Short Animation of Purple Cow Dream Research Project

Here's the link to the talking elephant and giraffe 

to get a sense of what a purple cow research project is:

purple cow research

update 12/2016--this link no longer works because i wouldn't pay the subscription after my "free trial." Beware of free trials, you may loose whatever work you have created unless you're willing to pay!

The video narrates a conversation between two animal figures, a small elephant with an English accent who is looking for his purple cow project, asking a giraffe for confirmation. The seductive female sounding giraffe tells him that his purple cow dream of making a time machine is too unrealistic, and that it shouldn't be mundane either, but the purple cow dream sits between the two extremes, and is something truly remarkable, like seeing a purple cow in a field. So elephant boy counters with another purple cow dream, "So if i was to investigate how animals nonviolently respond to conflict would that be a purple cow dream?" Giraffe girl says, "If by nonviolent communication you mean making non-judgmental observations, identifying feelings and needs, and making concrete requests to meet those needs the way Marshall Rosenberg teaches, then yeah, that sounds more like a purple cow dream." Elephant boy says, "Far out...i'm going to meditate more on my purple cow dream." Giraffe girl responds, "I'll join you in your meditation." scene ends.

Lesson Plan 7: Criteira for Evaluating the Purple Cow Final Project, Presentation, and Journals

In this lesson, the criteria for evaluating the final project, presentation, and journals are provided and sent to students via course e-mail. Below is a copy of the WORD document that i posted on our course blackboard page which they can edit as needed for the table part in the first section.

Comm 302 Introduction to Purple Cow Communication Research Methods Fall 2013

Name__________________________________________________________

*Print out a hard copy of the two page cover sheets and staple to the top of your package*

____Completed Project (35% of overall grade)

Provide an OVERVIEW of your accomplishments during the 4 weeks of working on your purple cow dream by filling out the table below:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Circle the letter below that best

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        applies to each of the activities

Week	Activities *fill in activities for each of the 4 weeks--be specific—add more letters if needed*	Completed	Partially Complete	Incomplete
1	a. b. c. etc. (add more if needed)	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.
2	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.
3	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.
4	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.	a. b. c.

 Use the following three headings in RED CAPS to organize the remainder of the project (begin each of these on a separate page):

1) FLOW CHART: Include a copy of the original 4 week flow chart for your proposal (the one with my comments--this is the first item after your cover pages—also, attach a copy of any revisions you made to the 4 week flow chart--this may or may not apply to a particular project).

2) EVIDENCE: In addition to the table on the previous page, provide detailed EVIDENCE of your accomplishments during the 4 weeks—typed, double spaced, 12 pitch font, one inch margins:

For all individuals this evidence will take the form of a STORY of what you accomplished, organized week by week, with separate paragraphs for each week (label each week as a separate sub-heading).

In addition, individuals may have a product, service, pictures, web pages, interview notes, data from surveys, flyers, brochures, field notes, video, audio files, etc. that they may want to include as evidence in an appendix(es)--each appendix should have a separate heading labeled at the top of a new page (appendixes may include: copy of a survey, data in an excel spreadsheet, hardcopies of website pages and  hyperlink to website, hardcopies of a blog and hyperlink to the blog, audio files on cd plus hyperlink to files, video link, etc.).

             

             3)EVALUATION: Evaluate your work for the four weeks based on WHAT YOU 

           PROPOSED AND WHAT YOU ACCOMPLISHED.

                

               *Include a LETTER GRADE plus a one-half to one-page typed EXPLANATION*

____Oral Presentation (15%):

Picture (webpage or power point ok but not required…a poster board could work just as well) and 

Description of:

What you proposed to do and what you accomplished during the 4 weeks.

            

          Other factors:

Extemporaneous Delivery, 

On Time (total 5-7 minutes includes set-up & question/answer period), 

Clarity of Language, and 

Creativity (something purple cowish to make the presentation memorable—this counts as a significant part of the oral presentation grade)

___Journals (15% = average of 3 items below)-

     you rate these with 3 numbers—I’ll check

___(0-10) Quantity: 5 entries of what you learned AND how you felt about what you learned 

                 and why (roughly 1/2 learnings and 1/2 feelings)

Note: this is *not* a detailed account of what you accomplished during your 4 weeks…that belongs in the story part of the evaluation section—the journal is about what you *learned based on what you did*.

___(0-10) Quality: Import, Significance, and Personal Meaning of what you learned…this should   

                 be evident from what you wrote in the journal, i.e,. use phrases like: this was 

                 important because…, or significant because…, or meaningful because…etc.

___(0-10) List the 3 most important things learned:

                 Grade letter C is for "informational" learning

                 Grade letter B is for a learning that reads like "knowledge"

                 Grade letter A is for a learning that reads like "wisdom")

                 Write one sentence for each learning, and explain WHY each of the learnings are i

                 important to you (three paragraphs total: one paragraph for each of the three 

                 learnings).

 

Lesson Plan 6: Feedback and Coaching Sessions for the Purple Cow Dream

Feedback Sessions

In this lesson, i use office hours and class time to provide individual feedback on the written purple cow proposals, emphasizing two questions:

1) What about your project is a genuine purple cow?

and

2) Are the specific activities proposed within the 4 week flow chart behaviorally specific enough that you could provide evidence of completing these activities at the end of the 4 weeks.

Coaching Sessions

After the individual feedback, students will begin working on the piece of their purple cow dream for 4 weeks.

I will be available to consult with them during regularly scheduled class time via signing up for a "coaching session" on the course wiki which list dates and times to meet.

Students are asked to type in their name and what they would like to discuss. This later feature of "what to discuss" is potentially important for clustering students under common areas of interest. For example, if three students need assistance in creating their surveys, i could do a mini-lecture on "survey construction" for all three of the students at the same time. Or, if students have individual issues to discuss, i can meet with them one-on-one.