Assignment Instructions
Natural Science Multimedia/Multimodal Assignment
This assignment encourages you to bridge scientific knowledge with personal history, giving you a deeper understanding of how genetics plays a role in your family.
The goal of this assignment is to explore identity from the natural science perspective, then translate your research for a broader audience in an engaging way, specifically through a multimedia/multimodal presentation. See the resources for additional discussion of multimedia and multimodal.
Your focus will be the role of
family genetics in shaping your identity. Your research question will be, who am I?
First, explore a family trait, condition, or characteristic that is prevalent in your family. For instance, you could focus on diseases or disorders, like anxiety or depression, or you could focus on a family trait, like eye color or height. You may also consider race or ethnicity. Next, determine the key points of your research and how you want to organize your information. Then, create a multimedia/multimodal presentation discussing the trait, condition, or characteristic you researched. At the end of the presentation, your audience should be informed on both the trait/condition/characteristic, as well as the role it played in shaping your identity.
Directions:
1.
Choose a Trait: Select a physical characteristic (e.g., eye color, height), a medical condition (e.g., allergies), or a talent/ability (e.g., musicality, athleticism) that seems to run in your family.
2.
Gather Information: Research the chosen trait and its potential genetic basis. Locate sources via the FTCC Library’s database initially. Google Scholar is also another means to locate credible academic sources.
Two to three current academic sources are needed to support this assignment. You may also want to include interviews with family members (parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles).
The sources used from the databases must be from within the last five years and must be accessible by the instructor.
3.
Family History Analysis: Interview family members (parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles) to build a family tree with information about the chosen trait.
4.
Analyze and Discuss: Present your research findings and family history. The presentation’s vehicle can take various forms: Prezi, podcasts, PSAs, Canva, pamphlets. These options reflect the multimodal element of the assignment.
A standard essay is NOT an acceptable vehicle for this assignment.
5.
Conclusion and Future Exploration: Summarize your findings and discuss the role of genetics in shaping your family’s identity. Consider how this trait, condition, or characteristic has affected your family.
6. Include proper citation, and be sure to include an
APA reference page at the end of the presentation, properly formatted.
