Final Project
Final Project: Caring Conversation Skills Demonstration
Demonstrate your listening skills in a 12–15 minute caring conversation based on an invented scenario card. You may complete the conversation as an observed role-play in class, or write it out on paper as a script with your skills labeled in the margin. No audio or video recording is required. Then assess your own skills, receive observer feedback, and reflect on your growth.
Requirements
- The conversation: an observed role-play (12–15 minutes) or a written script of at least two pages based on an instructor-approved invented scenario
- Skills labeled or observed: attending, at least five open questions, reflections of content, feeling, and meaning, a summary, empathy, purposeful silence, and a trauma-informed offer of choice
- One moment of either speaking the truth in love (with permission) or asking permission to pray
- A short written note identifying what red flags you were alert for and what you would do if one appeared
- A completed Skills Self-Assessment (rate each skill 1–4 with an example)
- Observer feedback from a classmate and the instructor using the Caring Conversation Observer Checklist
- A one- to two-page reflection on your growth, your strongest skill, one skill to keep practicing, and how Galatians 6:2 shapes your listening ministry
- Your Listener Self-Care Plan
Timeline
- Module 4: choose a scenario card and begin practicing
- Module 6: add trauma-informed choice and your red-flag note
- Module 7: full draft or rehearsal
- Module 8: final demonstration or script, self-assessment, feedback, and reflection submitted
Grading Rubrics
Grading Rubrics
Every rubric uses the same four levels. Your instructor will mark the level that best matches your work for each row and add a short comment.
Module Assignment Rubric
| Criterion | Excellent (4) | Proficient (3) | Developing (2) | Beginning (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Completeness | Every required part is done | Most required parts are done | About half the parts are done | Little of the assignment is done |
| Accuracy & Skill | Skills applied correctly with no significant errors | Minor errors that do not affect the result | Several errors that affect the result | Major errors throughout |
| Professional Quality | Neat, clear, and ready for an employer to see | Clear with small issues | Hard to follow in places | Unclear or disorganized |
| Effort & Growth | Went beyond the minimum or clearly improved | Solid, consistent effort | Minimal effort | Little evidence of effort |
Total possible: 16 points.
Reflection Journal Rubric
Journals are graded on effort and reflection, never on spelling, grammar, or the details of a personal story.
| Criterion | Excellent (4) | Proficient (3) | Developing (2) | Beginning (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Completion | Responds fully to every part of the prompt | Responds to most of the prompt | Responds to part of the prompt | Entry missing or one line |
| Connection to Lesson | Clearly applies the week's skill or idea | Mentions the lesson | Vague link to the lesson | No link to the lesson |
| Faith Reflection | Thoughtfully engages the Scripture or faith theme | Engages the faith theme | Brief mention of faith theme | Does not address the faith theme |
| Personal Application | Names a specific next step or change | Names a general next step | Next step is unclear | No next step |
Total possible: 16 points.
Participation Rubric
Scored at the end of each module. Average the eight scores for the Attendance & Participation grade.
| Criterion | Excellent (4) | Proficient (3) | Developing (2) | Beginning (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance & Punctuality | Present and on time for the full session | Present; late or left early once | Missed part of the session more than once | Absent without make-up work |
| Preparation | Completed assignment and brought workbook every time | Usually prepared | Sometimes prepared | Rarely prepared |
| Engagement | Contributes thoughtfully and draws others in | Contributes regularly | Contributes when asked | Seldom contributes, even when invited |
| Respect & Covenant | Models the classroom covenant for others | Follows the covenant consistently | Needs occasional reminders | Needs frequent reminders |
Total possible: 16 points.
Final Project Rubric: Caring Conversation Skills Demonstration
| Criterion | Excellent (4) | Proficient (3) | Developing (2) | Beginning (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presence & Attending | Warm, attentive, unhurried presence throughout | Mostly attentive with brief lapses | Attentive at times; distracted or rushed at others | Little evidence of attending |
| Questions & Reflections | Open questions and accurate reflections of content, feeling, and meaning, plus a summary | Most skills used accurately | Some skills used; several closed or leading questions | Few skills used |
| Empathy & Trauma-Informed Care | Consistent empathy, silence, choice, and no pushing for details | Generally empathic with minor fixing | Frequent fixing or sympathy phrases | Pushes for details or dismisses feelings |
| Safety & Boundaries | Clear red-flag awareness; no diagnosing or medication advice; permission sought for truth-telling and prayer | Mostly sound with one small gap | Several gaps in boundaries | Unsafe or unbounded responses |
| Self-Assessment, Feedback & Reflection | Honest self-assessment, feedback received thoughtfully, rich reflection and self-care plan | Complete and thoughtful | Brief or incomplete | Missing |
Total possible: 20 points.
