You can access your group by going to the class MyGateway site: select, "Group Areas."  You'll find folders for each group with a list of the students assigned to each group, a link to access your group discussion board, and your group wiki. Read all three parts of the project to understand what you will be expected to do. Be sure to document all your discussions in the group discussion board. You'll find a forum for each part of the activity.

Group Project: Part 1 due September 11 end of day (11:59 PM), 25 points; Part 2 due October 9 end of day, 40 points; Part 3 Individual assignment due Thursday, November 6 by class time. Part 3 and the entire group project must be finalized by Thursday, November 20, 60 points. (125 points total)

Wiki Help and Tips (see also, http://support.learningobjects.com/help/campus_pack/2.9.1/wiki/wiki.htm)

Group Activity Grading Policy:

Hopefully, your participation and collaboration in these groups will be an important source of learning and support throughout the semester. Your group provides a forum for participation, discussion, and collaboration with other group members on class topics and the group project.

A few points:

• Your work, individual and group, should be presented in your group wiki as a series of inter-linked web pages. The wiki allows members of the group to share information and collaborate on the development of a “website.”
• There should be one report on the wiki for each part the project. This synthesis of group research and discussion can and should be supported with a set of inter-linked wiki pages documenting your group’s research on the individual components of the project and your group's discussion.
• Group members must document their individual contributions for group projects in the discussion forum (all individual contributions to the forum and wiki must be completed at least four days (one week for part 3) before the activity's due date to allow the group time to discuss and the group coordinator time to finalize the wiki site. The group also needs to add final comments and suggestions). Group members who complete some, but not all, components of an activity may be eligible for partial credit. Students will be evaluated for the work they contribute to the project. In effect, you will be building a web site that focuses on the details of the project as listed below.
• Group Coordinators are responsible for coordinating and finalizing group work on activities. Group Coordinators must post the full names of all the individuals completing the requirements for the activities.
• All group members are responsible for the final presentation of each part of the project. If a group coordinator is unable to complete an activity, another member of the group must be contacted so that the activity can be completed. For this reason, it is wise for groups to designate co-leaders or back-up leaders for each activity. Group Coordinators can earn up to 5 additional points per activity for the extra work they take on.
• Rely on reputable studies, articles, and books. Websites that meet the criteria for reputable work (or here ) can also be used.
• Be sure to correctly cite all information used from research resources (in-text citations and a list of references for each page) using the ASA style guide (local copy with web citation guidelines)  Additional assistance with referencing online resources can be found here. Also, remember we are undertaking an academic activity, so please refrain from using opinion, unreliable or invalid resources, sensationalism, and other non-academic practices. See academic integrity statement and SafeAssign information.

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Project: The final report on activity is due on Thursday, November 20, 2008 end of day (11:59 PM). (125 points total)

This project entails an investigation of the significance of the taken-for-granted rules (norms) that structure social situations and interaction in everyday life. You will be tasked to create an experiment to expose these norms by violating them and then analyze your results.

Part 1 “Getting Organized” due September 11 end of day (25 points)

Group Assignment

• Begin Communicating on Group Discussion Board--introduce yourselves, arrange for face-to-face or online meetings.
• Decide group roles (2 or more per Role):  Overseer, Synthesizer, Editor, and Webmaster (You can keep these assignments the same for every assignment or change it around.  However, this needs to be decided up front with the potential for renegotiation later).
  • Overseer’s Role- In charge of overseeing assignment distribution for group work and setting deadlines for individual work.
  • Synthesizer’s Role- In charge of summarizing group work and discussion on the discussion board in an academic, organized, and clear manner; similar to a mini-paper with introductions, content, conclusion (in paragraph form) and provided a list of group members who actively participated in completing the work over the duration of the activity.
  • Webmaster’s Role- Putting the synthesizer’s work on the wiki and adding some flash.  The content should be academic (including references) but the layout does not have to be traditional.  
  • Editor’s Role- Making sure the work is clear, organized and free of grammatical and spelling errors.  

Create Group Wiki Page Foundation- Should include a group name, list of individual names hyperlinked to group page, list of group assignments for the semester hyperlinked to a pages set up for each part of part of the assignment, and a list of group roles and who’s going to do what for which assignment. 

Individual Assignment

Create Personal Wiki Page- providing a bit of information about yourselves and other interests you might have.  Experiment with the different features of the wiki--add external links, internal links (link back to your "home page") add an image or two--especially an picture of yourself. Update this page throughout the semester--adding links to your individual contributions to the project your group chooses.  Make sure to link all individual work here throughout the semester.  This is where the grader goes to access your part of the assignment.  Credit will not be given for individual work if it is not linked to and from the group home page.

