Writing the KAM

with Amy Kubista, MALSWriting Specialist

Objectives

• Overview KAM process (and I do mean overview)

• Learn Writing Center resources for writing your KAM

• Find strategies for organizing your information and avoiding common problems

Objectives

• Master KAM formatting• Know common mistakes to avoid• Questions and Answers

As always, remember to ask your professors if you have questions about content.

Your Job as a Scholar

First things first: Remember that your job is to show that you know what you’re talking about and that it’s true and that it matters with doctoral-level research that will pass the critical read of this audience.

KAMs are your assignment for doing that.

Defining an LA and KAM

LA: Contract where you indicate the subject area objectives,

resources, and demonstration of mastery for your KAM.

KAM: Comprehensive, independent unit of study in a social science area.

So What Is a KAM and What Is Its Purpose?

Technically, you write a KAM demonstration. So what are you demonstrating?

A KAM is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge about a topic that interests you and other scholar/ practitioners. . .

. . . a chance to demonstrate you know what you’re talking about and that it’s true and that it matters to this audience.

Haiku Version

A KAM is a chanceTo demonstrate your knowledgeAbout a topic.

One last definition

It is a paper about 90 pages long, and you write what you know about theory and about recent scholarly research (ideally), which you apply to a real-life situation.

What is the purpose?

• To develop your independent research skills and confidence so that you can meet your personal and professional interests and goals.

• To help you understand how you can contribute to social change at some level in your profession.

• To allow you to demonstrate your ability to connect theory, research, and practice.

How Do You Organize a KAM Breadth?

Once you’ve selected the texts you’re going to read, browse for themes that interest you. You need NOT read entire books, just sections that interest you.

Organization, continuedPurpose and Overview of a Specific Aspect of This

KAM’s Breadth Critical Discussion of Several Theories of Blah Blah

- Theorist B- Theorist C- Theorist D- Theorist E

Critiques of Theorists (Synthesize/Interpret) What It All Adds Up To (Evaluate) Preview to Depth: How Theory Might Inform Current

Research

How do you organize a KAM depth?

First, find 15 articles on a more narrow topic that emerged from the breadth and that interests you.

Your task is NOT to just summarize each one--but to do a critical analysis.

Depth OrganizationAnnotated Bibliography

Alexander, G., & Bonaparte, N. (2008). My way or the highway that I built. Ancient Dictators, 25(7), 14-31. doi:10.8220/CTCE.52.1.23-91

First paragraph: This paragraph should contain a summary of the research method and its findings.

Second paragraph: This paragraph should be a critical assessment of the article.

Third paragraph: This paragraph should be a statement about the value of this article for your research agenda or your profession generally.

Each annotation should be a page or page and a half long.

Questions to ask• Was the research question well framed and significant? • How well was the research related to the existing body of

knowledge? • Did the article make an original contribution to the existing body of

knowledge? • Was the theoretical framework for the study appropriate? • Has the researcher communicated clearly and fully? • Was the research method appropriate? • How else might answer the research question? • Was the sample size sufficient? • Were there adequate controls for researcher bias? • Is the research replicable? • What were the limitations in this study? • How generalizable are the findings? • Are the conclusions justified by the results?

Then write a critical review essay

• Try to organize chronologically or thematically or maybe methodologically

• Compare and contrast purpose statements.• Strengths and limitations in research

designs.• Construct trends or recurring issues.• Speak to the relationships among studies.• State the relationship of the articles to your

interests or area of inquiry.• All of this can build up to holes in the

research, which could be a dissertation topic.

How do you organize an application?

In the Application, you will be designing or examining a particular project that connects with the theories and research of the earlier components of the KAM. Your project will determine what kind of literature and other resources you might need as references.

Application, continuedHere your exploration for resources might take

you into different kinds of resources--manuals, documents, policy documents, curricula, databases, research tools and instruments, multimedia, assessment tools, and so on. It is often helpful to include a text or two that also speaks somewhat to your project. It is assumed that the reference lists you have developed for the Breadth and Depth components may also be helpful, so you do not need to list them again.

