This is a 300-level philosophy course. Consequently, active, student-led discussion is expected. I have found the following format works well for achieving this goal: Each student, hereon called a presenter, will be responsible for leading at least one class (Some of you will do this as teams of two). In effect, these will be no different than days in which I’m presenting, save for the addition of 3 distinct stages leading up to the class:
Stage 1: Summary papers: Each presenter should write a 1000-1500 word paper. See below for details.
Stage 2: Pre-class questions for presenters: Approximately five students who are NOT PRESENTING will be “ON CALL.” Being on call means having to post a question on the course blog in response to the Summary Paper and readings. See details below.
Stage 3: Discussion: Each class will begin with the presenter providing a brief (5-minute) synopsis of the reading. (Everybody will have already read the primary material and the summary paper.) The presentation must conclude with a summary of the main questions that people asked (presenters should group questions according to similar concerns). Students who are neither presenters nor on-call are expected to be the first people to answer these questions. This way, everybody has an opportunity to be involved in each discussion in each class.
Presenters and on-call members who submit everything on time and exhibit an honest effort get at least a 92.5 on these assigments. Those who do exceptional work earn 100. Those who fail to be timely or who fail to exhibit of an honest effort (as judged by me) will earn lower grades.
Stage 1: Summary Paper
As noted above (Stage 1), presenters must write a paper in which:
- The presenter summarizes the texts to be discussed for the class.
- The presenter critically engages the texts he/she summarizes so as to stimulate discussion by, e.g., raising potential objections, exploring potential answers to those objections, etc.
This paper should be posted to the blog no later than 11:59pm on two days BEFORE the presentations (i.e. either Sunday or Tuesday, depending on when you’re presenting). The blog address is:
https://sites.middlebury.edu/ratcog/
Please enter this as a new post. Since there are two sections of this course, this will be a cooperative project with your counterpart in the other section.
Stage 2: On-Call Responsibilities
For any given class, approximately 4-5 students who are not presenting will be on-call. Possible questions might be about:
- Passages (in either the text or the presenter’s paper) that were not clear to you. Cite page numbers and use direct quotations
- Passages (in either the text or the presenter’s paper) that you strongly disagree with. Cite page numbers and use direct quotations.
- For those of you who post a bit later than your peers, you’re encouraged to use other on-call group members’ questions and ideas as the basis of your own question. If you do so, try to tie it back to the readings.
You should post these questions to our blog:
https://sites.middlebury.edu/ratcog/
These should posted as replies to the summary paper. You should post these questions by 2pm on the day before the presentation (so either Monday or Wednesday, depending on when you’re on call.) Please post these as replies to the presenter’s blog entry. This blog is not publicly accessible (i.e. people can’t find it if they Google), so don’t be shy about asking a question that you think is “dumb.” (Chances are, it’s not.)
EVERY student has the following responsibilities for EVERY class:
- To read EVERY question on the blog.
- To think about potential responses to 3-4 questions, and be willing to share your ideas in class.
Stage 3: Presentation/Discussion
On the day of the class in which you are scheduled to present, you will lead discussion. The major questions we will answer are those asked by the On-Call group. Wherever possible, students who are neither presenting nor on call should make the first attempt to answer these questions. (This way, everyone’s involved.) Having said this, it’s sometimes easier to start conversations by asking on-call members to motivate/clarify their questions. Presenters should keep the following in mind:
- All presenters must use PowerPoint, Beamer, or Keynote.
- Slideshows must be less than 10 slides long.
- The presenter should begin by situating the reading within the broader themes of the course, especially with respect to earlier readings.
- The chief criterion by which presenters will be assessed is how well they stimulate discussion. (This is not as easy as it looks!) Consider how different questions on the blog hang together; find interesting points of disagreement.
The slideshow should not be overflowing with information, yet must be sufficiently clear that other members of the class find the ideas easy to follow. Consequently, presenters must be especially reflective about how the accompanying commentary will supplement what the slides say. You are encouraged to look for additional materials about how to use PowerPoint effectively in academic presentations.