The
System of Levels used by the Bahá’í Academy and the Wilmette Institute
August 2003
NOTES – Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa
(ABS)
The following is an
extract describing the system of levels used by the Bahá’í Academy and the Wilmette
Institute. It has been modified by the ABS version of this course as the ABS
will not be offering a letter grade for Century of Light, and is not requiring
a student to submit assignments. The assignments have been included in the ABS
syllabus as options. .
******
1. ASSIGNMENTS:
There is a three-level system for the course:
The introductory level is designed for
those who do not need university credit and want a basic course that will help
them teach the Faith more effectively.
The intermediate level is designed for
learners who want to be challenged to go more deeply into study of the
materials of the course. It is designed
to be completed at the level of a third or fourth-year undergraduate course at
a university.
The advanced level is designed to be
completed at the level of a graduate course.
TABLE 1: Summary of ongoing
and completion assignments for all levels.
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ONGOING ASSIGNMENTS |
COMPLETION ASSIGNMENTS |
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READING (See Study Program) |
POSTINGS MINIMUM (See Discussion Options) |
LITERARY PROJECT Options |
APPLIED PROJECT Options |
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Introductory level |
Reading and discussion assignments are
the same for all levels, with the exception of posting to the listserver,
which should be as noted in the next column. See weekly study schedule. |
One per unit = 12 postings. No minimum length. A few lines are
sufficient. |
1–6 pages: Options: 1.Self evaluation 2.Essay on one of the themes or objectives 3.Essay on an aspect of Century of Light
|
Applied projects are the same for all
levels. The completion of only one from the entire list shown below is required. Artistic Projects: 1.
Poetry 2.
Short story 3.
Song(s) 4.
Painting 5.
Sculpture 6.
Dance Dramatic Presentation 7.
Skit 8.
Monologue 9.
Other theatrical Presentational Projects 10.
Fireside-talk to a
mainly none-Bahá’í audience. 11.
Deepening class 12.
Slide presentation
(with PowerPoint or other similar program) Other Projects Knowledge Map 13.
Chart 14.
Graph 15.
Illustration 16.
Timeline 17.
You may propose an
applied project to your mentor for approval |
|
Intermediate level 3rd or 4th year
under-graduate course |
One per unit = 12 postings. Average: one typed double-spaced page
(250 words) |
8–14 page write-up: Options: 1.
Research paper on
one of the themes 2.
Curriculum for
presentation |
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Advanced Level postgraduate course |
one per unit = 12 postings. Average: two typed double-spaced pages
(500 words) |
15–25 page write-up Options: 1.
Research Paper on
one of the themes 2.
Research paper on a
topic of your choice to be agreed with your mentor |
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A literary project may be combined with
an applied project in one final completion assignment. For example charts and
diagrams may be included with a research paper. This will satisfy both
requirements. |
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2. COMPLETION
ASSIGNMENT:
In addition to participating in ongoing discussions per
one or more of the options mentioned above, every student must at the end of
the course submit a literary (written) assignment and carry out one of the
applied projects listed below.
3. LITERARY PROJECTS – OPTIONS, REPORT FORMS
Literary projects primarily focus on writing something
related to the themes and objectives of Century of Light. They help you
systematically develop your understanding of the work, though they usually do
not involve presenting your new learning to others.
A. Introductory
Level: A 1–6 page write-up. For students
wishing to complete the course at the introductory level, a short (1–6 pages) write-up
must be completed in accordance with one of the following options:
Option 1: Self Assessment: This simple option requires the completion of the Learning
Self-Assessment form (enclosed). The purpose of the learning
self-assessment form is to allow a student to record a summary of what he or
she has learned and pass the information on to the mentor. Your summary may
include: new understandings and insights gained; skills acquired or improved;
new feelings or attitudes you have experienced; changes in understanding how to
share the Faith; and ways of applying or using the course materials you have
considered. In short, it gives an
opportunity for you to review in detail what you have gained from the course,
for your own benefit and for your mentor's information.
Option 2 Short Write-Up: Write 1–6 pages on some aspect of Century of Light. If possible, relate your write-up to one of
the themes or objectives of the book.
Otherwise, write about any aspect of the book that you find interesting.
You may quote from the book or other sources but the sum total of your
quotations should not exceed 20% of your total write-up.
B.
Intermediate Level: An
8–14 page write-up. At the
intermediate undergraduate) level, the completion of an 8–14 page research
paper is required.
Option 1: You may select one or more of the Theme
Questions for your research paper/essay.
Option 2: Prepare a curriculum
of similar length for one or more presentations on Century of Light
(firesides, deepenings, youth classes, or other).
