To answer Maria’s question in her comment on my last post about syllabus design, here is an example of one of my field research assignments:
To earn full credit: upload your first post by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday and respond to at least one other person’s post by 9:00 a.m. Friday; see the rubric.
- Read:
- Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui, “How Neighborhoods Shape Children for Life,” The New York Times, 1 October 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/upshot/maps-neighborhoods-shape-child-poverty.html.
- Maria Godoy, “In U.S. Cities, The Health Effects Of Past Housing Discrimination Are Plain To See,” NPR, 19 November 2020, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/11/19/911909187/in-u-s-cities-the-health-effects-of-past-housing-discrimination-are-plain-to-see.
- Go to The Opportunity Atlas at https://www.opportunityatlas.org. Click “Begin Exploring.” Click “OK.” Enter Newport’s zip code in the search bar at the upper left. Make sure “Household Income” is selected for “Outcomes.” Select a street in the blue area and a street in the red area.
- Walk a portion of the two streets that you selected. What do you see about the built environment that you think relates to economic opportunity in these locations?
- Take a photo that indicates what you notice; post the photo and your observations in the discussion. Identify the location shown in the photo. Cite at least one the readings in your first discussion post.
Here is my rubric for grading the online discussion:

Thank you! Super helpful.