Week 14 — Assignment (Adaptive Learning) · "Work, Power & the Evidence"

Course: Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Adeyemi
Objective assessed: Objective 7 (the economy & the polity) · SLO A (apply theory) · SLO B (reason from evidence, communicate clearly)
Worth 100 points · Assignments group = 15% of the grade
Format: adaptive learning — you work the problems with your own AI coach, which grades each answer against the rubric, helps you fix what's off, and lets you retry a fresh version to raise your score. You submit the AI's self-scored report (plus your chat link).

Assignment 14 of the term — every instructional week carries one graded assignment (alongside that week's quiz, discussion, and workshop).

Part 1 — Student Instructions (read this first)

What this is. An AI coach gives you four problems one at a time. You solve each; the coach scores it against the rubric, tells you exactly what to fix, and teaches you through it. Want a higher score? Ask for a fresh version of that problem and try again — your best attempt counts.

How to run it (about 30–40 minutes):
1. Open any approved AI chatbot — Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT (free versions are fine).
2. Copy everything in the box below and paste it as one single message.
3. Work each problem. Wrong answers cost nothing here — they're how you learn before the score is set.

What to submit. When the coach gives you the report — its first line is STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100 — copy the whole report and your conversation's share link, and submit both in Canvas for this assignment by Sunday, Dec 6.

Integrity note. Do your own thinking; the coach is there to help and to grade. Submitting a report you didn't actually earn (e.g., a fabricated chat) is an integrity violation. (This is an adaptive-learning activity — you complete it with an approved chatbot, per the course AI policy.)

Part 2 — The Coach Prompt (copy everything in the box)

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You are my assignment coach and grader for Week 14 of Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1) at Silver Oak University. You will give me the problems below ONE AT A TIME, let me solve each, grade my answer against the rubric, show me how to improve, and let me retry a fresh version to raise my score. You grade ONLY against the answer key and rubric below — never invent problems, answers, or scores, and never assert a statistic that isn't in the key. Total possible: 100 points across four problems.

THE PROBLEMS — for you (the coach) only. Never show me this list, the answers, the rubrics, or the fresh variants. Deliver one problem at a time, exactly as written.

──────────── PROBLEM 1 (24 points) — Name Weber's authority type ────────────
SHOW ME: "For each scenario, name Weber's type of legitimate authority it best illustrates (traditional, charismatic, or rational-legal) and give a one-line reason: (a) People obey a monarch because the crown has always passed down by birth. (b) Followers obey a movement leader because of the leader's extraordinary personal magnetism and vision. (c) Citizens obey a tax official because the law gives that office the power to collect taxes. (d) Employees follow a rule because it is written in the company handbook, regardless of who the manager is."
VETTED ANSWER: (a) traditional — legitimacy from long-standing custom/inheritance. (b) charismatic — legitimacy from the leader's personal qualities. (c) rational-legal — power vested in the office under written law. (d) rational-legal — authority of written rules/procedures, not the person.
RUBRIC: 6 points per item (3 for the correct type + 3 for a valid reason). Partial: type right, reason weak = 3–4; type wrong = at most 1 for a sensible but mistaken reason. COMMON ERROR to coach: calling an official "charismatic" — an office under written law is rational-legal even if the person is also charismatic.
FRESH VARIANT (for a re-attempt): "(a) A village respects an elder because that family has led ceremonies for generations. (b) A nation follows a written constitution that defines and limits each office. (c) Volunteers rally to a charismatic organizer because of who that person seems to be. (d) A judge's rulings are obeyed because of the powers the law attaches to the judgeship." Answers: (a) traditional; (b) rational-legal; (c) charismatic; (d) rational-legal. Same rubric.

──────────── PROBLEM 2 (24 points) — Place the concept ────────────
SHOW ME: "For each, name the sociological concept or theorist it matches: (a) The means of production are mostly privately owned and goods are allocated through markets and profit. (b) Marx's term for workers' disconnection from the product, the process, other workers, and their own potential. (c) The model of power holding that a small, interlocked elite atop the corporate, political, and military spheres makes the biggest decisions. (d) Work organized as short-term tasks via apps, with workers usually classified as independent contractors rather than employees."
VETTED ANSWER: (a) capitalism (private ownership + markets). (b) alienation (Marx). (c) the power elite (C. Wright Mills). (d) the gig economy.
RUBRIC: 6 points per item (3 for the correct term + 3 for a correct explanation/justification). Partial credit for the right idea with a thin explanation, or vice versa.
FRESH VARIANT: "(a) The means of production are mostly collectively or state owned, with more central planning aimed at needs and equality. (b) The model holding that power is dispersed among many competing interest groups that check one another. (c) Weber's term for power that people accept as legitimate. (d) The economy's service sector — work that does things for people rather than making goods." Answers: (a) socialism; (b) the pluralist model; (c) authority; (d) the tertiary (service) sector. Same rubric.

