INLS 180: Human Information Interactions

Fall 2003 (Section 001)

Updated 20 Sept: Revised the guidelines to include small-group/active work and shorten the introduction.

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Discussion Sessions: Group Guidelines

Objectives
Given a set of articles, team members will:

• identify one or more important theoretical points or practical implications in each article, and defend or explain its importance
• identify and respond to one or more weaknesses in each author's argument
• compare and contrast the articles with each other and with ideas previously discussed
• present work to an audience of colleagues
• address questions and direct a discussion

This is a team assignment worth 15 points. The assignment consists of three requirements:

• read the set of articles assigned for a given class period and prepare a write-up. The write-up should be sent to the listserv by noon on the day prior to the class period (i.e., Sunday at noon for a Monday class session).
• lead a class session about the articles. Each session should include three parts:
  • a brief introduction about the points you will emphasize
  • small group discussions and/or an activity
  • whole-group Q&A session

You will be graded on your write-up (10 points, Parts I and II) and your class session (5 points, Part III). Parts I and II below outline the grading scheme for the content of your write-up, or the level of detail and insight in your analysis. Part III relates to the execution of the discussion session that your team leads, or the style and professionalism of the presentation itself.

PART I. Evaluation (5 points)

A. Main Points: What do you think are the most important issues and ideas raised in the paper? Why? [Note that this is different from a summary -- you should be actively critiquing what you read to find the highlights, not giving a recap of every point]

B. Weak Points: Where do you see opportunities for improvement in the point of the paper? What arguments are unconvincing or not credible? Why?

PART II. Synthesis (5 points)

A. Comparison: What do the articles that you read have in common? Where are similar ideas being discussed, even if in different terms?

B. Contrast: Where, if at all, do the articles disagree or differ in their ideas?

C. Unresolved Questions: What do you think are the implications of these articles? What are the most interesting points for discussion?

Note: In your synthesis, you are welcome and encouraged to refer to articles previously discussed in class, in addition to the articles assigned for your specific session.

PART III. Presentation and Discussion (5 points)

A. Guidelines: You should adhere to the agreed-upon class discussion guidelines for group leaders, and should help participants adhere to the guidelines as well.

B. Introduction: Your introduction should not be a point-by-point recap of your entire write-up, nor should it recount every point raised by every author. Briefly provide a framework for the day's discussion by talking about a few points you want to emphasize and why.

C. Small Group Work: Design an activity or questions for students to work on in smaller groups. The size of the groups is up to your team. The point of this segment is to provide every class member with an opportunity to offer opinions and ideas about the articles and get "warmed up" for the discussion.

D. Whole Group Discussion: Prepare some main points or questions for the entire class to discuss that builds on the small group work. You should focus on questions about the articles (your own and others'). Your main job is to get people talking about the articles themselves. You may use questions about practical/professional experience as a way to illustrate principles, but you should also use questions that relate to the authors' theories and ideas.

Christy Adessa Wilkens