Group Lesson
Objectives:
• Gain practical experience with small group communication.
• Practice presenting with multiple people.
• Appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of small group communication.
• Evaluate a small group communication experience.
• Construct a lesson that brings new insight and information to your audience.
General Description:
You and your group members will select a topic regarding the communication experience
and plan a class in which you actively engage and teach us. The topic must be
based on new information that has not been covered in class, or provide a significant
extension to topics covered broadly by lecture or discussion. The presentation
is not a 20 - 23 minute lecture, but an interactive lesson. Each group must
address a different issue. This means you will have to communicate with other
groups to make sure your group's topic is unique.
Specific Requirements:
1. The group is responsible for 20 - 23 minutes of class time. Be sure to
stay within these time limits.
2. Each group must orally cite three sources of information during their presentation.
A minimum of five sources is required in a works cited or references page to
be submitted with your outline (See course calendar for outline due date). These
sources should be of a scholarly nature (Communication Monographs, The Journal
of Communication, The Western Journal of Communication, etc.) Although you may
consult your textbook for ideas and check the reference lists at the end of
each chapter for sources, you may not use your textbook as one of the five required
sources.
3. Be sure to keep in mind the essential elements of any good presentation.
Identify your general purpose, specific purpose, and central ideas. Connect
the material to the audiences concerns; build a relationship with the audience
by showing you know them and their needs. Your lesson should be organized and
include an introduction, body and conclusion following the organizational structure
from Chapter 15.
4. The group must use at least two visual aids. As always, your visual aids
should be meaningful and add to the content of the speech.
5. The group must submit (typed) three possible exam questions (at least one
true/false and one multiple choice) relevant to the material covered by their
lesson, submitted as an attachment to the outline. Please include desired responses,
particularly for short answer or essay questions, as the students will gain
the knowledge from your lesson. Some of your questions will be incorporated
into the second exam.
Recommended Approach:
1. Brainstorm and select the topic you will present to the class.
2. Write down your group member's name, phone number, e-mail, etc.
3. Decide on regular meeting times and group rules/procedures. Group cohesiveness
will be enhanced with frequent, regularly scheduled meetings and interaction
among members. Those groups that attempt to complete this assignment as individual
projects clumped together will suffer from inconsistent or repetitive information
and the lack of cohesiveness will be evident to the audience.
4. Everyone agree to come to the first scheduled meeting:
a. With additional research material.
b. With a list of ideas for teaching a lesson to the class.
5. Chapters 12 - 17 will be helpful in topic selection, organization and presentation
techniques. Highlights of these chapters will be discussed during Public/Group
work session. Utilize these chapters as a reference to assist your preparation,
paying particular attention to the outline structure provided in chapter 15.