Example: Human Dvlpt. Bilingual Ed in the USA

Breadth: Theorists of bilingual education, perhaps pro and con, or history (brief, and avoid a textbook rehash), or learning theories, and controversies. Why should U.S. schools teach bilingual ed? Why shouldn’t they?

Depth: Fifteen articles on some specific aspect of bilingual ed. Adult/immigrant ed? Public policy? Social policy? Workforce training and preparedness? Title I? Scores on standardized tests? Voters’ rights?

Unless approved in your LA, stick to the scholarly research articles and not pundits.

Application: Project in your school district or agency or workplace or city or one that someone else has done and you can critique based on the research you’ve read. You can ask if you can submit a video or such and write that up—lots more leeway.

Application

Depth

Breadth

Develop a practical Application that is reflective of your theory and research

Create a project that shows you can translate theory and research into practice

•Explains how the project connects with the theory and/or research analyzed in the earlier parts of the KAM

Select a topic that grows out of the theories or theorists of the Breadth section.

Explore current research around that topic

Journals should be peer reviewed or referred.

Books may supplement and aren’t annotated.

Research from last 3 - 5 years.

Write Literature Review Project on Findings of Research

Classical or Contemporary Theorists

•Select theorists around a particular theme

•Write an essay to develop the theme

•Demonstrate higher-order thinking throughout

Learning

Agreem

ent

Learning Agreement

Title Page-Identification-KAM number, title, your name)

Overview

Breadth- Objectives References Demonstration of Mastery

Depth Objectives References Demonstration of Mastery

Application- Objectives References Demonstration of Mastery

Three Tiered KAM ModelThree Tiered KAM Model11

1Shepard, M. (2007, May). Mentoring the KAM process. (Available to Walden Faculty from Walden University). Adapted from slide originally created by Joe Ann Hinrichs.

KAM Formatting

Check the KAM Guide and Templates Often

Formatting guidelines may change slightly to make KAMs easier to compile, so use the online versions of the Guidebook and Template as your sources for information!

Common Things to Check for in Your KAM

Make sure you’re using:• 12 point, serif font• 1-inch margins• No bold or underlined text• American English language

KAM Formatting Specifics

Great Insight From the KAM

Guidebook:While scholarly writing has style conventions, it does not have to be wordy, stuffy, or dispassionate.

You should avoid colloquialisms and slang, but do not strive to sound academic. Sentences should not be long and complex. Your convictions about what you are writing, dynamic evidence, and honest

voice should not be lost in tedium. Crispness, curiosity, honesty, and enthusiasm are ingredients of

impassioned scholarship (p. 36).

Most common things we see that students should avoid

• Students format at the end of the process

• Students don’t keep track of or use Walden resources as they go along

• Students don’t use information in their LAs in compiling their KAMs

• Students become overwhelmed by not focusing on one task at a time

Use Your Resources

• Writing Center: writingsupport@waldenu.edu

• Library: waldenlb@waldenu.edu• Student Support Team:

support@waldenu.edu• Assessors, mentors, and academic

community

Use Format Help!

• LA Template: http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/LATemplate.doc

• KAM Template: http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/Files/DocsWritingCenter/KAM_Template1.doc

• MS Word Formatting: http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/Student_Faculty/StudentFaculty_12745.htm

Helpful Web Sites

• Defining a KAM: http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/Files/DocsKAMGuides/KAM_Guide.pdf

• Specific Curriculum Guides: http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/Student_Faculty/StudentFaculty_941.htm

• KAM Development: http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/Student_Faculty/StudentFaculty_2491.htm

Writing/Research Resources

• Ask the consultants! E-mail writingsupport@waldenu.edu

• Walden Writing Center: http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu

• Library Resources: http://library.waldenu.edu

• Residency Information http://residencies.waldenu.edu/

Questions