Successful discussion participation requires an inquiring attitude and thorough preparation drawing on critical reading skills. As a critical reader, you should be able to: (a) prepare annotations and recognize how and why the essential elements in a text are connected; (b) identify assumptions and implicit meaning in the text; (c) determine the author’s stance and use of language, (d) ask critical questions in response to the arguments presented; and (e) share a personal reflective response.
Critical Reading
To prepare for this assignment, you will first read and annotate Hagel III (2021) and (Gordon & Martin, 2019) as separate assignments to prepare for discussion.
As a critical reader, you should be able to:
- prepare annotations and recognize how and why the essential elements in a text are connected;
- identify assumptions and implicit meaning in the text;
- determine the author’s stance, use of language, and ask critical questions in response to the arguments presented;
- share a personal reflective response.
Discussion
In class, you will convene in groups of two to three and record a 15-minute discussion about these readings. During this discussion, you are expected to make important contributions. This includes:
- offering original comments/questions based on the reading;
- building on and extending your peers’ responses;
- diplomatically critiquing the arguments and ideas of other participants referring to the text;
- and using new functional language, such as seeking clarification or interruption;
- taking on the role of a lead discussant when appropriate.
You should then upload this video to Discussions for the instructor to review.
Writing
At home, you should view the video and, as the final task of the reading-based in-class activity, write a paper of 500 to 700 words addressing the following:
- a self-evaluation of your reading process;
- a self-evaluation of your performance during the in-class discussion;
- and an action plan for improvement, including such as aspects as critical reading, participation, and language.
The resulting paper should include a title page and be formatted according to APA style standards (e.g., double-spaced).