Your second assignment will be to do a ten to fifteen-minute presentation to the class, covering the reading for the day.  You will be divided into teams of two (or three) and supplied with questions to anchor your talk.  Here are some guidelines:

1. This presentation will be more formal than the initial Group Discussion Exercise.  You should imagine that you are team-teaching part of the course, which means you should put yourself in the position of two faculty members addressing a class. 
2. Imagine that you are not personally familiar with this group.  You have been asked by the instructor to do this talk because of your special expertise with the material. 
3. Your goal is to present yourselves as authorities.  Dress professionally for the occasion, not in business attire, but as a visiting faculty member might dress.   
4. You will be standing in front of the class, using the blackboard or the equipment in the “smart cart,” referring to a few notes that you either hold or leave on the table for reference.  You should stand up straight, project your voice so you can be heard by those in the back of the room, look at your audience, and communicate with them directly.   
5. After the presentation itself is over, you will field questions from the class.

Here is an sketch of the criteria for grading:

A range:  Projects confidence, preparation, and depth of understanding of the material; is interesting to listen to, has few physical or verbal mannerisms that distract from the talk, presents material in a manner that is engaging and informative.  Maintains good posture, demonstrates awareness of the principles of good speaking.

B range:  Overall competence.  Covers the material well, but not as imaginatively as an A presentation (for example, might list topics or questions and answer them in turn without integration); some distracting mannerisms; might be difficult for everyone to hear or be tentative in handling the material.

C range:  Observable difficulties in speaking and thinking through the material. 

Now, having said all that, let me add that as with any assignment, you need to have respect for your learning process.  No one is perfect in every respect.  You might even rate my speaking on any given day and give me a less than stellar grade!  If you are nervous or anxious, please come and talk to me in my office.

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: January 29, 2008

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