Midterm Exam Directions and Rubric
This Assessment is worth 15% of your overall grade
Outcomes
Completing this Assessment will help you to:
Course Outcomes
• Explain the fundamentals of group dynamics, group characteristics and group development in organizations.
• Summarize the basic models and methods of conflict management in organizational settings.
• Relate concepts and principles of human psychology to organizations ability to facilitate change.
• Demonstrate skills needed to analyze the effectiveness of communications with others in regard to one’s interpersonal goals.
• Synthesize and evaluate communication strategies and process in interpersonal and small group situations.
• Defend the effectiveness of various group decision-making and problem-solving techniques.
• Students evaluate their own behavior and how it affects others in the workplace.
Institutional Outcomes
• Information Literacy and Communication – Utilize appropriate current technology and resources to locate and evaluate
information needed to accomplish a goal, and then communicate findings in visual, written and/or oral formats.
• Relational Learning – Transfer knowledge, skills and behaviors acquired through formal and informal learning and life
experiences to new situations.
• Thinking Abilities – Employ strategies for reflection on learning and practice in order to adjust learning processes for continual
improvement.
• Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning – Follow established methods of inquiry and mathematical reasoning to form
conclusions and make decisions.
• Community and Career – Participate in social, learning, and professional communities for personal and career growth.
Deadline
Due Week 4 by Saturday at 11:59 pm, ET
Directions
Overview
Sociology is the study of society, social relationships, and the organization of human
groups. This assessment opportunity will be beneficial to you in demonstrating how
what you are learning in this course will help you to be more effective in your
interactions with others. In this midterm essay, you will build upon the knowledge and
skills that you are gaining and/or have acquired in our SOSC102 course.
Through our first few weeks, we have discussed what groups are, their importance,
theory, and how groups are used in problem solving. For your midterm essay, you will
consider a social movement and will explore the group dynamics involved in its
success.
After successful completion of this assignment, you will have initial evidence for your
portfolio of your relational learning skills (transfer knowledge from life lessons and
formal instruction to new situations) as well as your ability to research and provide
evidence to support your thoughts and ideas.
In this assignment, you are to explore how social movements embody the tenets of
groups. For your social movement you may write about: 1) The Civil Rights Movement
2) The Women’s Rights Movement or 3) The LGBT Movement.
Your essay must thoroughly address each of the 7 elements outlined below:
• Define what a group is and apply how your social movement is a “group”. Here
we’ll explore the group dynamic and specific characteristics of the group.
• Construct an overview on the social movement of your choice (1, 2 or 3 above).
Be sure to include your views on the essential conflicts and how social
movements worked to manage these. Illustrate how this connects to the
workplace.
• Analyze the size of the group that started this movement. How does size affect
the group dynamic? What psychological aspects are involved in the effectiveness
of group size?
• Evaluate how the Functionalist perspective applies to your group movement.
Here we’ll look into the power of groups, how the joined effort creates a unified
effort etc. Defend the effectiveness of this groups decision-making and problemsolving
techniques used throughout the movement.
• Evaluate challenges that may have occurred within (or groups that have formed
against) your movement. Communication strategies and problem solving
techniques should be explored here.
• Synthesize the importance of roles within a group. Who was/is the leader of your
given group and what leadership characteristics did they/do they possess? Be
sure to include your analysis of influence, roles and patterns of interaction here.
Illustrate how influence can affect change in the workplace.
• Conclude with how you might apply some of the social group methods,
principles, or leadership skills in your life/career. Look at how communication
skills are needed to achieve goals and how this might apply to the “big picture”.
Formatting:
• Your essay must consist of 4 – 6 pages of well-developed responses to the
question prompts.
o Title and reference pages do not count
• APA Format
• 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font
o One-inch margins
o Double-spaced
o Page numbers in the top right corner
• APA Citations
o In text citations and reference page
o Minimum of 3 scholarly sources in addition to your textbook
? Use the Virtual Library to locate scholarly resources.
