I.
What it Is: Again, you and a partners are going to get to do
some presenting/teaching this semester. For this project, you will be given a chapter
and roughly ONE hour to 'present/teach' the material.
Certainly, I understand
that most will likely not have much (if any) teaching experience. Not to worry. To some degree, you and your partners will be working with me how to address the material, what to do, etc.
But make no mistake about it: you and your partners will have to work hard to put together a creative and in-depth presentation that helps others to review and to learn the material from your assigned chapter. You and your partners will be doing most of the planning and preparing for this assignment.
To prepare, make sure to read the chapter as well as the 'Skim, Scan and Copy' material for your chapter. When reading all of your material, you should note what strikes you, and what arguments, issues, questions,
etc., are being raised by the authors/the chapter. This is key.
Ultimately, you will
be assessed on how well you handle the more important issues raised in the reading, and
on how well you get the class to consider the information you are teaching.
II. How You Will be Assessed: Generally, each group will be assessed on the following:
First, the group must review, explore and explain the material in the text/in the chapter you have been assigned. Your first priority is to review the material. While doing so, you must make sure the audience understands the material: you do this by asking questions and explaining the material. You will have to create a presentation strategy for doing so i.e. PowerPoint, overheads, handouts, etc. Again, you and your group MUST review and explain the chapter and its content.
HOWEVER: You do NOT have to review and explain everything in the chapter. You will not have time to do so. Be selective about what you review and explain. Hit what you and your group think to be the key or most important ideas/issues in the chapter. Assume that your audience is familiar with the material.
Speaking of your audience: a key to a good presentation is keeping your audience in mind. Simply 'talking at them' for an hour or so is NOT going to cut it. Your group should look for innovative ways to make reviewing the material interactive and memorable. Simply 'talking at them' for the hour will affect the group's grade.
Reviewing, explaining and exploring the key ideas raised in the chapter more than anything, is THE main part of this assignment.
Next, you will also be responsible for adding a critical element to your presentation/teach. By that, I mean that the group must create a forum for critical discussion, questioning, etc. Be prepared with questions to ask of the class regarding what you are sharing; be prepared to illicit feedback from your students; look for ways to get discussion going on the book and the key issues you are discussing.
Also, be prepared to make connections up and beyond the text. Look and sound like experts; look to add outside material to add depth to the chapter; look to make connections to the world beyond our ES 2000 classroom.
You will be EXPECTED to do more than lecture and repeat what is in the book. You and your group must look and sound like you did more than what was expected; you and your group must look and sound like you/it took the time to find out more about aspects of your assigned material.
Your 'Skim, Scan, and Copy' material can help you with this aspect of the assignment.
Beyond these things, you will be assessed on but not limited to the following criteria: Overall
use of 'teaching strategies'; how well the group collectively
deals with the assigned material; overall preparation, application, creativity,
use of time, etc.; overall effectiveness of teaching material to class; ability to get students to think critically beyond the text's material.
In the end, the focus
of assessment will be on the group's ability to review material; its ability to extend issues into their socio/political surroundings; how well it targets "higher level" thinking - not simply settling for strategies relying solely on rote memorization
or student "regurgitation"; and, on how well the group does it as a whole.
Again, as clearly stated in the syllabus, if it is clear that someone
is doing less than their share with the assignment, individual scores
for this assignment will be awarded.
III. The
Rubric:
"Group
Teach" Rubric.
When evaluating the 'teach', the
following criteria will be considered. Holistically speaking, an "outstanding, excellent, exceptional" grade of an "A" will be given for work that generally captures/reflects the following criteria:
The group presenting the material
obviously meets and exceeds all of the assignment’s criteria.
Clearly, the group is prepared
to teach the assigned chapter - the group effectively deals with the
material in a rich, thorough manner; most of the chapter's key ideas dealt with effectively; ideas/issues not just presented to audience but clarified, explained, reflected upon, evaluated, etc.
The group clearly has a plan;
its presentation/teach reflects careful thought and planning; the lesson(s) are
highly detailed; the 'teach' has clear goals/objectives, there are outside
readings, clear directions, additional resources, etc.; ultimately,
the presentation/teach is is professionally crafted, and reflects a
great deal of thought for the assignment.
The group's approach to the
lesson is highly creative and thoughtful; the teaching strategies,
approaches, etc., help to make the material understandable; the content “comes to life,” and teachers effectively connect the lesson
to the students in the room as well as to teaching as a whole.
During the time spent teaching,
the group/teachers succeed at eliciting higher thinking – they
do not settle for “rote memory,” simple lecture or “student
regurgitation.”
The teachers make good use
of outside resources; outside handouts/literature/reading is plausible,
makes senses, and fits with the overall investigation/discussion/analysis
of the assigned topic.
Overall, the group effectively
uses its time; all group members appear equally involved in the teaching
experience; delivery of the message/issues/material was handled expertly.
Start to finish, the presentation
enhanced the product and the information; it was engaging and carefully
crafted, and this “teach” serves as a model for others to
see; there is simply no question that the lesson meets and exceeds all
expectations.
A "B" grade means that
the group might meet the requirements, but still lacks in some of the
more critical areas reflective of "A" quality work; a "C"
grade likely meets some of the criteria/requirements, but leaves too many
questions regarding planning, content, approach, etc.; a "D" grade likely reflects considerable problems and/or poor quality of work,
planning, etc; a failing or "E" grade means that is is very clear the group did little to nothing, material wasn't handled at all, terribly disorganized, blatantly not prepared, and/or perhaps one of the teachers did nothing, invested less than a minimal amount of work in the assignment, etc.*