RL 200 Social-Justice Praxis
Evaluation Protocol
27 November 2006
Topic:
Placement:
Supervisor:
□No
□Yes
Student registered Project with the JCU Center for Community
Service
/10 points
Registration Date:
Planned Project Start Date:
Planned Completion Date:
□No
□Yes
Project met a real social need in the greater Cleveland community
/10 points
Explain:
□No
□Yes
Project involved a minimum of 15 hours of direct-service work
with a particular human or animal population, or direct examination and
response to a particular environmental/ecological condition
Actual Project Start Date:
Actual Project Completion Date:
□No
□Yes
Supervisor evaluation verified by the JCU CCS?
□No
□Yes
Hours verified by the JCU CCS?
# Hours:
x 2 points/hour =
/30 points
□No
□Yes
Student successfully completed the project by Instructor-approved
due date
If "No," # days late:
x -5 points/day late =
point penalty
□No
□Yes
Adjustments to grade from Part One?
If "Yes," # components missing
x -50 points/component missing =
point penalty
Total Score for Part One:
/50 points
□No
□Yes
Blackboard project registration form
/50 points
□No
□Yes
Supervisor interview
/25 points
□No
□Yes
Peer-Volunteer interview
/25 points
Total Score for Part Two:
/100 points
□No
□Yes
Weekly journal entries (via the Blackboard
Social Justice Discussion Board) discussing the service project in relation
to the course topics for that week, especially the theology of the covenant,
and responding to questions posed by the instructor and/or other students
# Entries:
□No
□Yes
Journal entries show substantive engagement with course topics
and thoughtful attempt to draw connections between OT covenant theology
and the student's social justice praxis (5 points each)
Quality points:
□No
□Yes
Journal entries exhibit proper grammar, orthography, punctuation,
typography, style, inclusive language, and formatting of text and notes
(5 points each)
Quality points:
□No
□Yes
Weekly contributions to the Blackboard Social
Justice on-line discussion in response to two other students' entries each
week, raising specific questions or making specific observations about how
their projects relate to lectures or other course materials (5 points each)
# Entries:
□No
□Yes
Discussion contributions show substantive engagement with
course topics and thoughtful attempt to help other students draw connections
between OT covenant theology and their social justice praxes
Quality points:
□No
□Yes
Discussion contributions exhibit proper grammar, orthography,
punctuation, typography, style, inclusive language, and formatting of text
and notes (5 points each)
Quality points:
Total Score for Part Three:
/150 points
□No
□Yes
A 7–10 page retrospective essay:
Developing a personal, convenantal ethic and relating the specific
the service activity to particular Old Testament understandings of the
Covenant as outlined in the monograph by Delbert Hillers, in required
course texts, and in class notes
Using weekly journal entries to illustrate this covenantal ethic
Concluding with a brief "epilogue" discussing how the project
changed the student's understanding of the Hebrew Bible, of the course,
and vice-versa
The essay establishes the author's thesis by means of a succinct
discussion of the requisite topics, developed in a logical progression,
and with the support of ample data from the author's praxis and research
□No
□Yes
Introduction: Thesis
Includes a clearly stated thesis that outlines what the author
wants the reader to believe and/or do as a result of reading the essay
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Introduction: Process
Outlines how the case will be argued—what issues will
be addressed, in what order, to what end, etc.
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part I.1
Accurately and succinctly describes the Old Testament understandings
of the Covenant as outlined in the monograph by Delbert Hillers, in required
course texts, and in class notes
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part I.2
Evaluates the various views of the Covenant, indicating which
aspects of each the author can or does accept and which ones the author
cannot or does not
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part II.1
Develops a personal, convenantal ethic, by outlining which
aspects of the Old Testament understandings of the Covenant the author would
like to adopt and incorporate into her/his own understanding of his/her
relationship to God, humanity, nature, the cosmos
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part II.2
Uses carefully selected excerpts from the author's weekly
journal entries to illustrate in what situation(s), with what population(s),
and at what time(s) the author's covenantal ethic came into play during
the social justice praxis
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part II.3
Evaluates how well the author lived up to her/his
covenantal ethic during the social justice praxis, including such questions
as:
How could the author have better implemented the ethic?
In what situation(s), with what population(s), at what time(s) did
the author fail to live out the ethic? Why so?
What the forces or influences interfered with the author living up
to the ethic? What did the author do to overcome these forces or influences,
and how well did they work?
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part II.4
Evaluates the impact of the social justice praxis:
How successful/unsuccessful was the praxis in dealing with the social
justice issue that was its focus?
What would be some further avenues for addressing this problem?
How has this praxis made Cleveland a more just place to live?
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part III.1
Evaluates the religious nature/value of the author's social
justice praxis and covenantal ethic in light of the OT understanding of
religion; discusses why (or why not) the praxis was "religious"
behavior
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part III.2
In light of the OT understandings of the election of Israel
and of Israel as the mediator of God's covenant blessings to the nations,
evaluate to what extent and in what ways this praxis could be classified
as "salvific"
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part IV.1
Evaluates in what ways, through what means, and why this social
justice praxis changed the author's understanding of the Bible (esp. the
Old Testament), of Judaism, of God, of humanity, of herself/himself, of
nature, of the cosmos
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Part IV.2
Sketches what can be the impact of the author's covenantal
ethic for the author's future life:
How will the author continue to live into this ethic? Why does she/he
think it is important to try? What strategies might help overcome any
obstacles to doing so?
How will living this ethic continue to change the author's relationship
to God, other humans, nature, and the world?
How might living this ethic help remedy social problems such as the
one addressed in this praxis?
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Conclusion
Summarizes the issues addressed, in what order, in what manner,
and how the author's thesis has been established; suggests future avenues
of research and/or praxis; mentions other ways in which the author learned
from and/or was changed by this praxis; highlights how it changed the author's
understanding of the OT and/or of the course, and vice-versa
/10 points
□No
□Yes
Bibliography
Select Bibliography or listing of Works Consulted conforms
to the Chicago Manual of Style and includes a minimum of five print
resources
/25 points
□No
□Yes
Appendix A
Concise and complete description of social justice praxis
/05 points
□No
□Yes
Appendix B
Transcripts of interviews with the author's supervisor and
one or two volunteer peers engaged in the social justice praxis
/05 points
□No
□Yes
Appendix C
Dossier of journal entries the author wrote over the course
of this social justice praxis
/05 points
□No
□Yes
Appendix D
Dossier of discussion board comments the author made in response
to other students' journal entries
/05 points
□No
□Yes
Exhibits proper grammar, orthography, punctuation, typography,
style, inclusive language, and formatting of text and notes
/25 points
Total Score for Part Four:
/200 points
□No
□Yes
Web site, PowerPoint, or other type of audio-visual presentation
highlighting the praxis/praxes and showing its/their relationship to O.T.
theology, esp. the theology of the covenant
/25 points
□No
□Yes
A 7–10 minute group presentation to the class, using
the PPT or website and other pertinent audio/visual/material aids
27 November 2006