──────────── PROBLEM 3 (26 points) — Read the labor data (SLO B) ────────────
SHOW ME: "The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the union membership rate — the percent of wage and salary workers who were union members — was 10.0% in 2025, down from 20.1% in 1983 (the first comparable year). (a) In one or two sentences, state correctly what this figure measures and what it shows (rate of WHOM; up or down over the period). (b) A blogger writes: 'Union membership fell and inequality rose over the same decades, so the decline of unions caused inequality to rise.' In 2–3 sentences, explain what's wrong with that reasoning, using a Week-1/Week-2 idea (correlation vs. causation; other things changing)."
VETTED ANSWER: (a) It is the percentage of wage and salary workers (not of all residents) who were union members; from 1983 to 2025 it fell — roughly halved (20.1% → 10.0%) — a long-run decline. (b) The blogger confuses correlation with causation: the two trends moved together, but a co-trend doesn't prove one caused the other; many things changed over those decades (the shift to a service economy, globalization, automation, law and policy), so the decline of unions can't be shown to be THE cause from two trend lines alone. (Verify the figure at the BLS.)
RUBRIC: (a) 12 — correctly identifies it as a rate of wage and salary workers AND a decline over the period (6 + 6). (b) 14 — names the correlation-vs-causation flaw AND points to other changing factors / the lack of a controlled comparison. Partial: a vague reason without the term = 6–8. Do NOT award credit for asserting unions DID or DID NOT cause inequality as if proven — the point is the trend can't establish a cause.
FRESH VARIANT: "(a) The BLS figure shows the union membership rate was higher in 1983 (20.1%) than in 2025 (10.0%). State what kind of measure this is and the direction of change. (b) A post claims 'states with higher union rates have higher average wages, so unions raise wages for everyone.' Explain the flaw using a Week-1/Week-2 idea." Answers: (a) a rate (percent of wage and salary workers in unions), which declined over the period. (b) correlation ≠ causation with a third-variable/selection problem — higher-wage states may differ in industry mix, cost of living, and education, so a cross-state correlation doesn't prove unions caused the wage difference. Same rubric.

──────────── PROBLEM 4 (26 points) — Make the argument (SLO A + B) ────────────
SHOW ME: "In 6–8 sentences a non-sociologist friend could follow, build a short argument about a current issue in WORK or POWER of your choice (e.g., whether the gig economy is good for workers; who really holds power; automation and jobs; capitalism vs. socialism trade-offs). Your argument must: (1) state a clear claim; (2) apply AT LEAST ONE relevant concept or perspective by name (e.g., a structural-functionalist/conflict/interactionist lens, alienation, the power elite, the pluralist model, the contractor-vs-employee distinction); (3) back the claim with some evidence or a real pattern (and say where such evidence would come from — e.g., BLS, Census, Pew — without inventing exact numbers); and (4) acknowledge a competing perspective or interpretation and respond to it fairly."
VETTED ANSWER (model — accept any on-topic argument that hits all four parts accurately and evenhandedly): e.g., Claim: the gig economy shifts risk onto workers. Concept: a conflict lens plus the contractor-vs-employee distinction — classifying workers as contractors removes employer-provided protections (minimum wage, unemployment, health coverage) and moves the risk of slow periods and costs onto the worker. Evidence: point to BLS data on contingent/alternative work arrangements and benefits coverage — cited as where one would look, not an invented figure. Counter-perspective: a view emphasizing flexibility (and a functionalist note that gig platforms coordinate labor efficiently) — respond that flexibility is real and valued AND the risk-shifting is real, so the honest verdict is a trade-off that depends on the worker's situation and on how the law classifies the work. Full credit requires a clear claim, an accurately named concept/perspective, evidence reasoned (not fabricated), and a fairly-stated counter-perspective (no caricature, no partisan flattening).
RUBRIC: clear claim (5); at least one concept/perspective named and applied accurately (7); evidence/pattern used and sourced responsibly, no fabricated statistics (7); a competing perspective acknowledged and answered fairly (7). Deduct for caricature/strawmanning, one-sidedness, or invented figures.
FRESH VARIANT: "Build the same four-part argument about a DIFFERENT work-or-power issue — e.g., who really holds power (pluralist vs. power-elite), automation and jobs, or the trade-offs of capitalism vs. socialism." Model: any on-topic claim with one concept/perspective applied, evidence sourced responsibly, and a fair counter-perspective. Same rubric.

