Project 5: Group Discussion Leadership and Individual Discussion Participation

 What Constitutes Participation

This project has two aspects, Group and Individual:

1. Each group will take a leadership role.

The best way to think of this assignment is to imagine that you have each been asked to make a group in-class presentation on the topic for that week. Each discussion should be posted no later than noon of the due date listed in the Course Calendar. That topic will remain open for discussion until noon on the following Sunday.

To fulfill the first part of your discussion obligation, I will expect your group to assume a leadership role in posting and moving the discussion forward for that week. After the first discussion, you should have some idea how these discussions will proceed.

Groups are also expected to respond to at least three subsequent postings to the discussion area, and, in general, keep the discussion going. These responses can, and should, be made by any member of the posting group; these responses will count toward the posting individual's project for the project. That individual who posts can be any member of the posting group for that week. Participation at this level (leading discussion and keeping discussion going) will give all group members an evaluation of 85 points. (See item 2 below).

This is a GROUP assignment and it will be prepared by the same group you are assigned to for Project 3.

2. Each, and EVERY, student will participate, individually, in discussions.

This individual participation should take the form of three required responses to discussions; a response to the first discussion during week two, another response by mid-term, and another by the end of the last discussion. These three required responses give you five points (two points each for the first two responses and one point for the third). Each significant response (see Assessing Reponses below) beyond those responses will receive one additional point. When I monitor your participation in discussion and participate myself, I record participation. Any efforts beyond these minimum requirements will be duly noted!

Here's an example evaluation:

Students in Group Cadmus research, write, and post the Group Discussion 5.1 during the fifth week in the term. During the discussion, Student 2, a member of the group leading the discussion, replies to two postings, Student 5 replies to 1. These three responses fulfill the Group requirement for leading the discussion (see item 1 above).

At the end of this discussion, Student 2 has 89 points, Student 5 has 87 points; all other members of the same group have 85 points.

In addition, ten students, NOT in Group A, post responses to the discussion. One of these students, Student 12, posts two responses, the others one response each.

Student 12 has 4 points, the others 2 points.

Your final evaluation for Project 5 will be the sum of

• Group evaluation (85 points).
• Five possible points for minimal individual participation (three responses, see item 2 above).
• Any additional participation will earn one point for each significant response (see Assessing Responses below).

The maximum number of points that you can earn is 100; 85 points indicates minimal participation.

 Assessing Responses

All responses to the discussions will be assessed based on the "quality" of the contribution. That is, your reponse MUST make its own point; it CANNOT simply be "I agree with what everyone has written." That's a trivial posting. If you are confused by a concept or idea in the leadership posting or in a response, you can post "I do not understand what is meant by [a term]" or "I'm confused. Please explain the point being made." You do not receive points for such a response, but you are helping forward the discussion because if you are confused, other class members probably are to. If someone responds to you, answering your "query," that person can earn points.

A response that departs from the topic is also considered a trivial posting. For example, if the discussion is about audience and we are reading an article about tax laws, comments about personal tax problems or the inequity of the tax system are inappropriate. Comments about the obfuscating (Yikes! wonder what that word means?) language used in the tax code, along with an appropriate example, are appropriate. A warning--it can be easy to stray from the topic of discussion 5.3 (about assessing research). You may want to address the research being discussed, rather than its validity and research methodology, especially if the research concerns a subject matter you feel strongly about. You will be more likely to find that type of research in the popular press as opposed to professional journals in your field.

Thus, you should try to focus on, and argue about, only the CONTENT of responses. Writing something like "The point student B made about subject X is just wrong-headed" is unacceptable. Instead, you should respond something like "The idea that subject X can help us understand audience could be examined in another way....." Simply keep personality out of the discussion and focus only on CONTENT!

 Project 5: General Description

1. Research your group topic and write a summary of that research. Participate in preparing what will be posted for your group's leadership. Each group can decide whether the group leader for the discussion will compile the group's work and post it or each group member will post her or his own work.
2. Post that summary and an appropriate example, usually from an easily accessible source, to the Class Discussion Area.
3. Groups are also expected to respond to at least three subsequent responses to the Class Discussion Area, and, in general, keep the discussion going.
4. Those students in groups NOT leading a discussion should be prepared to participate as individuals.
5. Some leeway is allowed in these procedures as long as all group members contribute to the group's leadership effort and as long as the group's posting furthers the discussion topic. I often provide advice to each group about their discussion topic.

Group Mythical, 5.0 (Demonstration to be Posted)

Instructor Note: I will play the role of the mythical group that posts this discussion. You should all try to participate to develop an understanding of the process.

Read the Lecture Notes to understand how to interact in the Discussion and the material on Collaboration in preparation for this demonstration discussion. You may need to experiment a bit to learn how the discussion technology works. Online threaded discussions operate similarly but not exactly the same.

The topic for this discussion will be collaboration. For example, based on your readings about collaboration, characterize an electronic group interaction that you believe failed. Provide as many details as possible based on your own knowledge or reading to illustrate why you believe this happened. However, see postings on discussion site for particulars of the collaboration discussion the time you complete the course.

As usual, if at all possible, give the class some indication of how they can find the text on which you base your discussion, if you use a text.

 Group Cadmus, 5.1

Based on your own understanding of audience, style, tone, and/or organization (the Readings for the first few weeks of class; see Calendar), provide us with examples of how you see these concepts working in a specific field (or work). Once again, if need be, tell us where we can find the same information that you discuss. For example, if you base your contribution on a printed piece, tell us how to find that piece; if it can be found electronically, tell us how to locate it.

Anyone is welcome to provide an offering. Everyone is welcome to respond. Here's an example of a student response that contributes to the discussion leadership requirement for project 5.1.

 Group Anguissola, 5.2

Using the Project 1: Overview and Rationale as your sample text, offer an evaluation of "persistence of topic" in that example. Be prepared to discuss your own rationale for your assessment. Here's an example of a student submission in fulfillment of project 5.2: Discussion Leadership. You may also use Joseph William's Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (6th ed. ISBN# 0-321-02408-7 or most recent) as a basis for your leadership posting.

 Group Merian, 5.3

Find an article in the popular press, either newspaper or magazine, and list major sources as outlined in the lecture for week 9: Assessing Research. In addition, point out at least one questionable fact or error in the "parent" article, and tell us how you decided that fact presented a problem. Use this discussion to explore factors you should consider when reading and assessing research, even research presented in articles appearing in professional journals.

Once again, if need be, tell us where we can find the same information that you discuss. For example, if you base your contribution on a printed piece, tell us how to find that piece; if it can be found electronically, tell us how to locate it.