Scoring for this part of the project (25 points possible):

• 10 points for individual contributions (documented work on the group wiki--your personal page).
• 5 points for documented contributions to the group discussion via the group discussion forum. We are looking for at least 3 comments from each group member to document participation.
• 10 points for the group presentation. This includes the final wiki presentation (style, spelling, grammar, images, links to other resources, and overall quality of the presentation) and the content of your presentation (use of course materials, demonstration of sociological imaginations, and application of course concepts, theories, and other relevant materials).  For this "part," you simply need to "lay out" your wiki site--construct your home page, build a system of pages for displaying the results of the project, etc. Group points are available only to those who demonstrate timely engagement in group discussions and other activities (including wiki construction).

If you have any questions, contact either the class TAs or Prof. Keel.

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Part 2 “Selecting your Situation, Researching and Designing an Experiment” (40 points) due Thursday, October 9 end of day.

Group Assignment-

• Select a specific social situation to investigate- the social situation in which you all choose to break a set of 5 “unwritten rules.”
  • Example:  Riding an Elevator, eating at a restaurant, waiting for the bus
• List of 5 unwritten rules presented as rules- Only pick five rules, be specific for example:
  • Rule #1:  When you step into the elevator face the set of elevator doors.
• Discuss on the discussion board, utilize group roles assigned in Part 1, and design your experiment in detail. The group page for part two should detail the situation chosen and list the rules that will be the subject of the experiment

  Scientific Method- This is what you use to design your group’s experiment (Lecture notes and text from Chapter 2 will be most helpful in this section).

• Make sure to include a detailing and discussion of the following:  Research Problem, Controls, Hypothesis, Independent/Dependent variables, Demographic Information, Intervening Variables: time, location, population, experimental design, Hawthorne Effect, and generalizability. 
• It may be helpful to design a data collection sheet so everyone’s on the same page when they go into the field!
• The group page for part 2 should also contain links to the individual literature review pages.

Individual Assignment- (Everyone must do all of this!  Should be about 1-2 pages in length.  Create a new page in the wiki for each individual's review, and insure these pages are linked to and from the "Part 2" page and each individual's personal page. Make sure to include references and citations in ASA style documentation.)

• Literature Review (1 or 2 sociological sources focusing on the significance of taken-for-granted norms: Sociology Books (not textbooks), Edited Books, Journals, Databases) Need help, ask TAs or the local librarian!  The library has a handout on sociological resources.
• What’s a literature review?  If you don’t know, don’t guess…ask the professor or TAs before, during or after class!  This assignment should have an introduction, body, and conclusion; should define key   terms; and relate it to the experiment the group is discussing on the discussion board. See academic integrity statement and SafeAssign information.

Scoring for this part of the project (40 points possible):

• 15 points for individual contributions (documented work on the group wiki)--your literature review.
• 10 points for documented contributions to the group discussion via the group discussion forum. We are looking for at least 5 substantive comments from each group member to document participation.
• 15 points for the group presentation. This includes the final wiki presentation (style, spelling, grammar, images, links to other resources, and overall quality of the presentation) and the content of your presentation (use of course materials, demonstration of sociological imaginations, and application of course concepts, theories, and other relevant materials).   Group points are available only to those who demonstrate timely engagement in group discussions and other activities (including wiki construction). The group wiki must include:
  • Description of situation to be investigated
  • List of 5 unwritten rules
  • Detailed and specific experimental design

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Part 3 “Conducting the Experiment and Analyzing the Results.” Individual assignment due November 6 by class time. Part 3 and the entire group project must be finalized by Thursday, November 20, end of day. (60 points)

Individual Assignment- Everyone must do this (though working in pairs/teams is desirable)!  Create a new page in the wiki for each individual's/team's report on their experimental trials, and insure these pages are linked to and from the "Part 3" page and each individual's personal page. Make sure to include references and citations in ASA style documentation.)

• Conduct the experiment.  Include: Detailed description of situation, Focus on reactions to rule violation, Record detailed observations. Pay attention to specific subjects, to variations and patterns in responses, be specific, thorough and comprehensive, and pay attention to wider audience. Use a coding sheet (shared by all teams) to insure consistency in observations across teams.
• Create a new page in the wiki for each individual/team report on their experimental trials, and insure these pages are linked to and from the "Part 3" page and each individual's personal page. Make sure to include references and citations in ASA style documentation. See academic integrity statement and SafeAssign information.
• Reports on the experimental trials are due by November 6, 2008 (class time).
• Reports should be the equivalent of 1-2 typed pages.            

