Group Presentations

Objectives

to have you speak in front of a group of people (as practice for being a teacher);
to be inculcated into the teaching profession by learning about the scholarly literature about education that you can continue to use as a future teacher;
to analyze an issue and come up with potential "solutions" or strategies to implement in your classroom/school.

In this assignment, in your groups you will research and present solutions to the various problems discussed in class. In the following questions, "school" is shorthand for teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, parents, community members, school district officials, and educational policies made by elected officials. I encourage you to think about possible changes that could be made at different levels of school systems.

Group #1: How might schools change their practice of teaching children of different class backgrounds? Wilcox; presentation 10/4 (other search terms: social status, social class)
Group #2: How might schools respond to different cultural understandings of parental involvement in education? Lareau and Valdes Ch. 9; presentation 10/9
Group #3: How might schools respond to students' different aspirations and orientation towards work? MacLeod, Ch. 5; presentation 10/11
Group #4: How might schools address student disengagement from education? MacLeod, Chs. 6 and 7; presentation 10/16 (other search terms: alienation, resistance)
Group #5: What are some ways of reducing racial segregation in schools? Orfield and Lee; presentation 10/30
Group #6: What are some ways of reducing class segregation in schools? Orfield and Lee; presentation 10/30
Group #7: How might inequalities in school funding be remedied? Kozol and Carey; presentation 11/1
Group #8: How might schools address some of the problems associated with labeling and tracking students? Gamoran and O'Neil; presentation 11/6
Group #9: How might schools reduce the dropout rate? Fine, and MacLeod; presentation 11/20
Group #10: What might schools do to increase teachers' engagement in their work? McNeil; presentation 11/27 (other search terms: burnout, job satisfaction, teacher needs, teacher alienation)
Group #11: How might schools reduce bullying and social exclusion? Eder, Chs. 4 and 10; presentation 11/29
Group #12: How might schools reduce sexual harassment? Orenstein and Eder, Chs. 6 and 10; presentation 12/4
Group #13: How might schools be sensitive to the needs of gay, lesbian, and questioning young people? Eder, Chapters 7 and 8; presentation 12/6
Group #14: How might schools reduce the negative effects of the gender socialization boys and girls receive in school? Eder, Chapters 5, 8, 9, and 10; presentation 12/11

Step #1: Reading about the issue

Do the reading(s) for that issue.

Step #2: Analyzing the issue

After doing the reading, you should meet together to discuss: based on the readings, why is the problem like this? What causes the problem you are examining?

Step #3: Researching an Article

Then, each one of you needs to find a scholarly article that discusses a solution to or best practice concerning that issue. For help finding a scholarly article.

Each one of you needs to write a one-page analysis of the article you found, answering the questions:

What solutions does your article propose?
Based on the problem's causes (as you discerned them from the readings), would the solutions given here work? Why or why not?
Based on your understanding of the problem's causes, what do you think would work?

At the top of the page of your analysis, you should put the full citation for the article. How to Cite Properly

This analysis should be shared with group members at least one week before your presentation.

Step #4: Planning your Presentation as a Group

Here, on the basis of your combined research, you should design your presentation. Your presentation will be only ten minutes long, and every group member should speak during the presentation. It should be in the form of a powerpoint presentation. You should practice your presentation so that you are sure that it adheres to the time limit. Your presentation should answer the following questions:

What causes this problem?
What solutions do you propose to this problem?
Why will these solutions work, given the problem's source?

In answering each of these questions, you as a group will want to draw on your analyses of the readings, as well as any other ideas that you come up with. Rather than simply presenting each of your articles one by one, more organized presentations will synthesize the insights across the articles (and the class reading) in answering these three questions. In your presentation, you will graded on:

the conceptual understanding of the problems involved;
your analysis of the solutions from the articles you found in light of the problem's causes;
your presentation of clear solutions you think may work;
the clarity of your presentation; and
your adherence to the time limit.

On the day of the presentation, you should hand in to me a print-out of your powerpoints, as well as the analyses of the articles that you shared with each other. You also should give me an electronic version (by email or on a disk) of your powerpoint presentation, so that I can post it on the website and other students can access it.

You will graded as a group on your presentation. 50% of your personal grade will be deducted if you:

don't contribute an article and its analysis to the group; or
don't speak as part of the presentation.

It is important that your presentation be clear and thoughtful, as the information you provide will be used on the final exam. If you need help with your presentation, feel free to meet with me.