Instructions for Course Project 2 can be found on the “Applying Your Knowledge” page of Lesson 7.
For your submission, please make sure to include all the items described in the worksheet:
A map of Mr. Dough’s movement on Oct 13 through Oct 14, with each point plotted and labeled by time of day. Be sure to indicate any points inside an exclusion zone (20 points).
A numbered list of technical violations, law violations, and “red flags” that you see in Mr. Dough’s activity, in roughly chronological order (20 points):
Do not include more than 15 items on this list; if you find you have more than 20 items, prioritize the 15 most serious. Include a few words for each item on the list to indicate what the specific violation or red flag is:
Use the following format (this is just an example, not necessarily applying to Mr. Dough): 11:30 PM- offender arrived home, in violation of the special condition setting curfew at 9:00pm
Remember- technical violations are violations of conditions, law violations are violations of the criminal law, and red flags are situations where there may not be a definite violation but where you have grounds to be concerned about a behavior
Look closely at the list of conditions! Even seemingly small or inconsequential violations may be important to note.
A two- to three-paragraph interpretation of the data, in which you add everything up and give a “best-guess” descriiption about what Mr. Dough did on this day. Discuss periods of time where you think Mr. Dough was- and was not- being compliant with expectations. You can incorporate some educated guesses here, but don’t stray too far from the data- reference the elements of the paperwork and the map that support your interpretation (20 points)
A two- to three- paragraph statement of where you think Mr. Dough’s head is at and whether you see any potential issues brewing (20 points)
A one-paragraph statement of how you intend to address this day with Mr. Dough in your next contact. Include any warnings, sanctions, or other action you would take (20 points).
*** A note on the grading rubric ***
The actual rubric for this assignment contains spoilers! To give you the opportunity to do the investigating for yourself (and not give away all the answers), some elements of the rubric need to remain hidden. Thus, the actual rubric will not visible until the assignment is graded.
The logic behind this approach is that it best simulates real-world supervision. Just as a police detective must put together a case based on bits of evidence, a probation officer must induce the overall situation by gathering details together and “adding them up.” This is a big responsibility that falls squarely on the officer; there’s no one to provide hints or step in with the right answer. If the probation officer is not paying close enough attention to the details, s/he could fail to identify a catastrophe in the making, with potentially severe consequences for community safety and the officer’s career.
The rubric below is the “spoiler-free” version of the rubric. Compared to the submission rubric:
Items #1, #3, and #5 are the same in the actual rubric as they are below.
Item #2 will have a checklist of specific red flags and violations.
Item #4 will be the same, but will have a checklist of things that can be interpreted from Mr. Dough’s activities.
*** Spoiler-free rubric ***
(20 pts): Map of GPS coordinates with points identified
20 points: Map comprehensively includes all required elements (1: comprehensive, 2: legible, 3: identifies the points by time of day, and 4: indicates places where Dough was in an exclusion zone)
15 points: Missing one of the required elements, or has some minor issues
10 points: Missing two required elements, or has some moderate issues
5 points: Missing three required elements, or has some major issues
0 points: No map included, or map is so problematic as to be unusable
(20 pts): A numbered list of violations and red flags (Note: There can be more than one way to present this list. As such, it is possible to earn full credit if your list does not match the rubric exactly, so long as you have a careful and detailed list that adequately indicates the relevant problems):
20 points: The numbered list includes all acceptable violations or red flags, ten on the list at least. Each point is worth 2 points.
15 points: The numbered list is missing one or two acceptable violations or red flags. There should ten on the list at least.
10 points: Missing half of the acceptable violations and red flags.
5 points: Most items on the list are not acceptable violations and red flags.
0 points: No list provided. Neither the identified violations or red flags are acceptable.
(20 pts): A two- to three-paragraph interpretation of the data
20 points: Interpretation is plausible and well-supported by the data
15 points: Interpretation is fairly plausible and well-supported by the data, and/or it misses some minor elements or aspects of the day
10 points: Interpretation is somewhat plausible and well-supported by the data, and/or it misses some moderately important elements or aspects of the day
5 points: Interpretation is almost implausible and/or not especially well-supported by the data, and/or it misses some major elements or aspects of the day
0 points: Interpretation is implausible and/or not supported by the data, and/or it misses some crucial elements or aspects of the day
(20 pts): A two- to three- paragraph statement of where you think Mr. Dough’s head is at
20 points: Statement demonstrates a well-considered assessment of the overall situation
15 points: Statement demonstrates a fairly well-considered assessment of the overall situation, but has some minor problems, errors, or missing elements
10 points: Statement demonstrates a somewhat well-considered assessment of the overall situation, but has some moderate problems, errors, or missing elements
5 points: Statement demonstrates a problematic assessment of the overall situation, and/or has some major problems, errors, or missing elements
0 points: Statement demonstrates an unacceptably problematic assessment of the overall situation, and/or has some major problems, errors, or missing elements
(20 pts): A one-paragraph statement of how you intend to address this day with Mr. Dough in your next contact
20 points: Statement describes a well-considered approach to the situation
15 points: Statement describes a fairly well-considered approach to the situation
10 points: Statement describes a somewhat well-considered approach to the situation
5 points: Statement describes a problematic approach to the situation
0 points: Statement describes an unacceptably problematic approach to the situation
