WORKSHEET FOR GROUP PRESENTATION HIST 354 FALL 2002
WORKSHEET FOR GROUP PRESENTATION HIST 354 FALL 2002
Purpose of Project. The assignment is designed to evaluate your research, organization, and presentation skills and to enable you to share your advanced knowledge of a topic with your classmates.
Format. The presentation may be in the form of a skit, debate, documentary, slide discussion, lecture, or other suitable format. It should incorporate available written, oral, and material sources on the topic.
There will be approximately four students in each of the five groups. Although each group member must focus on some aspect of the general topic, the degree of collaborative work will vary with the schedules of the various individuals involved. For example, in the group on Tudor Family Life all four of the individuals might choose to do a skit covering one day in the life of a gentry family which would examine courtship/marriage, childbirth/care, education, and household activities. The group on Tudor Culture, on the other hand, might prefer to do solo presentations on various aspects of the theatre, art and architecture, poetry, and music. Two of the group members of Tudor Crime and Punishment might decide to do a mock trial of individuals accused of theft, battery, and witchcraft, while the two other group members decide to make a documentary on the various courts and types of law. Please consult with me if you have any questions on the content or format of your presentation.
The time frame for each presentation will vary with the number of people involved: approximately nine minutes for one person, eighteen for two, twenty-seven for three, thirty-six for four, and forty-five for five. Points will be subtracted from presentations that are substantially shorter or longer so please plan accordingly.
Research. Every student must investigate some aspect of the general group topic. In order to prevent duplication, each group MUST submit a list of individual topics to me no later than 12 September. Group members are encouraged to come by my office for advice on topics and sources.
Once you have chosen your individual topic, you need to find primary (recorded at the time by eyewitnesses) and secondary sources dealing with the topic. One easy way to find these is to do a keyword search for books and articles. Document sources books (many of these are now on-line) are a good place to find primary materials. There are a number of source books on English history, including English Historical Documents in the Reference section of the College of Charleston Robert Scott Small Library; unfortunately, the volume on Elizabeth was never completed. There are also primary sources accessible through various Tudor web sites on the internet. Do not forget that items such as law codes, pictures, music, floor plans, artifacts, literature, letters, diaries, and journals from the time period are also primary sources. You MUST use at least three primary sources and five secondary sources.
Organization. Once all group members have done their research, they need to plan the best way to present their materials. This is when you decide whether you want to work together in twos or threes, as an entire group, or as individuals. After discussing one another's topics, group members should select a format that will best showcase their findings. The facilities of the Office of Media and Technology are useful if you want to include excerpts from films or if you want to make your own documentary. The History Department has a Western Civilization and World Civilization slide collection which you can also use. You may also want to print transparencies of artwork or documents from the internet.
In organizing your material, do not forget to introduce your topic, to stress important names, ideas, and events (your classmates will be trying to take notes), and summarize your main points at the end of the presentation. Use visual and audio aids, if relevant. And most important, PRACTICE and TIME your presentation beforehand.
Presentation. Relax. Everyone else has to do this as well, and no one has yet died from standing in front of a classroom. Thanks to your research, you are the expert on the topic. Begin on time; introduce the general topic, the topic of each presentation, and each member of the group. Arrange to have someone keep track of the time and pace yourself accordingly. At the end of your presentation, ask for questions and/or comments.
Speak clearly, slowly, and loudly, and make frequent eye contact with your audience. Employ some means to help your classmates distinguish between important and less important items. Remember, they will be responsible for this material on their final examination.
At the end of the presentation, each group member must turn in a worksheet, listing his/her topic, thesis, and sources and including one short answer question for the final examination.
Grading. You will receive a grade for both the content and the format of your presentation. If more than one person is involved in a presentation, those individuals will all receive the same grade (otherwise it is difficult to sort out who did what. I am an academic, not a clairvoyant).