Twice a week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays) a student group will lead a 40-minute class discussion.

The group is expected to coordinate with each other in an equitable way, so each person is responsible for a part of both the Tuesday and Thursday discussion (see Student Groups).  Group templates, below, are provided to help in developing and organizing the discussion.

All group members should be prepared by having read/watched/listened to all of that week’s materials (essentially, what all of us should be doing every week anyway😊).

Group members will be graded individually.

Tips for Leading Discussion

• A good class discussion should be organized, engaging, informative, clarifying, and pose questions/provocations. In short, it should get the class involved in discussion.
• You don’t need to be an expert! But do your very best to understand the material; if you’re struggling to make sense of something—don’t fret!—that’s part of the learning process and discussions are a great place to learn from each other.
• Have fun with it!

Group Discussion Templates

Please refer to your group’s Google Slides link for a template containing the requirements (see slide speaker notes). It’s up to each group to coordinate among yourselves to divvy up the workload.

Remember – we have about 40 minutes total so be sure your group doesn’t spend the whole time presenting information, but rather utilizes interactive time for discussion. You’re a facilitator! Think of it less as giving a full-on presentation/lecture over all the material and more of an overview with ways to jumpstart us on a rich discussion:)

GROUP	WEEK	GOOGLE SLIDE LINKS
A	Week 2: Historical Development of North American Cities	T 7/9 template Th 7/11 template
B	Week 3: Manufacturing Urban Crisis	T 7/16 template Th 7/18 template
C	Week 4: Urban Restructuring: 1970s – Present	T 7/23 template Th 7/25 template
D	Week 5: Criminal Injustice	T 7/30 template Th 8/1 template
E	Week 6: Migration and Inequality	T 8/6 template Th 8/8 template

Discussion Lead Rubric (2 @ 5 pts = 10pts)

POINTS	CRITERIA
5	The group member had a clear and effective contribution to the discussion which was organized, engaging, and informative.
2.5	The group member had a somewhat clear and effective contribution to the discussion, but was lacking in organization and engagement.
0	The group member did not contribute to the discussion.