Mini assignment 1 rubric
Assignment evaluation questions
In assessing submissions for mini assignment 1, the grader will ask themselves the following questions, answering each on the scale of:
0 = grossly incomplete/not addressed
1 = needs significant work
2 = minimally fulfills requirements
3 = good effort, but with room for improvement
4 = excellent and above expectations
A. Is the example thoughtfully selected?: The joint activity selected by the student should be a clear case of a joint activity that is highly distinct from the (many) examples presented in the readings, lectures, and questions that came up during lecture. The activity should be specific enough and described well enough for the grader to anticipate what features of the activity will be mentioned to qualify it as “joint activity” in Clark’s scheme. The activity should be specific enough that it merits at least a few sentences of description. If your chosen activity can be construed as general (e.g., “cooking a meal”), consider instead a specific instance of that activity (e.g., “an experienced cook and a novice cook making sushi together”) so that you can dig into your explanation with a rich imagined scenario and detailed examples of how the interaction qualifies.
B. Is the example well described?: Based on the description, can the grader imagine the specific circumstances referred to by the example activity? The grader should be able to understand the activity in enough detail such that they can independently evaluate how well it fits in (or perhaps challenges!) Clark’s notions of joint activity. Depending on your example, this may involve describing: the physical and/or social circumstances of the activity, the kinds of common ground the participants have and/or accumulate, the community norms and conventions that prescribe or otherwise influence the activity ongoings, the population/community engaging in the activity, etc. Paint a picture!
C. Is the argument for this joint activity persuasive and thorough?: The grader should be convinced on the basis of your argumentation (NOT on the basis of the intuitive status of your example) that the activity qualifies as a joint activity under Clark’s concepts. This means that you should be mentioning specific features of joint activities, defining them or characterizing them to the extent you can, and then demonstrating how your activity qualifies (or doesn’t) under those specific features. To make a very convincing and thorough argument you may need to consider what happens when people both successfully and unsuccessfully engage in the activity, what happens at the start and stop of the activity, and how people deal with miscommunications/breakdowns in the ongoing activity.
D. Does the figure present a coherent visual representation of the argument?: The figure accompanying the assignment can use any kind of visual imagery or iconography (e.g., a combination of text, shapes, photos, screenshots, clip art, etc.) that depicts the example joint activity, its description, and the individual facets of the argument made in the text. The linkage between the text and the figure should be clear, specific, and recognizable. We encourage students to refer to specific and relevant portions of the figure at their related points in the text. Be creative, and enjoy this practice in communicating in multiple modalities (i.e., text and visual).
Note that it is up to YOU how to divide your (max) 2500 words between these different goals.
Translation of questions to grades
Submissions that score “excellent and above expectations” across the board will receive a perfect grade (A; 100/100). Submissions that score “needs significant work” across the board will receive a (C-; 70/100). We expect most submissions to fall between these two results. This translation from evaluation questions to grades is done by the particular grader (Dr. Casillas, Ben, or Jenny) who is assigned to each individual paper. However, our team will calibrate our assessments by first reviewing a random sample of papers together.
Grossly incomplete submissions or submissions that do not sufficiently follow the outlined task will maximally receive a grade of C-; please contact your TA if completing the assignment becomes insurmountable for some reason. Grades of D and lower will be discussed and verified by the entire grading team.