Group Assignment (Discuss on the discussion board):

• Analyze the observations recorded in the groups experimental trials
• Create a final wiki page to present your findings and conclusions. 
  • Focus on patterns, variations and consistencies in responses related to the situation (time and place), the various individuals involved (variables like gender, race, social class), and the rules in question.  Make sense out of what happened.  Sociological sense!  Focus on the value, the significance of the rules, specifically in relationship to an understanding of the very important concept of social order--predictability and consistency in social interaction.  Show how we use these rules to help us make sense out of situations and other people.
  • Include a summary discussion of the individual theoretical analyses.

Individual/Group Assignment (Everyone must participate in this!  Should be about 2-3 pages in length. Create a new page in the wiki for a theoretical analysis, and insure these pages are linked to and from the "Part 3" page and each individual's personal page. Make sure to include references and citations in ASA style documentation. See academic integrity statement and SafeAssign information.

Applying the Three Sociological Perspectives (Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Interactionism):

• Not everyone need focus on all three perspectives, but all three perspectives need to be addressed by the group, and everyone in the group must make a contribution.
• You need to focus on the significance of the RULES from each of the three theoretical perspectives--what sort of sociological explanation can you give for the behavior of people in your experiment.
• What is the significance of both the specific rules you tested, and also unwritten rules in general.  What do the responses of people to rule violation tell you about the structure of social situations and human interaction?
• Make sure to define the three perspectives, discuss main assumptions, list scope, and apply.

Scoring for this part of the project (60 points possible):

• 25 points for individual contributions (documented work on the group wiki on the detailing of observations and activity in conducting the experimental trials.
• 10 points for documented contributions to the group discussion via the group discussion forum. We are looking for at least 5 substantive comments from each group member to document participation.
• 25 points for the group presentation and theoretical analysis. This includes the final theoretical analysis, the final wiki presentation (style, spelling, grammar, images, links to other resources, and overall quality of the presentation) and the content of your presentation (use of course materials, demonstration of sociological imaginations, and application of course concepts, theories, and other relevant materials).   Group points are available only to those who demonstrate timely engagement in group discussions and other activities (including wiki construction).

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Here are some guidelines for using the wikis:

Here’s a link with detailed instructions for using the wiki: http://support.learningobjects.com/help/campus_pack/2.9.1/wiki/wiki.htm.  You can access this link from your group’s wiki by clicking on the “?” button in the upper right-hand corner.

To Create (or edit) a page:

1. Do not edit any other student's page.  Pay attention to "where" you are when you do your editing.
2. From any page in the wiki, click on "New" (or "Edit" if you have already created it and are returning to edit).
3. Give your page a name.  Format: Your last name, Your first name: short page title.
4. You'll see a variety of "tools" to help you edit your page--you can choose different fonts, and font sizes, format your text, and add tables. You can also add images and links to other web pages (internal to this wiki, as well as to outside web pages). Click the Image or Link buttons, and follow the simple instructions).
5. There's no spell check in the wiki, so I recommend typing your essay in MS Word and saving it.  Then, copy the text.  Once you've copied text from a Word, come back to your wiki page (make sure you are in the "edit" frame), click to place your mouse cursor in the page, and then use the "Paste from Word" button.   
6. If you know html, you'll find a button that allows you to edit the source code.
7. Be sure to click the "Save" button when you are done!
8. You'll be evaluated for content, style, and presentation.
9. One member is responsible for editing the 'home' page (first page you access when you enter the wiki), and to go through and link all of the other pages together.

Rely on reputable studies, articles, and books. Websites that meet the criteria for reputable work (or here ) can also be used. See academic integrity statement and SafeAssign information.

Be sure to correctly cite all information used from research resources (in-text citations and a list of references for each page) using the ASA style guide (local copy with web citation guidelines).  Additional assistance with referencing online resources can be found here. Also, remember we are undertaking an academic activity, so please refrain from using opinion, unreliable or invalid resources, sensationalism, and other non-academic practices. See academic integrity statement and SafeAssign information.

Contact the class TAs or Mr. Keel if you have any questions.

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URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/010/GroupActivities/ga.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated: Thursday, September 4, 2008 12:41 PM

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