Quick Guide
Caring Conversations Quick Guide
Keep this guide with your important papers after release.
Get Help Now: Red Flags
- ☐ Talk of suicide, wanting to die, or self-harm
- ☐ Talk of harming someone else
- ☐ Abuse happening now, or a child or vulnerable adult at risk
- ☐ A medical emergency, confusion, or seeing or hearing things that are not there
- ☐ Inside: tell staff or the chaplain right away
- ☐ Outside (U.S.): call 911 for an emergency, or call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
- ☐ Never promise secrecy: “I care about you too much to keep this to myself.”
- ☐ Check the mandatory-reporting rules for your role and state
What Lay Helpers Never Do
- ☐ Diagnose
- ☐ Advise on medication
- ☐ Handle a crisis alone
- ☐ Push for details of painful events
- ☐ Pray with someone without asking first
CALM-EYES Attending Check
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| C | Comfortable distance |
| A | Angled, open posture |
| L | Leaning in a little |
| M | Matched, unhurried pace |
| E | Eyes warm, not staring |
| Y | Your face responds |
| E | Easy hands (no fidgeting) |
| S | Steady, calm voice |
Open Question Starters
- ☐ What has that been like for you?
- ☐ How are you feeling about…?
- ☐ Tell me more about…
- ☐ What matters most to you in this?
- ☐ What would be most helpful right now?
- ☐ What led up to that? (instead of “why”)
Reflection Starters
- ☐ It sounds like you feel ___ because ___.
- ☐ So what happened was… (content)
- ☐ I wonder if you're feeling… (feeling)
- ☐ Being ___ really matters to you. (meaning)
- ☐ Let me make sure I have it… Did I miss anything? (summary)
Feeling Words: Mild to Strong
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Sad | down, discouraged, heartbroken |
| Angry | irritated, frustrated, furious |
| Afraid | uneasy, anxious, terrified |
| Glad | content, happy, overjoyed |
| Ashamed | embarrassed, humiliated, worthless |
| Lonely | left out, isolated, abandoned |
Empathy, Sympathy, or Fixing
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Empathy | “That sounds so heavy. I'm here.” |
| Sympathy | “Oh, you poor thing.” (pity from a distance) |
| Fixing | “You just need to…” (too soon) |
If Someone Becomes Overwhelmed
- ☐ Slow down; lower your voice; stop probing
- ☐ Reassure: “You're safe here with me right now. We can stop.”
- ☐ Breathe slowly together
- ☐ Ground: name three things you see, two things you hear
- ☐ Offer prayer only if she wants it
- ☐ Don't leave her alone in distress; connect her with staff, the chaplain, or a trusted person
Truth in Love and Prayer
- ☐ Listen fully first
- ☐ Ask: “Can I share something I've noticed?”
- ☐ Be brief and specific; describe, don't label
- ☐ Return to listening: “What do you make of that?”
- ☐ Ask: “Would you like me to pray with you?” and respect her answer
- ☐ Pray short, simple, and about her concerns
My Self-Care Plan
Ways I will rest: ______________________________
People I can debrief with: ______________________________
Signs I need to step back: ______________________________
My inside help contacts: ______________________________
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.— Philippians 1:6 (KJV)
Final Exam
- 1.
James 1:19 teaches that we should be:
- 2.
Listening to understand means:
- 3.
Which is a minimal encourager?
- 4.
Which is an open question?
- 5.
“Why” questions can be risky because they:
- 6.
A reflection of feeling sounds like:
- 7.
A summary is used to:
- 8.
Empathy differs from sympathy because empathy:
- 9.
Job's friends were most helpful when they:
- 10.
Cultural humility means:
- 11.
If someone becomes overwhelmed, a good grounding step is to:
- 12.
If someone talks about harming herself, the lay helper should:
- 13.
Before speaking a hard truth, you should:
- 14.
Before praying with someone, you should:
- 15.
Lay helpers may diagnose mental-health conditions if they have studied Scripture carefully.
- 16.
Mandatory-reporting rules can vary by role and by state.
- 17.
Asking for the details of a painful event is a trauma-informed practice.
- 18.
Referring someone to staff, a chaplain, or a professional can be an act of love.
- 19.
List the four kinds of red flags that require immediate help, and where to get help inside and outside the facility.
- 20.
Explain how Galatians 6:2 shapes a lay helper's listening ministry, including its limits.