Before beginning the paper, it is advisable to send a
one-paragraph summary and a list of the major points, or a draft outline, to
your mentor.
C. Advanced
Level: A 15–25 Page Research Paper. At the advanced
(postgraduate) level, a 15–25 page research paper based on one of the following
options is required.
Option 1: You may select one or more of the Theme
Questions for your research paper.
Option 2: Choose a topic that you feel responds to the
objectives of Century of Light.
Before beginning the paper, you are advised to send a
one-paragraph summary and a list of the major points, or a draft outline, to
your mentor, to make sure the result will be considered as work at the graduate
level. Your advisor may be able to suggest authors to read in order to ensure
your work is in dialogue with existing research (which is a key element of
graduate study).
4.
GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PAPERS
(Intermediate or Advanced Level)
The research paper
should have the following:
Title page stating your name, the
title of the paper, course, and date
The text (8–14 pages, intermediate
level; 15–25 pages, advanced level)
Citations with full bibliographic
information
The title page
gives the reader the basic information about the paper and provides a place to
write comments. The paper must be on a
topic related to the course.
The text should
have a thesis statement near the beginning, stating what approach or point the
paper will argue. Papers that are
primarily descriptive are acceptable, but if a paper is to be written at the
graduate level it should argue a point. Graduate level papers must also be in
dialogue with the relevant scholarly literature. Please double space the paper
and leave standard margins (one inch in North America) so that readers have
room to write comments.
Citations are
important because they inform the reader where you found your information and
help him or her distinguish between ideas that are yours and ideas that are
from your sources. All non-routine
information and observations or conclusions by others should be footnoted. Good citations are very important in making
a paper complete and honest; they also can give the reader confidence in your
statements. A good citation must enable
the reader to go find the information or observation being cited, and thus must
include the author’s full name, the book’s complete title, the publisher, the
place of publication, the date of publication, the edition number (if any), the
volume number (if any), the issue number (if any), the name of translator (if
any), the name of editor (if any), page number, and any other information that
makes the source unique.
The Bahá’í Academy
and Wilmette Institute do not require any particular system of citation; you
may use the system in which you are most experienced. Any of the following basic systems are acceptable:
1. A short parenthetical reference in the text
(such as [Smith, 36], where “36” is the page number) and a full citation in the
bibliography.
2. A numbered note at the bottom of the page
(footnotes) or at the end of the paper (endnotes) containing a short
bibliographic reference, with the full citation in the bibliography.
3. A footnote or endnote where the first
reference to a source gives its full bibliographic information and subsequent
references to it giving a shortened form of the entry. In this form of citation, a bibliography
page may be unnecessary.
The paper should include footnotes and a bibliography and
should be in dialogue with relevant scholarly literature.
For more
information about papers, the form in which they should be written, and use of
citations, contact the Wilmette Institute.
5. APPLIED
PRESENTATION PROJECTS:
Applied projects
are intended to provide students with the opportunity to express the insights,
significances and/or ideas gained from Century of Light in applicable
verbal, visual, or audiovisual forms. They provide the opportunity for creating
powerful applications which, when well done, will be of considerable impact in
“sharing with others the challenging implications of the revelation brought
by Bahá'u'lláh..”
Students at all three levels should,
by the end of the course, select and complete only one of the several applied
project options listed below under the headings:
Artistic projects -
those
prepared by a student, which may be presented to others.
Presentational
projects - those prepared and shared with others.
Other projects.
Each set of projects is followed by
Reports Forms with instructions on how they should be completed. After you
select and implement one project, fill up its report form and forward it to
your mentor, the Bahá’í Academy, or the Wilmette Institute within the time
allocated in the program.
The headings and subdivisions of the
projects are nominal. For example many of the suggested presentational projects
require artistic talent. If one of the items listed under Artistic Projects is
prepared by a student and shared with others in the context of making a
presentation on Century of Light, then it is considered to be an
Artistic Presentational Project.
Combinations of Projects. You may wish to
complete a project that combines two or more types of projects. For example, in the course of planning a
fireside you may wish to include charts, diagrams, or even a slide presentation
in support of your views; or you may wish to include a poem or song or a
knowledge map during a deepening class.
Be creative in learning ways that are useful to you and your community
for implementing the objective of Century of Light. But when you submit work to us, please
provide us with at least two pages about the project you completed and please
be sure to explain it clearly, so that we can evaluate the work effectively and
offer you useful comments about it.
Feel free to adapt or modify any of the existing forms for projects to
create your own form.
