In academia, less so in the real world, you often get the chance to pick a topic for an assignment or project. What do you choose? Do you choose something that interests you? Something you have experience with? Something that is glittery and eye catching? The answer is probably no in all cases unless things align.
There are many types of meetings. One of the most common is the ‘status and/or decision’ meeting - get an update and decide what to do next. Another is the ‘problem solving’ type meeting where the members need to deal with a problem and come up with solutions and ideas to move forward with. A third common one is the ‘get together and work on something together’ type. Try not to mix up the types.
You should first understand what the deliverable is and how the deliverable will be judged. What makes a great fourth year project? What makes a great term project? What are the criteria? What is the rubric? What is the purpose of the assignment or project? This is where you start. You DO NOT start with what you like or what you are interested in.
If the instructor has not been specific, you can use common sense when thinking about the purpose. In almost every course you can assume that the assignment or project has something to do with the course. Assessments are usually included so students can demonstrate their mastery of the material in the course. It is important to think it through. Your choice should be one that enables you and possibly others to show what you have learned and at what level you have learned it. Do you understand the core science or knowledge? Do you understand and comprehend? Can you apply the ideas? Can you analyse? Can you synthesize? Can you evaluate? Can you demonstrate what you have learned?
When demonstrating mastery, it is a balancing act. You do not want to choose so many things that you do all poorly. You do not want to do the same thing over and over again - demonstrating your skill the first time is fine, but has almost zero value except filling space thereafter. Demonstrating only one concept or skill from the course is exactly that - one skill or concept. If others can demonstrate multiple skills to one your one skill - that’s not good. One approach is to think about what the key concepts are in the course (hint: the learning outcomes from the course syllabus) and to consciously think about them. You want to pick the topic that does you the most good.
If you have not picked or formed the team yet, you can use this approach for picking the team. This technique will inform you about who should be on the team and what you need to do. If you pick the team first, you might box yourself in. If you pick a topic first, you might box yourself in.
A rule of thumb that might work is to pick two to three big concepts from the course (the outcomes) and two to three minor things that the instructor emphasized during the term. Make sure you pick a topic that allows you to hit those big concepts and minor things. As you write up the report and results, you can subtly point out the linkages. In your reflection (if it is asked for), you can point out the obvious in case the marker missed it.
Visualization can help with picking a topic. Possibly use mind maps, KJ diagrams, or fishbones - or anything else that helps you. “Seeing” the points and connections that relate to the course topics can often help to choose the topic.
You want to make sure that you do well on the two to three big concepts. These are the money-makers, so to speak. You want to nail them! This is where you and the team will stand out. Plan accordingly. Pick a topic accordingly. Do not pick a topic because it is one that you want to learn about, one that you know about from a co-op job, or one that is ‘fun’.
Start with the cause and effect viewpoint - what will make an awesome project. View it from the instructor’s viewpoint. Instructors want students to demonstrate their skill and knowledge - what does this mean? How can this be done? Start from there. Pretty simple and somewhat obvious. Most do not do this. Most should do this.