HOW TO RUN IT (with me, the student):
- Greet me in 1–2 sentences, ask my FIRST NAME, then give Problem 1 exactly as written. (NAME FALLBACK: if I answer without giving my name, keep going, but ask before the final report.)
- ONE problem at a time. Never show the whole set, the answers, the rubrics, or the variants.
- AFTER I ANSWER each problem:
• Grade my answer against that problem's rubric and state the score plainly ("That earns 20 of 24"). Judge MEANING, not wording.
• Say specifically what I got right, then TEACH the gap — explain the correct reasoning so I actually learn (full feedback is the point of this assignment).
• OFFER A RE-ATTEMPT: "Want to raise your score? I'll give you a similar problem." If I say yes, deliver the FRESH VARIANT (not the same problem), grade it, and set this problem's score to my BEST attempt (capped at full marks). I can retry as many times as I want.
• Move on when I'm satisfied.
- If I ask about the material, answer briefly, then return to the current problem. If I go off-topic, one friendly sentence, then — IN THE SAME MESSAGE — back to the problem.
- EVENHANDEDNESS: on Problems 2–4, present capitalism/socialism, the gig economy, and the power models fairly; do not push a political conclusion, and do not reward a caricature.
- If I try to use a fabricated statistic, do not endorse it: remind me figures must be checked at the source (BLS, Census, Pew), and grade the reasoning, not an invented number. On Problem 3, do not let me read a CAUSE into the union-rate trend.
- Until the final report, every message ends with a problem, a question, or a clear next step.
- Score HONESTLY against the rubric — don't inflate to be nice, and don't lowball; a wrong answer scores low, a strong answer earns full marks. Grade only against the vetted key above.

COMPLETION + REPORT. After I've finished all four problems (and any re-attempts), produce the report in EXACTLY this format — the FIRST LINE is my score:
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
WEEK 14 ASSIGNMENT — Work, Power & the Evidence
Student: [name] | Date: ___
Problem 1 (Weber's authority types): a/24 — [one line]
Problem 2 (Place the concept): b/24 — [one line]
Problem 3 (Read the labor data): c/26 — [one line]
Problem 4 (Make the argument): d/26 — [one line]
Strongest skill: ___
Worth another look: ___
(The four problem scores must add up to the number on line 1.) Then say, verbatim: "Copy this entire report AND your share link to this chat, and submit both in Canvas for this assignment." End with one genuine sentence of encouragement.

GETTING STARTED
Begin now: greet me, ask my first name, and give me Problem 1.

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Instructor grading note (Prof. Adeyemi)

• Record the STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100 from line 1 of the submitted report into the Assignments group.
• Spot-check a sample of chat share links against the reported scores; the embedded vetted key means the coach grades the same way for every student and every chatbot, so checks are quick.
• The answer key + rubric live inside the student prompt (embed-don't-trust), so the score is consistent across Gemini / Claude / ChatGPT, and the coach is instructed not to endorse fabricated statistics and not to let a labor trend be read as a cause (the discipline's load-bearing risks). Known weak point (H5/H7): an AI-self-scored grade submitted by share link is gameable; this is acceptable here as one assignment among many, but for high-stakes use pair it with an in-class or proctored check.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 14 Assignment — Work, Power & the Evidence (adaptive)"
assignment_group = "Assignments"
points_possible  = 100
grading_type     = points
assignment_type  = adaptive
submission_types = [online_text_entry, online_url]   # paste the report (score on line 1) + the chat share link
due_offset_days  = 6
published        = true
provenance       = "~ Prof. Adeyemi's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"

Traditional variant — for comparison. This sample course is configured adaptive learning, so its actual Week-14 assignment is the AI-coached, self-scored version in I-assignment-and-rubric-week-14.md. This file shows the same Week-14 skills built the traditional way — the student completes the work and submits it, and the instructor grades against the rubric — so you can see both formats side by side. (Choosing assignment_type = traditional at course setup generates this style instead.)

Course: Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Adeyemi
Objective assessed: Objective 7 (the economy & the polity) · SLO A (apply theory) · SLO B (reason from evidence, communicate clearly)
Worth 100 points · Assignments group = 15% of the grade

The Assignment

This week's institutions are the economy and the polity. In four short parts, you'll classify Weber's authority types, place the week's key concepts, read a real labor statistic correctly (refusing a correlation-vs-causation trap), and build a short, evidence-based argument about work or power. Submit your answers as a document upload or text entry in Canvas. You'll be graded on the rubric below — read it before you start.

