from several points of view including organizational and human resource impacts.

Student F, whose Focus Area is in the construction business, will design a floor plan and architectural blueprint for a new house. She will pay special attention to investigating code and zoning requirements.

Student G will draw up plans, based on his work in Research Seminar, for restoring the ecological balance in several of the canals and channels in the Chicago suburban area. His Focus Area is in Environment and Ecology.

Student H will focus on the investigation of Resource Based Relative Value Scale systems for healthcare reimbursement in order to properly serve the managed care environment.

Student I will explore the short story form, reading, analyzing, and writing about a selection of a dozen or so short stories and write several drafts of her own story. She will also participate in a writers' group for feedback and professional growth.

Student J will define and develop skills in drawing others into a vision, plan, and exercise of lay outreach ministry. His Focus Area is in parish ministry.

Student K will draw on his Focus Area in counseling and his experience as a parent of adopted children. He will design and write a manual for parents of adopted children.

-- from the Foundations of Adult Learning Resource Book, May 2007