Each of the above project types is
described and followed by generic report forms. A generic variant of the forms can also be downloaded from the
website in a variety of formats; go to:
http://wilmetteinstitute.org/forms.
The forms need not be followed
rigidly; you may retype them, change the spacing between items, add your own
items to them, and in some cases you may wish to drop items that are not
relevant to your particular project. The important thing is to be creative and
do something that will result in learning something new, for reading alone
rarely results in deep or permanent learning.
It is also important to aim your project towards one of the themes or
the objective of Century of Light and not explore an obscure or minor
aspect.
Whenever you submit a project to us, PLEASE
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME!
II.
Artistic Projects Options
1. Poetry, Short Stories, Songs, Painting,
Sculpture, Dance. For any of these
efforts to serve as a project for this course, it must relate to the material
being studied, either by using the material directly or by being inspired by
the material. There is no required
minimum length for the work. It should,
however, be accompanied by a 1–2 page explanation that describes how it was
created and how it uses the material of the course.
2. Dramatic Presentations. A dramatic presentation might involve a
skit, monologue, or other form. It
could be primarily theatrical or educative.
A reporting form is included at the end of this section. In some cases an audio or videotape might be
an appropriate item to include when describing the project.
In view of the
nature and subject matter of Century of Light, those inclined towards
theater and drama will find in it a mine rich with events that can be
dramatized is such a way as to express themes or objectives of the book. If you
are so inclined, we encourage you to creatively rise to the occasion. –
prepare, for example, (dialogue for) a play which you will hopefully produce in
future to the delight of your audience.
I.1.
Learning Self-Assessment Reporting Form
(Introductory Level)
NAME
_______________________ COURSE
_______________________
MENTOR
_______________________
1. Summarize material learned.
2. Summarize understandings and insights gained
(comparisons, contrasts, analysis, synthesis, interpretation).
3. Summarize
skills acquired or improved.
4. Summarize new
feelings or attitudes experienced.
5. Summarize
changes in values and beliefs.
6. Summarize ways
you can apply or use what you have gained.
II.1-2. Artistic
Presentations: Reporting Form
NAME _______________________ COURSE _______________________
MENTOR
_______________________
Note: if
appropriate, you may wish to submit an audio or videotape with this form.
1. Type of artistic presentation: ___________________
2. Please describe briefly how you were
inspired to produce this work
3. What steps did you go through in completing
this work?
4. If you presented the work, please complete
the following:
A.
Where presented: __________________________________________________
B.
When presented: ___________________________
C.
Who sponsored the presentation?
_________________________________
D.
How many attended? ________ E.
How many Bahá'ís? ________
5. What obstacles or problems did you overcome
in the course of creating this work?
6. Please attach to this form a 1-2 page
description of how the artistic work expresses ideas studied in this course.
1. Firesides. A fireside is
here defined as any presentation developed primarily for a non-Bahá'í
audience. It need not have a large
audience and formal venue; a presentation over lunch to one person is
fine. For the purposes of this course,
however, the presentation should be planned, not spontaneous. The report can be of a hypothetical fireside
you want to give at some point in the future; it need not be a report of an
event that has actually taken place. A
reporting form is included at the end of this section; it offers further details.
2.
Deepenings/Classes. A deepening or class
is here defined as any presentation developed primarily for a Bahá'í
audience. It need not have a large
audience and formal venue; a presentation in your living room to one or two
persons is fine. For the purposes of
this course, however, the presentation should be planned, not spontaneous. It could be for a weekend school, a
children's class, a local committee, or it could be privately arranged. The report can be of a hypothetical
presentation you want to give at some point in the future; it need not be a
report of an event that has actually taken place. A reporting form is included at the end of this section; it
offers further details.
3. Slide Presentation is here defined as a
presentation prepared by Microsoft’s “PowerPoint” or by any other similar
program. The presentation, 15 slides minimum, should address one of the themes
or objectives of Century of Light. Slides should include visual aids
such as graphs, diagrams and pictures supporting the concepts being
conveyed. The presentation can be one
you plan to give at some point in the future. Of course if you are able to show
it to a small group or even to one person, you will benefit from realizing its
impact and be able to share your experience.
A reporting form is included at the end of this section; it offers
further details.
III.1-2. Presentational Project: Firesides.
Reporting Form
NAME _______________________ COURSE _______________________
MENTOR _______________________
Please attach a 1-2 page outline or description of the
contents of the presentation, and a list of references used. If you gave handouts to your audience (which
we encourage), please attach copies.
1. Describe the
event.
2. Please provide
the following information about the event:
A. Where held: __________________________________________________
B. When held: ___________________________
C. Who sponsored it? _________________________________