Example

TEACHER COMMUNITIES of PRACTICE in SURINAME:

Transforming Professional Development through Distributed Expertise

NAME (in caps)

NAME (in caps)
NAME (in caps)
NAME (in caps)
NAME (in caps)

CASE STUDIES in EDUCATION INNOVATION

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Prof. dr. Koen Lombaerts
Prof. dr. Fred Mednick

Option: (Choose one, of course: Communities of Practice, Teacher Professional

Development, Teacher of the Year,
TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

[Date]

STYLE SHEET
This research paper is an academic treatment of your lens, as applied to the focus, and reflective of
your reading and engagement.
 10-15 pages
 Times New Roman 11.5 for normal text, line spacing: 1.15
 Cite sources using APA style in the document and in a separate bibliography (not counted in
your 20-page total)
 Annotated bibliography of at least 8 substantial research articles (also not counted in your 20-
page total)

TABLE of CONTENTS: STYLE SHEET

The Table of Contents is based upon MS Word’s Heading 2 style; please use them because it makes
navigation a lot easier for the reader.
 If you want to change the title in the Table of Contents (below), it won’t work.
 If you change the title of a heading in the document itself, it will work.
 After you make changes to a heading, to see it in the Table of Contents…
o Go to the TOC, right-click or Ctl click on Table of Contents
o Choose Update Field, then
o Update Entire Table to refresh the Table of Contents.
 Points will be taken off for sloppy attention to detail.

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TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

Table of Contents

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Purpose of the Project, Goal, Intended Impacts .............................................................................. 4
Research Review ............................................................................................................................. 4
Evidence: Data Gathering and Inputs ............................................................................................ 6
Benchmarks and Assessment Criteria............................................................................................. 6
The Deliverable ............................................................................................................................... 7
Sustainability Component ............................................................................................................... 7
Challenges: Expected, Uncovered, Forecasted ............................................................................... 7
Conclusions and Recommendations for Deliverable ...................................................................... 8
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 8
Optional Appendix: Survey Questions .......................................................................................... 8

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TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

Abstract
(250 words maximum)

An Abstract is the entire paper in a condensed form, written for those seeking to learn more. An
abstract summarizes, usually in one paragraph of 250 words or less, the major aspects of the entire
paper in a prescribed sequence that includes: 1) the overall purpose of the study and the research
problem(s) you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or trends found as a
result of your analysis; and, 4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.
The abstract allows you to elaborate upon each major aspect of the paper and helps readers decide
whether they want to read the rest of the paper. Therefore, enough key information [e.g., summary
results, observations, trends, etc.] must be included to make the abstract useful to someone who may
want to examine your work.
How do you know when you have enough information in your abstract? A simple rule-of-thumb is to
imagine that you are another researcher doing a similar study. Then ask yourself: if your abstract was
the only part of the paper you could access, would you be happy with the amount of information
presented there? Does it tell the whole story about your study? If the answer is "no" then the abstract
likely needs to be revised.

Key Words/Tags: (list them here)

Purpose of the Project, Goal, Intended Impacts

(1.5 pages)
 Reference the Suriname documents
 Provide contextual information about the setting—its history, mission, track-record for taking
on curriculum revision or adaptation initiatives. Examine the forces at play in favor of—or as
obstacles to—success.
 Theory of Change (TOC) structure can serve as a viable a reference point
 Determine the nature of the audience

Research Review
(3 pages)
Examine the independent research on the deliverable/challenge itself; provide more detail about
possible parallel programs—and, if so—how they might fit into the cultural context or meet the
demand of the deliverable. Since you are conducting an external case study (objective analysis) as
well as a project deliverable in a rapidly changing, subjective context, you are going to have to thread
the needle between a scholarly pursuit and a profoundly human, changeable dynamic.

