ASSIGNMENT -- Facilitator/Rapporteur
Grade: 10% minimum
Facilitator (5% each)
Rapporteur (5% each)
Each student will be required to act both as a facilitator for one seminar and facilitator for one seminar. Students may request additional dates if they
would like to complete addition facilitator/rapporteur assignments. (Dates will be assigned at the beginning of the course.)
As facilitators, students will be expected to provide the class
(by email before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday) with a brief outline (maximum one page)
which 1.) identifies the linkages between the readings for the week,
2.) places the readings in the broader context of the themes of the readings and class discussions to date, and
3.) outlines a set of discussion questions for the seminar. (Facilitators
should proceed on the basis that all students have done the readings and, as such,
should not provide an overview of the readings or of any individual reading.)
At the start of class (following the rapporteur's report as outlined below),
the facilitators will briefly (4-6 mins.) open the class by outlining the themes and questions
they think the class should focus on. While the facilitators are not expected to run the seminar per se,
they will be expected to make a contribution to helping move the discussion
along and ensuring that all of the relevant issues are touched upon.
As rapporteurs, students will submit a brief report [maximum one page] to the class
(by email before 9:00 am on the Monday following the seminar.) Seminar reports
should attempt to capture the overall flow of the discussion focusing on the most important
themes, outlining the degree to which consensus was reached by the class on the various questions
and issues discussed, and identifying any issues which remain unresolved. At the start of the next class,
rapporteurs will give a brief overview (4-6 mins) of the last week's discussion.
The rapporteur's reports are due on Monday at 9:00 am so that they are available for use by students
preparing facilitator notes for the following week. Facilitator notes are due on Tuesday at 5:00) pm so that
they are available for use by students preparing for the class. In both cases, students have a right to expect
that the material will be available on-time. As such, the assignment will be considered not to have been completed
if the reports are not available on time. In such cases, the student will simply be re-assigned to act as a facilitator or
rapporteur on an alternative date.
