Grading criteria: Encounter & Dialogue

Report contents: written in first person narrative

A paragraph describing the place and the people
A paragraph describing the religious activity you observed (minus one grade level if you don't actually witness religious activity)
A paragraph discussing the content of dialogue you had with followers of the religion and the general "vibe" you got from them, the impression they made on you (minus one grade level if you don't actually have a substantive discussion and interaction with anyone of the faith)
A concluding paragraph offering your reflections - thoughts and feelings - about the experience and what you learned from it

Grading criteria: Encounters & Dialogue

Reports should be written in a first person narrative, clearly reflecting that you actually experienced this for yourself. Reports that appear entirely general in nature will be suspect of having been made up. I will ask you to revise and expand your report to sufficiently prove to me that you actually had this experience for yourself. That's where details come in along with providing any artifacts (brochures, etc.) you pick up during your visit.
Remember, I was not there with you; the only thing I can know about your experience is what you tell me in your report. If your report is lacking in detail then I can only presume your experience was similarly lacking. Don't leave details to the imagination of the reader. Be explicit in describing what you experienced (see below chart for guiding questions).

Rubric Chart: (up to 60% for the type of religion you experience plus 0-10% per criteria based on quality of experience and depth of description)

Type of religion	A (60 points) report reflects:	B (50 points) report reflects:	C (40 points) report reflects:	D (30 points) report reflects:	F (0 points) report reflects:
since Christianity is so diverse, most of my students are of a Christian background, and Christian churches are the most prevalent, this criteria becomes an issue primarily for students with a Christian background	Entirely different and new. Not in any way a variation (denomination) of your own religion	Significantly different and new but still within your own faith tradition (e.g. a Protestant visiting a Mormon, Catholic, Orthodox, or Jehovah's Witness church for the very first time)	Somewhat different and new but more similar than different from your own church/denomination (e.g. a Catholic visiting an Episcopal church)	Not very different from your own past experience (e.g. a Methodist visiting a Presbyterian church [both are Protestant])	Your own religion/ church/ denomination (such a report will not be accepted as it does not begin to fulfill the assignment to experience a religion you are unfamiliar with)
*If you get 50 points for the religion you experience and 10 points for each* of the four criteria below, you can't get more than 90% (A-) If you visit some place quite similar to your own religion, even it you get 10 points for all the other criteria, that will not be more than 50%** This is my way of encouraging students to really go beyond the familiar and experience something truly new and different
Criteria	8-10 points (A)	6-7 points (B)	3-5 points (C)	1-2 points (D)	0 points
Actual visit	Detailed description of the place: setting, building (inside and out), worship space; and the people (number, gender, age and ethnic distribution, dress, etc.)	Somewhat detailed description of the place and people but a bit lacking	Rather brief and general description of the place or the people but significantly lacking in details	Barely any reference to having actually visited the religion	No visit at all
Religious activity observed (click for example of A and D-)	Detailed description of the various rituals that you observed, in order of occurrence	Somewhat detailed description but lacking something	Rather brief and general description of the activity you witnessed	Barely any reference to having actually witnessed any activity (maybe just one sentence in passing)	No religious activity at all
Dialogue (click for example of A+ and D-)	Significant interaction with one or more followers of the faith, lengthy discussion with those followers regarding their personal experience with and perception of their religion	Somewhat involved interaction with one follower of the faith and/or discussion of merely factual information about the faith	Rather brief and/or superficial discussion with one or more followers of the faith	Hardly any interaction or dialogue with the followers of the faith or nothing regarding the religion	Absolutely no personal contact with any follower of the religion
Your personal response and reflection on the experience	Positive change in your level of appreciation and understanding of the religion and the people you experienced, noting several specific points demonstrating this change. Response noted to specific issues throughout report as well as general observations as a conclusion	Somewhat positive response to the experience, the religion or the people encountered. Comments limited to only brief conclusion and/or reflect merely a change in understanding/ knowledge rather than affective and personal as well	Neutral response - no change positive or negative or a balanced mix of both	Barely any personal response or reflection provided or response is more negative than positive in nature	Absolutely no personal response provided or extremely negative

Description:

Description of the place and the people: How many people were present? what was the ethnic, gender and age mix? were there many children and families? Were the adults young or older? How were they dressed? what was their overall demeanor or attitude? Was there anything distinctive about the religious leader (dress, demeanor, male or female)? Also be sure to describe the building: was it modern or traditional, large or small and humble, was it built as a place of worship or converted from an ordinary house or office space? Describe the interior arrangement of the space: What kind of decorations and furniture was there? Were there chairs or pews or did people stand, walk or sit on the floor? Was there a place to remove your shoes? any special setting such as an altar or shrine(s)? what kind of objects made up the center of attention? What kind of ritual objects were used, how and when? What kind of art work was there (statues, pictures, abstract designs)? What was the symbolic meaning of these things? Again, I'm looking for detailed observations.
Description of the religious activity you witnessed: A good report will walk the reader through each part of the worship (or other religious) activity as it occurred. What were the different elements of the activity? How long did the process take? Was there singing? praying? reading? meditation? ritual activities? a sermon or lesson? if there was a sermon or speech of some sort, what was the content and what did you think of it? What did you think of the various things that were part of the religious activity? Did it compare to anything you may be more familiar with from some other religion? How did it differ? If you don't report on any religious activity I have to assume you didn't witness any.
Dialogue and interaction with the people: Who did you talk with about their religion? what did you talk about? what did they have to say? what did you think about what they had to say? how did talking with someone about their religion help you to better understand and appreciate both the religion and the people who follow it? If you don't report on any dialogue I have to assume you didn't have any. If you did, then tell us about it - give us the highlights of the discussions and the impression it made on you.

Reflections:

How different this experience is from anything else you'd previously experienced: had you ever experienced this religion before (or perhaps some other form/denomination of this religion)? In what context? How often, how long ago? (having a new experience, learning something new, expanding your comfort zone, is the most valuable aspect of this exercise) (Christians are expected to experience something beyond the Christian faith, in all its diversity)
Intellectual/analytical response (reflections that indicate this was a learning experience for you): What new things did you learn about the religion from this experience? What observations can you make comparing and contrasting it to a religion you are more familiar with (e.g. your own)? How did experiencing this religion and talking with the followers shed light on things you learned from reading about it? How did the experience compare to what you learned about the religion from other sources?
Affective response (how you felt about this experience): make your feelings about the experience clear: Were you nervous? excited? dreading it or looking forward to it? Did you enjoy the experience? why or why not? Did your feelings about experiencing a strange place of worship change once you had done it? Was this a worthwhile experience? Would you be inclined to do this again, at some other places? why or why not?

Use these above noted factors as a checklist. If you find anything missing from your report, go back and edit it before submitting it. If you find you are not able to discuss some of these things then perhaps your experience was lacking in some way. You are encouraged to have another experience to supplement your first and write about both in your report. Your dialogue need not take place at the same time as your visit.

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last updated August 02, 2010