Holocaust Museum

Signature Assignment: Virtual Field Trip Reflection Paper

Overview

The Signature Assignment for our course involves taking a virtual “field trip.” You will visit one of the websites listed

below. Treat the virtual field trip just as if you were taking a trip to the museum in person. Wander through

the website by clicking on the different tabs and reading the material, looking at photos, and even viewing videos if

they have them. Then, you should record your reaction to the field trip with a series of written responses to the

topics and questions listed below.

Focus on the ways in which you can develop critical perspectives that address the topics based on your own unique

experiences of the online exhibit, using various concepts and ideas that you have learned in this course related to

diversity and cultural pluralism.

Field Trip Locations

• The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Center for the Prevention of Genocide:

http://www.ushmm.org/genocide

• National Museum of the American Indian http://www.nmai.si.edu/

• National Museum of African American History and Culture https://nmaahc.si.edu/

• The Smithsonian Latino Center: http://latino.si.edu

Requirements

1. Answer the questions completely in paragraph format, following APA style guidelines. Most submissions

that follow the guidelines and instructions below will be approximately 2,000 words in length.

2. You must include a reference list, appropriately citing the source of your information (the specific online

location of the site/exhibit/museum visited), as well as any additional sources you may choose to use. It is

not necessary to provide formal in‐text citations for this assignment; however, the reference page

citations MUST follow APA style guidelines (6th edition).

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/

3. Create a separate heading in your essay for each of the five required topics/questions below.

Topics

TOPIC 1: Overview

Give a general description of your field trip experience, providing examples from the site/exhibit/museum.

TOPIC 2: Cultural Diversity

What did this place tell you about cultural diversity? Consider all of the aspects of the exhibition and relate them

to the context of the issues we have discussed and studied in our course. How does the focus and purpose of the

site/exhibit “fit” within the various subjects and issues we have considered in our course?

TOPIC 3: New Ideas

What did you learn that you did not know before your visit? Give specific examples of historical events,

contemporary situations, cultural practices, or community issues that formed new knowledge for you. Make sure

to be detailed in your answer. Consider how the site/exhibit/museum uses cultural, political, and historical

contexts to present its issues and purposes.

TOPIC 4: Perspective

Did the visit change your feelings and perceptions in any way? Did your excursion on this virtual field trip serve as

an opportunity to develop a tolerant perspective that you might apply in the future to different, diverse, and/or

pluralistic cultures?

TOPIC 5: Evaluation

Would you recommend this place to other students? Explain why. Reflect on the value of this

site/exhibit/museum. If you were to introduce this site to a friend or another student, what issues would you

recommend that he or she should think about while viewing the site/exhibit/museum? What parts of the site in

particular would you recommend for careful consideration? Provide detailed examples and reasons to support

your evaluation.

Assessment

To successfully meet the requirements for this assignment, you must:

• Identify and explain the central issues raised by the site/exhibit/museum.

• Evaluate the evidence that the site/exhibit/museum offers for its point of view.

• Consider how the site/exhibit/museum uses cultural, political, and/or historical contexts to present its

issues and purposes.

• Construct thoughtful, specific, and detailed responses to the provided topics, integrating critical

perspectives about cultural pluralism drawn from your work in this course. One of the most important

keys to success is the inclusion of details and specific examples from your site/exhibit/museum.

You may choose to incorporate other reference materials in your responses. This might entail referencing an

informational or news‐related website or digital source, a monograph or periodical, or other academic, scholarly,

and research‐oriented materials. The use of supplemental resources is not a requirement of the assignment, but

may be an integral element for demonstrating your critical thinking skills related to the elements of the

assessment rubric. Study the rubric in order to understand how to receive the highest possible score.

HUM 370 Field Trip Assignment Grading Rubric

Excellent (90–100%)

Good (80–90%)

Minimally competent (70–80%)

Not acceptable (60–70%)

Critical Thinking Skills

Identifies and explains issues Clearly identifies and summarizes the main issues and successfully explains why/how they are problems and questions. Identifies embedded or implicit issues, addressing their relationship to each other.

Successfully identifies and summarizes the main issues, but does not explain how/why they are problems or create questions.

Identifies the main issues, but does not summarize or explain them clearly or sufficiently.

Fails to identify, summarize, or explain the main problem or question. Represents the issues inaccurately or inappropriately.

Personal reflection; considers other perspectives

Not only formulates a clear and precise personal point of view, but also acknowledges objections and rival positions and provides convincing replies.

Formulates a clear and precise personal point of view concerning the issue, and seriously discusses its weaknesses as well as its strengths.

Formulates a vague and indecisive point of view, anticipates minor but not major objections to others’ points of view, or considers weak alternative positions.

Fails to formulate and clearly express own point of view, fails to anticipate objections to others’ points of view, or fails to consider other perspectives and positions.

Evaluates evidence Not only identifies and rigorously evaluates all important evidence offered, but also provides new data or information for consideration.

Identifies all important evidence and rigorously evaluates it.

Successfully identifies data and information that count as evidence but fails to thoroughly evaluate its credibility.

Fails to identify data and information that count as evidence for truth and fails to evaluate its credibility.

Cultural Diversity

Identifies and considers the influence of cultural, political, or historical contexts

Presents and explores relevant contexts in a way that demonstrates keen awareness and appreciation of cultural, political, and historical implications.

Presents and explores relevant contexts when discussing an issue. Relates to other contexts (cultural, political, historical, etc.)

Presents and explores relevant contexts, although in a limited way. Does not relate to other contexts (cultural, political, historical, etc.)

Approaches an issue in ethnocentric terms. Does not relate to other contexts (cultural, political, historical, etc.)

Knowledge of cultural worldview frameworks

Demonstrates sophisticated understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices.

Demonstrates adequate understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices.

Demonstrates partial understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices.

Demonstrates surface understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices.