1. Form a small group with three of your classmates (so there should be four of you in the group) and select any one chapter from your textbook which is not assigned as homework reading for this course. (The assigned chapters are listed as "C15" and so on in the DUE column of the class schedule which appears as part of your syllabus.)
2. As soon as possible, your group should turn in one piece of paper on which appear the names of your group members and the chapter you'll be using for your group presentation. No two groups will be permitted to present on the same chapter, and I'll approve your chapter selection on a first-come, first-served basis — so the sooner you submit this page to me, the more likely it is that your group will be permitted to present on your preferred chapter.
3. You'll have 10-12 minutes in class for your group presentation. As a group, you should decide what use you will make of that time. You may want to simply summarize the content of the chapter, or conduct a debate on its importance, or perform a series of skits illustrating key concepts — or something else entirely. The content and structure of the presentation are up to you: one of the challenges of this assignment is that you'll need to decide as a group what to present and how to present it. Keep in mind, though, that this is intended to be a group presentation. If you simply stand in front of your classmates with the other members of your group and each take a turn explaining one-fourth of the content of the chapter, that's just four individual information speeches presented sequentially, not a group presentation.
4. On the first presentation day, each group should turn in one copy of a group document, and each group member should turn in one copy of an individual document. The group document should show, in chronological order: when two or more of the group members worked together (date, start time, finish time), who participated in that meeting (names of group members involved), how the meeting happened (i.e., face-to-face, by telephone, by online chat session), and what was accomplished during that meeting. Your individual document should be in essay form, and should consist of two parts: an evaluation of your own performance as a member of the group (i.e., what did you do, why did you do it, how well did you do it?), and separate evaluations of each of the other group members.
5. You may (if you'd like to) use notes during your group presentation, and it's fine if some of the group members use notes and others don't. You may use a visual aid or visual aids, but you're not required to do so. If you're using notes and/or visual aids, I encourage you to read the relevant pages of the "Handouts" section of this website and follow their suggestions carefully. One of the things I'll be looking at when I evaluate your presentation is eye contact. You should spend most of your time looking at the people you're talking to (which may sometimes mean your audience and other times the other members of your group), not at your notes or visual aid(s). If you're going to use PowerPoint, think about the PowerPoint presentations you've seen in the past — and avoid making the sorts of mistakes you've seen other PowerPoint presenters make! (Your PowerPoint must be brought into class on a jump drive, and it must be the only thing on the jump drive.)
6. At the end of your presentation, you should distribute a one-page handout to each classmate not in your group, summarizing the key information contained in your group's chapter. You should also have a copy of this handout available for me.
8. You will also receive an individual grade (also out of a possible 10 points), based on: your involvement in the presentation itself (the content, organization, delivery and use of the portion of the group's time for which you were responsible) and your individual document (evidence of the amount and appropriate use of time spent preparing and rehearsing the presentation, plus your self-evaluation and evaluation of other group members).
9. Altogether, it's possible for you to earn up to a total of 20 points for this project. Each member of your group will receive the same group grade, but you may or may not receive identical individual grades. Your grades will be returned to you the week after the group presentations end.
10. I’m a human being and thus capable of error. If you think I’ve misgraded your group or your individual involvement in the group, you should talk with me during my office hours, not during class time. If I did in fact make a mistake, I’ll apologize and correct the incorrect grade. I guarantee you that your discussing a grade with me will never result in the grade being lowered. Either you’ll wind up with a higher grade or with an explanation of why the grade originally given will stand.
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