Purpose Statement
The purpose of having
students present a chapter material is twofold: 1) It encourages students to
actively get involved in the course subject material. By having them act as
“teachers for a day,” they see importance of going beyond the confines of what
is printed in the text. 2) It encourages vocal involvement. Students who might
otherwise not ever say a word in class are forced to participate in this way.
Yes, some are naturally shy, but when something like this is assigned, they
usually comply without too much complaint.
Description of Activity
a) The instructor
gives students a handout stating the requirements of the assignment. The
requirements should include: 1) dividing the chapter equally among
participants; 2) requiring each participant to research at least 2 articles
relevant to the section he or she is assigned; 3) preparing a visual aid(s) to
accompany the presentation (and/or handouts); and 4) preparing to answer
questions relevant to his or her section of the chapter.
b) Divide the class into small groups of 3 to 5 student each. If there were 5
in a group in a class of 25 students, then the instructor selects 5 text
chapters that would be good for group presentation. The instructor can assign
the chapter or have the students select the chapter to be presented.
c) On the day of the chapter presentation, the instructor should quiz the
students on the chapter reading before the group presents. This helps the class
be better prepared to ask questions of the group.
d) The class (audience) should be given a rating sheet for the group with easy
(perhaps Likert-type) scoring. The instructor should collect these at the end
of the presentation. The group with the best score (on a predetermined scale by
the instructor) would receive up the 10 extra-credit points. Creativity and
extra supplemental information should be encouraged.
Materials Needed
A handout will appear
soon.
Application
The chapter
presentation activity works best in a class of 25-30 students. If the small
group is too large, the activity can become unwieldy. The instructor should
adapt the activity to his or her own style and course materials.
Remember, creativity and extra research are key to making this an exciting
exercise!
Related Student Services
The Health &
Wellness center offers students 6 free counseling sessions per semester if a
student feels too painfully shy to participate. Students should be encouraged
to speak to their instructors if this is a problem as well.
this web page was created
on 11/2/99 at 5:17:57 PM
and modified on 11/2/99 at 5:17:57 PM