Group Presentation on Wilson’s The Future of Life
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike
Note: Exchange e-mail addresses and phone numbers with your group members so that you can get and keep in touch with each other.
Note: Our unit on Wilson has four requirements. For the presentation itself, you should do the following: 1) get your classmates to use the
elements; 2) help your classmates understand how to view your chapter through
the lens of your group members’ major(s); and 3) update your chapter with some relevant information that postdates the publication of the book. The fourth requirement post-dates the group presentation: you will write a short in-class paper (blue book) that
addresses thinking in your major and how it intersected with Wilson’s book.
Preamble
"CRTW" means critical reading, thinking, and writing; but the course also involves
speaking and listening. The oral presentation assignment gives you an
opportunity to practice all of these skills and, I hope, to have some fun as
well. I do not want this assignment to be a pain or a great burden, and I especially do not want any group members to shirk their responsibility to make
a substantive contribution to prepare and deliver your presentation.
Some of you have FBIs about group presentations. Some of you may even hope to
coast on others’ work. Please be aware of these impediments and try to transform
problems into solutions for your group. Part of the assignment is to be each
other’s keepers: making sure that your group members do their fair share of the
work is part of the assignment.
The Presentation
Make a period-long group presentation on a chapter from Wilson’s book.
I will put you in disciplinary groups—groups of majors that have something in
common with the chapters’ subjects. Part of your assignment is to help your
non-presenting classmates understand how your disciplinary points of view shed
a unique and interesting light on your chapter. Doing so means building in what
Nosich calls “fundamental and powerful concepts” from your major
field(s) of study. You will receive separate grades for your presentation
and for the short paper that each of you writes about thinking in your
major (see below). Note, however, that “presentation” does not imply that your
group should lecture for half an hour. Get your classmates involved in
using the elements, not just in taking notes. I want to see them
actively engaging with the material, rather than merely passively receiving it
from your group. The elements
and your disciplinary (major) point(s) of view are the main things to emphasize.
Short Paper / Blue Book
The short paper (blue book) is not part of the presentation itself but relates partly to your chapter and heavily to your major. “Short” means the equivalent of 4-5 word-processed pages. The paper will be written in class. Please bring a
large blue book (8.5 x 11”). For a detailed guide to this assignment, see
“Major” Paper. You will have an entire class day to write your blue book.
Grading
The presentation and the paper are both worth 10 points (honors section: 10 for the presentation, 5 for the blue book). Grading of the
presentation will be very generous, and I will try to give everyone the same
grade:
Note: If you are absent on the day of your group’s presentation, there is no way
for you to make up the missed work. I will try to give you some credit for your
role in the group’s preparation (have your group members e-mail me about this),
but there is no mechanism for giving you a second chance.
My Role
Obviously, I am available to help your group prepare. A wise group will send at least one member to talk things over with me before the presentation. It is a really, really, REALLY good idea to meet with me well ahead of time. You ought to bring with you a list of your chapter’s contents--especially a list of its concepts--and an outline of your lesson plan as well as any handouts you have constructed. But remember: you learn best from each other. This presentation is a great example of that principle at work. Therefore, I plan to be completely silent at the back of the room during your presentation unless you call on me. Also, I will try not to interfere nonverbally. Do not involve me in any group activities that you may assign during your presentation, but please do give me a copy of your handout(s).
A Discussion of Your Presentation by the Elements
The question at issueis as follows: How can you fruitfully engage your
classmates in critical thinking about your chapter? In a nutshell, then, your purpose is to work with a group of your classmates to get the other
members of the class to apply the elements and the standards of critical
thinking to your chapter in Wilson’s book and to get them to see it through the
lens of your major. Your presentation should NOT be a bull session about your
classmates’ opinions on ecology.
I assume, first of all, that not everyone in your group will be
equally meaningfully engaged in this activity. Each of you, however, brings a
different strength to your group’s project. Find out what that is and divide the
tasks up accordingly.
Perhaps point of view is worthy of mention in this connection. You
could divide your labors as follows (alternative points of view): two of you could be co-presenters, two of
you could be Wilson experts (the engine behind the group’s preparation), one of
you could be a computer jock (someone who does the keyboard work, in class and
out), and one of you could be the
enforcer/coordinator/monitor/organizer/e-mailer. You should all have some kind
of speaking role in class, but these roles can be unequal as long as each group
member makes a substantive contribution to the success of your presentation.
