Discussion Leadership
TUT 100.32 - Virtue in Animal and Machine - Professor Weinman
Groups have two assets that exceed those of any individual in
the group: they possess more knowledge and they can think in a greater
variety of ways.
- Norman R. F. Maier, Problem-Solving Discussions and Conferences.
Leadership methods and skills (1963).
- Summary:
- You will lead your peers in a discussion activity based
on our readings.
- Purpose:
- You will get opportunities
- To practice leadership and oral communication skills
- To think creatively about teaching and learning
- To dig more deeply and broadly into our readings and the related literature
- Due:
- There are two categories of due dates.
- Sign-Up:
- 8 am, Tuesday 28 September
- Leading:
- Variable. See the course Wiki on PioneerWeb for sign-up
times.
Background
By now you have witnessed several in-class discussions and we have
talked about their purpose and what makes them worthwhile. Now you
will get the chance to lead your peers in two class discussions this
semester. One will be on a chapter from our text, and another from
a primary source related to the day's book chapter.
Objectives
Discussion is not for merely summarizing the reading. Among other
things, it is useful for:
- Applying abstract principles to concrete examples (or vice-versa)
- Evaluating the logic of arguments and their supporting evidence
- Practicing problem solving, such as hypothesis formulation, discussing
necessary supporting data, evaluating alternatives, etc.
- Connecting ideas (from our readings or other disciplines) and identifying
relationships among them
Assignment
Sign-Up
- Visit the PioneerWeb page for this course and go to the Wiki.
- On the far right you should see a link for "Discussion
Leadership Schedule" (if you're already logged in to P-Web, you
can click that link).
- Choose one book (i.e., [WA] or [BP]) chapter you would like to
lead a discussion on that still has one of the two available slots
open.
- Choose one of the primary readings (not from the books) you would
like to lead a discussion on that still has one of the two available
slots open.
- Make sure your choices for 3 and 4 are NOT on the same day.
- Click "Edit Wiki Content" at the top of the page.
- Add your name to the blank slot for each of your two choices
- Click "Submit" at the top (or bottom) of the page to save and
publish your choice.
- VERIFY that the dates you selected now appear on the page.
I have not used this Wiki in a high-demand environment, so if two
happen to make simultaneous changes, I do not know how the system
will react. Therefore, please contact me ASAP if you encounter any
problematic or suspicious behavior by the system and tell me all the
details you can.
Requirements
On your chosen day(s), you will be responsible for leading an in-class
discussion for about 30 minutes (minimum of 25, maximum of 40). The
format of your discussion is up to you.
Suggestions
The strategy you use to approach one or more of the objectives above
(or a different objective) is limited only by your creativity. Some
possibilities include (but are not limited to)
- Begin by having other students
- provide a quotation from the reading that stands out
- list the main ideas and/or arguments in the reading
- generate questions about the principles or evidence in the reading
- imagine the larger implications of hypotheses from the reading
- Pose open-ended questions that are factual or that encourage thinking
about applications, problem solving, or connections with other material
- Have students work part of the time in pairs or triads to address
one of the points above
- Role play a research foundation in which some students-the researchers-try
to sell the value of the research to the foundation and other students
play the role of skeptical reviewers
- Structure a debate in which half the class argues one position and
the other half argues an alternative.
In any case, you will want to know the main ideas you wish to address
and prepare questions (offered written or verbally) that will promote
connections among those ideas. The references below might be helpful,
also. The two chapters are easily found on the Internet, and the book
(with lists of principles and techniques) is available on reserve
in Burling Library.
Planning
It is essential that you give yourself enough preparation time that
you can become comfortable with the material. You will likely want
to begin at least one week in advance, but probably more. This
will help you be more confident in your leadership.
To make sure you are prepared sufficiently in advance and to allow
for some feedback, you must do two things
- E-mail me a discussion proposal containing (please be sure these are
plain-text in the body of your e-mail; no attachments!)
- The learning objective(s) of your discussion
- A brief description of your approach
- An estimate of the time you think each component (as appropriate)
will take
- Meet with me to discuss your proposal.
Both of these must be completed at least three days before your discussion.
That means 5 PM Monday for a Thursday discussion or 5 PM Friday for
a Tuesday discussion. To be sure I have time to read and respond to
your proposal, please e-mail them no later than 8 AM Monday (for Thursdays)
or 8 AM Friday.
This planning mechanism will give you time to polish, refine, and
flesh-out your discussion plan and incorporate any feedback I may
have for you.
Grading
You will be evaluated by your peers (1/3) and me (2/3) using the following
criteria:
- Preparation
- Structure
- Staying on topic
- Exercises / Activities / Questions
- Involvement / Participation
- Discussion aids
- Enthusiasm
References
- [1]
- Finkle, D. L. and Monk, G. S. (1983). Teaching and
learning groups: Dissolution of the atlas complex. In C. Bouron and
R.Y. Garth (Eds.) Learning in groups: New directions for teaching
and learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
- [2]
- Frederick, P. (1981). The dreaded discussion: Ten
ways to start. Improving College and University Teaching, 29,
104-114.
- [3]
- Maier, N. R. F (1963). Problem-solving discussions
and conferences: Leadership methods and skills. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Acknowledgments
Adapted from Laura M. Sinnett, "Discussion Leadership
Guidelines" (2006).