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TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

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TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

Evidence: Data Gathering and Inputs

(2+ pages)
 This is where you discuss your plan for—and (if possible) intervention in—the Suriname
project, including how you determined the data to collect and how you collected it;
interviews, document review, observations, participation in training sessions. Compare the
background on the curriculum challenge you explored in the research (see “Background on
the Curriculum Challenge”) and what you see here.
 Add to “Appendix: Surveys and Interviews” a summary of questions from your surveys and
interviews, as well as your process for OBJECTIVELY drawing conclusions from what data
and insights you have gathered
 As for surveys, describe the subject of the survey and think through: “What do I want to
know?” and “What do I need to know?” Ask: “Who should I ask?” and describe who was
surveyed, relevant demographic data
o Assess what your target audience expects to gain from the survey. In this case, it
might be the development of a model based upon perception, so your survey
might focus on beneficiaries, rather than actual trainers. This is a delicate choice.
Sometimes researchers conduct similar surveys from the perspective of both.
o As for the types of surveys, you can consult your earlier courses, but make certain
to follow a consistent guide and explain it here. Here’s some help:
https://explorable.com/selecting-the-survey-method
o As for reporting the results of the survey, be very specific – what you asked, what
you learned, what conclusions you drew from data collected, and how you can
justify the conclusions you drew
 Regarding inputs, these are mostly about assets: existing expertise, resources,
partnerships, policies, funding, time, space, incentives/motivations.

Benchmarks and Assessment Criteria

(2 pages)
We are all very well aware that time is short. Do your best to find measurement criteria and a set of
benchmarks along the way. What would be the steps for this to happen? Think about your leadership
course, design thinking, and other academic and social-cause training you have developed and
learned to date.
 If you are focusing on COPs, then what would constitute adoption? How would you inspire
early adopters to cascade their enthusiasm to others?
 If you are focusing on teacher professional development and the Certificate of Teaching
Mastery, how might courses take hold, be integrated into Suriname’s existing structure, or
stand outside it?

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TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

 If you are focusing on the Teacher of the Year program, what steps must be place and how
momentum can inspire other teachers.
 If you are focusing on education in the interior, you several dual challenges for the research
and the deliverable—how to identify great teachers in Suriname’s ten districts and a process
by which they might make their excellence known and shared; and how also to feed teachers
in those same districts a set of interesting materials that they might use to teach their peers.
And....all of this within a context of shifting political alliances and, more often than not,
capricious education policy or spotty attention to the interior.

The Deliverable
(2 pages)
In a word, “deliver” it. Show us what you’ve done.

Sustainability Component
(1.5 pages)
In development work, a true success can be measured when the outside actor is no longer needed. In
education initiatives such as this one, a consistent central question arises: As you work on the
deliverable(s) and develop the case around it, keep in mind the importance of building a sustainable
structure that (at its best) can be resilient in the face of change (political, economic). In other words,
how can you bake this positive intervention into a way of life? How can you not only reach the
people who reach the people, but set in motion a structure for identifying and nurturing leaders for
the long run?

Challenges: Expected, Uncovered, Forecasted

(1.5 to 2 pages)

Stuff happens. That’s just the nature of work in the field of education. To the best of your ability
(given a limited time frame), identify what challenges you see, obstacles you notice, or deficits to
address before the entity can create a successful project. Sometimes challenges are expected all
along—an employee’s union may complain about excessive work hours; enthusiasm may wane
because teachers and community/government agencies are often tyrannized by the urgent. What
challenges did you or they expect? What new ones arose? What challenges do you and the entity see
ahead? What challenges does the entity not yet see or accept? What’s missing or standing in the
way of success?
Compare theory with reality. Compare the new reality with an emerging theory of change. This is
all the more reason that a Theory of Change is necessary so that you can develop a discipline toward
academic research and provide somewhat of a leave-behind for the setting on which you are
focusing.

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TITLE OF PAPER (ALL CAPS). No need for subtitle

Conclusions and Recommendations for Deliverable

(2+ pages)
CONCLUSION
 As a Case Study, what does Suriname teach the rest of the world about educational
intervention (or the those in Latin America and the Caribbean)? What you learned from
this process?
 When you look at the research and the context you are working in, what conclusions can
you draw (to date)? What evidence do you have for your conclusion(s)?
 What might be a theory of change for this place?

DELIVERABLE: RECOMMENDATIONS
 What remains to be done in order for this deliverable to take root and show measurable
impacts?
 What challenges should be addressed and opportunities to leverage in developing this
further for greater implementation, sustainability, or scale?

Bibliography
 Separate page, not included in page count
 Include all sources footnoted and consulted in the document
 APA style format

Optional Appendix: Survey Questions

Separate page(s), not included in page count