CJ 300 Group Project
You are required to participate with your group on the Final Project. You may be asked to demonstrate proof of this participation at any time.
Failing to communicate with your group members, contribute to the project, and/or follow specific instructions for submitting required material will result in a significant decrease in your grade on the final project (potentially a final grade of 0%), along with zeroes for any missed submissions.
Yes, I know; everyone hates group work. However, the ability to work well with others is an important part of many careers, not just academic. Therefore, each student will be required to work within a group and present research. For the presentation, students will be applying a theory to a type of criminal behavior (i.e., using a theory to explain why people engage in a certain type of crime). Students will be divided into groups, and each group participant will be given the opportunity to anonymously assess their peers’ efforts in the group projects (so, no slackers!), as well as their own; this will be part of the project grade. A properly-APA-formatted reference page will also be required. More detailed information is provided on the page below and on Blackboard.
Assignments included in the grade for the Final Project are as follows:
- PARTICIPATION: This is an amalgamation of graded in-class activities (including Packback, etc.) and self/peer evaluations that will be assessed throughout the semester. Scoring less than a B on this metric will result in deductions on the final project grade (see rubric). Beginning with Module 2, each module will include a check-in to ensure that each person in the group is pulling their weight on the project. Lack of participation early on may result in displacement from the group. (red added 8/25/22)
- MODULE 1: Group sign-up (10%)
- Sign-up for groups takes place on Blackboard.
- Groups will be named based on the theory (for example, "deterrence").
- Under the Groups tab in Blackboard (left-side menu), you will sign up for ONE group based on the name of the group.
- You will use this Groups tab to access your group's info and participate in group assignments. You will also have access to all of the Blackboard tools (Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, blogs, journals, wikis, discussion forum, glossary, etc.), should your group choose to use them.
- MODULE 2: Video summary of your theory (15%)
- A 3-5 minute video demonstrating your knowledge of the theory.
- Should include an example.
- Info should only be sourced from the textbook at this point.
- MIDTERM MODULE: APA references page (15%)
- We will work on this in class (see the Lesson Plan).
- MODULE 3: Crime choice (10%)
- Your group will choose one crime from a short list of offenses to cover along with your theory.
- MODULE 4: Video summary of your crime topic (15%)
- A 3-5 minute video demonstrating your knowledge of the topic.
- Should include examples.
- Should include stats.
- Should include at least three sources (textbook not required as a source for this particular part of the project).
- Should be submitted with an APA-formatted references page containing source citations.
- MODULE 5:
- Video application (25%)
- Info on how your theory applies to your crime (i.e., how well does it explain why this particular crime happens?)
- Info on how your theory does not apply to your crime (i.e., where does this theory fall short in explaining why this crime happens?)
- Info on what is missing from the theory that could help to better explain why the crime occurs
- APA-formatted references page
- Self and peer reviews (10%)
- At the end of the semester, students will be able to evaluate their group members (as well as themselves) on their contribution to the group project.
- Students who do not contribute significantly to the project will receive a potentially severe reduction on their grade.
- Video application (25%)
Keep in mind that all submissions will be shared with the class!
Creativity is excellent. Funny is fine. Unnecessarily foul language and other obscene content is inappropriate and subject to penalty.
Creativity is excellent. Funny is fine. Unnecessarily foul language and other obscene content is inappropriate and subject to penalty.