894 Case Study Rubric

I had a great deal of trouble with this assignment.  I had been under the impression that the rubric that I created needed to be tailored specifically to the theory.  So I created a checklist-style rubric that addressed genre theory since I had selected Adrienne's case study to read, and she used genre theory.  When I got ready to read and assess Adrienne's case study, however, I saw that she had already done the rubric, and one glance convinced me that I had conceptualized my rubric wrong.  In fact, I only glanced at her rubric for two reasons. I didn't want to steal her ideas, and I also saw that she was evaluating my case study!  At any rate, I went back and rewrote my rubric entirely before reading and analyzing her case study. 

At any rate, here is the basic version:

Explication of theory	Thorough coverage will include
Theoretical framework	Includes reference to key theorists and may also make reference to figures who influenced these theorists or the connections that this theory makes to earlier approaches.
Core concepts and model	Explains key concepts and discusses what this model focuses.
Comparison with other approaches	Alludes to other theories used for similar purposes. May mention specific studies that apply the theory, particularly pioneering studies that defined the theory.
Application of Theory	Thorough coverage will include
Description of OoS	Gave detailed description of the object of study as a foundation for the analysis.
Demonstration of the model	Applied key concepts to describe object of study. In addition, noted insights that could be gained about the object of study from application of this model.
Mapping the object of study	Applied network model through and with key terms from the theory to capture the workings of the object of study with a network.
Adequacy of framework	Evaluated how which parts of the theory worked and which parts did not.  Drew conclusions about value of theory for other applications.  Noted the places not covered by this theory.
Assessment of theory	Evaluated the theory in terms of its general usefulness to the field and/or to understanding this and similar objects of study.

Here is the version that I filled in:

Explication of theory	Thorough coverage will include	Assessment in terms of this trait
Theoretical framework	Includes reference to key theorists and may also make reference to figures who influenced these theorists or the connections that this theory makes to earlier approaches.	Adrienne identifies the genre theorist she is using within the framework of genre studies.  She does imply that other models of genre theory work.
Core concepts and model	Explains key concepts and discusses what this model focuses.	She gives Miller’s definition of genre and describes the core concept that emerges from this, the idea of emphasizing the action behind the employment of a genre.
Comparison with other approaches	Alludes to other theories used for similar purposes. May mention specific studies that apply the theory, particularly pioneering studies that defined the theory.	Admits that other theories also offer insights for this object of study.
Application of Theory	Thorough coverage will include	Assessment in terms of this trait
Description of OoS	Gave detailed description of the object of study as a foundation for the analysis.	In her text, Adrienne identifies her object of study, but her chart is particularly helpful in situating the Facebook profile picture within an individual’s social networks.
Demonstration of the model	Applied key concepts to describe object of study. In addition, noted insights that could be gained about the object of study from application of this model.	She demonstrates how choosing a Facebook profile picture is a social action. Using genre theory, Adrienne identifies several genres that have different forms and offer subtle variations of the primary social action, self-presentation.
Mapping the object of study	Applied network model through and with key terms from the theory to capture the workings of the object of study with a network.	The network in this case is an abstraction of the social network represented within Facebook.  Miller's genre theory doesn’t explicitly use a network framework or metaphor, but the seeing genres within a network, as Adrienne does here, is compatible with the theory.
Adequacy of framework	Evaluated how which parts of the theory worked and which parts did not.  Drew conclusions about value of theory for other applications.  Noted the places not covered by this theory.	Application of the framework does generate insights.  Miller’s theory helps highlight the social action behind the choice of profile picture.  It does not, however, as Adrienne says, “apply judgment to… the picture itself.”
Assessment of theory	Evaluated the theory in terms of its general usefulness to the field and/or to understanding this and similar objects of study.	Because the theory allows the elaboration of genres of profile picture and suggests the social actions that generates each, Adrienne has demonstrated that the theory can be productive.  In other words, she implies that the theory could be valuable in similar cases.

I did not provide scores but conceptualized it in terms of a holistic-type of assessment.  I typically design my teaching rubrics more or less like this, except I would assign a certain score to each row, say four points.  

At any rate, I felt that Adrienne's case study stacked up well against what I understood of the assignment and rather well in terms of the rubric as well. However,  the checklist for the assignment suggested that we should be more broadly situating the theory and the analysis within the field and, in a sense, over time.  By the latter, I mean in terms of situating the theory historically (looking back) and assessing the usability of the theory within the field and for other objects of study (that is, looking forward.)  Within this broader understanding, Adrienne could add a little more in terms of how genre theory may compare with competing theories and in terms of the overall usefulness of the theory (what I've called the assessment of the theory).  In every other category, however, she amply fulfills what I have called a "thorough coverage."