Discussion Leader Assignment 30 points

Discussion leaders have three distinct jobs to do:

1. Reading questions. Discussion leaders will formulate three to five questions pertaining to the
reading assignment on which they will lead discussion. The questions should challenge the class to
deepen their understanding of the issue the author is discussing, to clarify and complete their
understanding of the author’s central argument, to critically assess the adequacy of that argument,
or to compare the author’s position with that of another author we will have read. The questions
should be clearly and concisely formulated. And even if it isn’t made clear in the formulation of the
question, the discussion leader should have a very good reason for asking it; that is, it should be
clear to the discussion leader why the question is an important one. Where relevant – and this will
be most of the time – the question should include page references to the reading assignment.
Reading questions must be submitted by 5pm the evening before your assigned class period. They
must be submitted to the Coursework section on the portal for this course.

2. Class discussion. Discussion leaders may conduct class discussion however they like – with one caveat: a creative component of that helps the students put into action the topic being discussed must be present.  Class discussion should focus first on answering questions about interpretation, clarification or analysis. The discussion leader’s official duties end on their assigned dates, but they are welcome to take a leadership role in subsequent discussions of the reading.

3. Summary report. Discussion leaders will write up a set of answers to their reading questions,
and summarize the class discussion. Discussion leaders are responsible for summarizing
answers even if the questions were not addressed during their assigned date. The summary report should be about 700 words in length. 

Grading Criteria
The discussion leader assignment is worth a total of 30 points; each component is worth 10pts and will
be graded with the following rubric per each section:

 

9 - 10 Excellent

7- 8 Good

5 - 6 Needs Improvement

3 - 4 Missing Significant Items

2 or below Significantly lacking required items