Class Discussion Leading

Description: For this assignment, you and one-two of your peers will be responsible for leading class discussion on one of the plays on our syllabus. This means that you will prepare together at least ten open-ended questions to address to the class. During our class meeting, you will pose these questions to our class and share your own thought-processes in why you selected particular angles/approaches to the play.

You won’t be responsible for leading the discussion for the entire course period, simply because discussion is more organic than that and thus you’ll prompt us or get us started and we will be prepared to take it from there.

Logistics:

Read the play in advance before you meet with your co-presenters. Take notes on what characters/passages/language/stage business you were drawn to in your reading.
With your peers, design open-ended questions for the class. These should use the text to help guide discussion. Instead of “What did you think of Petruccio?” ask “How does Petruccio’s description of his taming strategy in Act 4, Scene One contribute to our perspective of him?”
Flag or mark passages you wish to bring in for class discussion.
One group member needs to send the questions to me (walkerkn@email.unc.edu) before class on Wednesday evening by 8:00 p.m. This is so I can make sure there is no overlap in our preparation.
Bring the questions to class. I suggest you have a hard copy instead of relying on a screen so that you can make eye-contact with respondents.
You may want to sit with your co-leaders OR you may disperse yourselves around the

room.

Options and Advice:

You are not limited by the play text itself. You can bring in outside materials such as film clips, images, or other text to supplement your discussion.
When you lead discussion, think about balance. Go for discussion of some shorter exchanges among characters alongside a few longer passages.
Don’t be afraid of silences. When you ask a question to your peers in class, give them time to think before you speak further.

Post-Discussion:

I also want feedback from you on how you worked alongside your peers and what you thought went well and where there might be space for improvement.
After your discussion, I will provide you with some feedback on how it went.