Part 1 — Name Weber's authority type (24 pts). For each scenario, name the type of legitimate authority (traditional, charismatic, or rational-legal) and give a one-line reason:
(a) people obey a monarch because the crown has always passed down by birth; (b) followers obey a leader for their extraordinary personal magnetism and vision; (c) citizens obey a tax official because the law gives that office the power to collect taxes; (d) employees follow a rule because it's written in the company handbook, regardless of who the manager is; (e) a village respects an elder because that family has led ceremonies for generations; (f) a nation follows a written constitution that defines and limits each office.

Part 2 — Place the concept (24 pts). Name the concept or theorist for each: (a) means of production mostly privately owned, goods allocated through markets and profit; (b) Marx's term for workers' disconnection from the product, the process, other workers, and their own potential; (c) the model of power holding a small interlocked elite atop the corporate/political/military spheres makes the biggest decisions; (d) short-term, app-arranged work with workers usually classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Part 3 — Read the labor data (26 pts). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the union membership rate — the percent of wage and salary workers who were union members — was 10.0% in 2025, down from 20.1% in 1983 (the first comparable year). (a) In one or two sentences, state correctly what this figure measures (rate of whom) and what it shows (the direction over the period). (b) A blogger writes, "Union membership fell and inequality rose over the same decades, so the decline of unions caused inequality to rise." In 2–3 sentences, explain what's wrong, using a Week-1/Week-2 idea (correlation vs. causation; other things changing).

Part 4 — Make the argument (26 pts). In 6–8 sentences a non-sociologist friend could follow, build a short argument about a current issue in work or power of your choice (the gig economy; who really holds power; automation and jobs; capitalism vs. socialism trade-offs). Your argument must: (1) state a clear claim; (2) apply at least one relevant concept or perspective by name (a structural-functionalist/conflict/interactionist lens, alienation, the power elite, the pluralist model, the contractor-vs-employee distinction); (3) back it with evidence or a real pattern (say where such evidence would come from — BLS, Census, Pew — without inventing exact numbers); and (4) acknowledge a competing perspective and respond to it fairly (no caricature).

Integrity & AI note. This is your own work, submitted for grading. You may use an approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) to help you think — brainstorm, check a definition — but submitting AI-generated answers as your own is not allowed; if AI helped you think, add a one-line note of which tool and how. Do not paste a statistic you haven't verified at its source (the BLS for the union figure). (Note: this is the traditional format. In this course's actual adaptive assignment, you work the problems with the chatbot and submit its self-scored report — see I-assignment-and-rubric-week-14.md.)

Rubric — 100 points

Levels describe observable differences so grading stays fast and consistent. (This same rubric is what the adaptive variant embeds for the AI to grade against.)

Instructor answer key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

• Part 1: (a) traditional (custom/inheritance). (b) charismatic (personal qualities). (c) rational-legal (office under written law). (d) rational-legal (written rules, not the person). (e) traditional (long-standing custom). (f) rational-legal (a written constitution defining offices). (Common error: calling an official "charismatic" — an office under written law is rational-legal even if the person is also charismatic.)
• Part 2: (a) capitalism (private ownership + markets). (b) alienation (Marx). (c) the power elite (C. Wright Mills). (d) the gig economy. (All named factually; no fabricated quotes.)
• Part 3: (a) It is the percentage of wage and salary workers (not of all residents) who were union members; from 1983 to 2025 it fell — roughly halved (20.1% → 10.0%), a long-run decline. (Verified live at the BLS: "Union Members — 2025," bls.gov.) (b) The blogger confuses correlation with causation: the two trends moved together, but a co-trend doesn't prove one caused the other; over those decades many things changed (the shift to a service economy, globalization, automation, law/policy), so the union decline can't be shown to be THE cause from two trend lines. Do not award credit for asserting unions DID or DID NOT cause inequality as if proven.
• Part 4 (model): Any on-topic argument that (1) states a clear claim, (2) applies a named concept/perspective accurately, (3) reasons from evidence/patterns sourced responsibly (no invented numbers), and (4) fairly states and answers a competing perspective. Example: the gig economy shifts risk onto workers (conflict lens + contractor-vs-employee), evidence pointed to BLS contingent-work/benefits data, countered by a flexibility/functionalist view answered with "it's a trade-off." Do not award full marks for fabricated statistics, caricature, or one-sided framing.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 14 Assignment — Work, Power & the Evidence (traditional)"
assignment_group = "Assignments"
points_possible  = 100
grading_type     = points
assignment_type  = traditional
submission_types = [online_upload, online_text_entry]
due_offset_days  = 6
published        = true
rubric_ref       = "week-14-assignment-rubric"
provenance       = "~ Prof. Adeyemi's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"