It is now your turn to conduct a seminar!. Enclosed pls find guiding lines for preparing it. They were prepared by Prof. Bill Colleman from Mcmaster University.

 

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING A READING FOR DISCUSSION

The objective then in preparing for the seminar is try to determine what you do know based on the reading and what you are still uncertain about. If you consider the reading in the light of the following steps, you should be able to attain this objective.

Step One: Do you understand the basic terms and concepts used by the author?

Step Two: What is the central point or argument that the author is trying to make?
- try to write out in two sentences at most what you think the main point of the reading was - be ready to ask someone else what he or she thought it was all about - add to what someone else has said - amend what someone else has said - state the ways in which your understanding differs from that given by another person in the group - help out when two members of the group seem to be misunderstanding one another
Step Three: How has the author organized her or his argument? What are the steps or major themes?

    - write down what you see to be the steps in the argument - ask yourself what would be the logical way to discuss the various sub-topics - make certain that all of the issues you would like to discuss have been brought up

     

Step Four: How should the group allocate its remaining time?

    - which are the subtopics that you found the most difficult and that you think need the most discussion - think about how much time you would like to allocate for these plus the remaining steps.
Step Five: Discussion of the Major Themes and Subtopics

    - formulate some questions that you have about the reading - note and prepare to state what you think is most important about what the author has said - what are the interesting questions or hypotheses being addressed? - what kind of evidence is the author using to support the argument? - what kind of methodology is the author using?

     

Step Six: How does the reading relate to other material that you have examined in the course?

    - phrase questions for other group members that will stimulate them to see how the material fits into what has been studied previously - play the devil's advocate and prepare to argue that the reading provides nothing that is new - ask or state how the new material substantiates or contradicts a point in an earlier reading or in one of the lectures

     

Step Seven: How do you evaluate the presentation by the author?

    - well, what do you think? Is the author out to lunch or not? What parts do you believe and value? What parts do you disbelieve or find rather useless. Prepare to justify your conclusions.

 

Return to previous page