I further assume that, in teaching, if you tell your classmates
what to think, they will forget; that if you show them, they will remember; but
that if you involve them, they will understand. These outcomes, of
course, suggest the implications and consequences of different
teaching strategies: involvement and learning are directly proportional to each
other.
Therefore, reasonable conclusions are that you must be responsible
for and to other members of your group and that you should strive
for a good deal of interaction between your group and the class, as well as
within and among small groups of class members.
Obviously, you will need to ensure that the chapter’s information
is highlighted, though it does not have to be covered in its entirety. The
result of the day’s activities, however, should be an analysis of the chapter by
the elements. Add a few standards, and you will be on the right track.
You are all probably thinking, “Let’s just do a PowerPoint slide show.” I say:
well, PowerPoint is okay. But I say it reluctantly because I have had bad
experiences--students just stand there and read their slides (badly). You may
use PowerPoint or Prezi to project an outline, important information, and
photos; but
you must not use one of these programs as a crutch. However you decide to format
your presentation, you must strive for engagement, not passive reception. What
might you do instead?
In the spirit of collaboration and engagement, you might fruitfully select from
an array of alternative approaches to help your classmates recall the
chapter’s substance (information): an “open outline” (a partially completed outline—a “fill in
the blank” type of deal), a list of key quotations (assign one or more to each
quadrant), passage assignments (assign specific pages to small groups of your
classmates and direct them to find the main points and some key quotations), a
quiz, games, Kahoot, a series of SEE-Is, other types of writing in class, and an element
search (have groups focus on one or more of the elements on specific pages).
There are other possibilities, but you get the idea.
My colleague Dr. Koster makes the following related statement in the assignment
sheet for her students’ group presentations: “In past classes we’ve taken
quizzes, played Jeopardy!, Pictionary, Go Fish!, and individualized
games, watched videos, listened to students rap, watched skits, engaged in
question and answer sessions and debates, eaten pizza, determined the
instructor’s carbon footprint, and made arts and crafts—it’s totally up to your
group how you want to engage us. You’re
not quizzing us on
every fact in your chapter; you’re helping us
see the thinking in that chapter from your discipline’s point
of view.”
Note:
http://jeopardylabs.com/
provides a template for creating a Jeopardy show.
As the
above statements suggest:
Your Presentation Should Be Enjoyable
S: Your class session should be fun for you and for your classmates.
E: In other words, learning should be delightful.
E: For example, play games, hand out candy, use stupid gimmicks, give prizes, throw stuff. Don’t hurt anybody; otherwise, do whatever
it takes to get everyone involved.
I: It (delightful learning) is like happiness: it may elude you if you aim for
it; but it is a natural by-product of full engagement.
Look, guys and gals, this presentation is your opportunity to inject some fun
into the mix. I
suggest that you take advantage of the opportunity. Spend some time considering
how to make your presentation enjoyable.
A further imperative to keep in mind is one of the key principles of our course:
Analysis Should Precede Evaluation
S: Front load analysis by the elements.
E: In other words, do evaluation last. The discussion should not consist of
indulgence in opinions. It should be an attempt to get to the heart of Wilson’s
material by using the elements.
E: For example, if the subject is global warming, do not let the discussion
devolve into a chorus of statements like “Well, I think this or that about the
issue.” Stick with the elements. Make your classmates think about their
thinking.
I: It (doing analysis before evaluation) is like constructing a building: you
must build the foundation before it makes sense to erect the superstructure.
Frankly, I do not even care if you get to evaluation. Analysis, major-related views, and supplementary information may be quite enough. But regarding evaluation remember that you can evaluate Wilson's thinking, your classmates' thinking, or both.
What You Should NOT Do
Feedback
I will provide a handwritten comment on your group’s work once all the groups have presented.
Various Links Re. E. O. Wilson
Biography:
http://www.eowilson.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=69
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/644678/Edward-O-Wilson
Interview:
http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript1021.html
Reviews:
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-679-45078-8
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/edward-o-wilson/the-future-of-life/
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-future-of-life-by-edward-o-wilson-9240117.html
Letter to a Southern Baptist Minister:
http://www.conservationmagazine.org/2008/07/books-19/
Red List: