Debbie Goss (PhD candidate in Composition and Applied Linguistics and faculty member at Soka University of America) has a new publication in Prompt: A Journal of Academic Writing Assignments.
"Writing for Clean Water and Sanitation: Accelerating Momentum Toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals Through Action Research" reviews and shares an action research assignment that invites students to participate in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal #6 (SDG6) by contributing knowledge to two distinct public discourse communities: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia; and Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development.
SDG6 targets access to clean water and sanitation for all by the year 2030. But, in order to accomplish this, the rate of progress must accelerate dramatically. The project raises awareness of discourse communities while students make headway on SDG6 by publicly sharing their research in both Wikipedia and the academic journal.
The assignment is adaptable to an extensive range of subject matter suitable in both face-to-face and online teaching platforms. Students reflect on their own connections and learn to empathize with others by analyzing how lack of access to potable water and sanitation causes suffering. Action research calls on students, thinking as global citizens, to be bold in creating a new and better worlda world where access to clean water and sanitation brings justice to all.