Expert-for-a-day

Summary: Lead the class in discussion about a reading.

Goals:

• Gain experience with making a short oral presentation and leading a discussion.
• Practice some less formal writing.
• Deepen your understanding of a reading.

Due: Each student will be an expert-for-a-day at least twice during the semester. I will periodically circulate a sign-up sheet in class to assign students to dates and readings.

Assignment

You will be assigned a reading and will serve as a class resource and dicussion leader during a class presentation of your article or chapter. To prepare for the presention, you will prepare a handout to serve as a reference for your presentation and help guide the discussion. You may wish to supplement your understanding of the reading by consulting additional books, articles, web sites, or other materials.

In some cases, you may be asked to make your presentation to half the class, rather than to the class as a whole, and then be asked to make your presentation a second time to the other half of the class.

You should expect to take about fifteen to twenty minutes for each presentation and discussion.

What to turn in

You will turn in a single-page handout (one side) that includes talking points, discussion questions, and a bibliography listing your supplemental sources.

Your handout should begin with a set of talking points that provide some background information about the author and the reading, including a few "take-home points" intended to remind your classmates about the the main ideas or key arguments (no more than three to five) in the selection. To avoid getting lost in excessive detail when you make your presentation, DO NOT come prepared with a detailed outline of the reading. You should instead assume that everyone has done the reading, and that your role is to help your classmates pick out the most important points.

The handout should also list around five questions for discussion. Be sure to avoid asking "yes/no" and "either/or" questions, since these do not promote discussion. I would suggest starting off with a couple of questions about main points in the reading and reactions to those points. Then move on to questions about the larger implications. Try to think of questions that get your classmates to look critically at the strengths and weaknesses of the author's perspective. 

If you read additional materials in preparation (which I encourage), please include a bibliography.

Your talking points and questions must be typed and turned in prior to the presentation. If you are presenting with a partner, you should turn in a single document for the both of you. 

Please email or bring me your handout by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the presentation, so that I can make copies for the class. If you email me a document, please send it as a PDF, ODT, Word '97, or RTF document.

The presentation (5 minutes)

Your goal during the presentation is to engage your classmates in a critical exploration of the reading. Begin with an introduction focusing on the author or authors including, if possible, background information, other publications, and general point of view. Next, give a capsule review of the content, including some or all of the following: an overview of the author's thesis or research findings; a description of the kind of evidence the author uses to support his or her thesis; some indication of how this work can add to our understanding of the topics of our course; your own opinion of what you found most interesting and relevant about the reading. (In other words, your presentation should be more than a mere summary, though it's best to keep it short and move quickly to engaging other students in discussion.) If partners are presenting, be sure to work out in advance who will say what.

The discussion (10 - 15 minutes)

1. Introduce the discussion topic by selecting a starting question.
2. Promote a discussion without controlling or dominating it. Be sure to leave room for the other members of the group to ask their own questions and give their own reactions.
3. Encourage the participation of all members of the group; be attuned to nonverbal cues that a classmate is ready to participate in the discussion.
4. Be wary of those who are too eager to talk and who tend to monopolize the airtime. 
5. Promote a climate of respect and openness to facilitate learning.
6. Keep the discussion moving so that it does not get sidetracked or bogged down.

At the end of the discussion, the leaders will be expected to summarize the main ideas discussed within the group and bring the discussion to a close.

Evaluation

Janet Davis (davisjan@cs.grinnell.edu)