Week 1 – Assignment       

No Excuses University (NEU) — Culture of Universal Achievement

[WLO: 5] [CLO: 3]

A culture can mean many things, and in this context, it is important to consider that it is a reference to the work environment and how your work place interacts in reaching goals. “Universal achievement” is a term that promotes the idea of everyone achieving and, in this context, everyone learning. The goal of this assignment is to have you consider a workplace in education where everyone can learn: A culture of universal achievement!

Prepare

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 1 through 5 of No Excuses University (Lopez, 2013). You can also review the recommended resources to help you prepare for this assignment.

Reflect 

Consider the foundational concepts of No Excuses University and the key concepts and theory to practice in your own profession, and the six beliefs of a culture of universal achievement.

Content Instructions

Compose your paper using first-person language. For help with selecting the right pronoun, you may review the First vs. Third Person (Links to an external site.) resource.

• Select one “Key Concept” and one “Theory to Practice” statement from any of the first four chapters to reflect upon.  
  • Explain why it is personally and/or professionally relevant to you.
• Chapter 5 in No Excuses University discusses the six beliefs of a culture of universal achievement. 
  • Explain each belief in your own words. 
  • Rank them in order starting with the one most important to you, not by how the book ranks them.  
    • Explain the reasons for your ranking position. 
• Chapter 5 also discusses the concept of having “your moment.”  
  • Describe your moment or how you came to your decision for a career in teaching and learning.
  • Identify when you knew that you wanted to be involved in the lives of students, learners, training or educating adults, etc. 
• In your conclusion, be sure to summarize how these Key Concepts, Theory to Practice, and the Six Beliefs might be used in your future work and educational endeavors

Be sure to support your position with one scholarly and/or credible source in addition to the No Excuses University text. For help with selecting appropriate sources, you may watch the Ashford University Library’s video Scholarly & Popular Resources (Links to an external site.).

The A Culture of Universal Achievement paper

• Must use the attached Week 1 template: A Culture of Universal Achievement 
• Must be two to three double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford University Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) 
• Must include a separate title page with the following: 
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).

• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper. 
• Must use at least one scholarly and/or credible source in addition to the No Excuses University course text. You will use scholarly sources to support your view, your position. Doing this assists in supporting your point of view. 
• Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Ashford University Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) 
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford University Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford University Writing Center for specifications.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.