Dr. C.’s Learning Web

A CHECKLIST FOR RESPONDENTS IN THE MILTON SEMINAR
(Some of this advice is adapted from “How do I lead a discussion?” at www.Learn2.com.)

Leading a discussion can feel like tightrope-walking. Too much or too little guidance can stifle a discussion. Too many or too few questions can leave everyone looking at each other or the table. Here’s some advice to help you negotiate that tightrope. You’ll notice that many of the recommendations are in some tension with each other. That’s because there are inevitable trade-offs involved in leading a discussion. Be ready for them. Good luck, and enjoy yourself: a great discussion is a wonderful thing to behold.

• Be sure you have an outline and a working bibliography from your presenter at least 48 hours before the presentation. You should have a final outline (or something close to it) and a final bibliography at least 24 hours before the presentation.
• Talk with your presenter about his or her goals for the presentation. What’s the most important crux? What Milton passages seem particularly important? What unanswered questions of his or her own does the presenter carry into the presentation? What kind of responses does your presenter want most from the seminar?
• Be prepared to discuss the bibliography as well as the presentation. Make every effort to read over key passages in one or more of the presenter’s secondary sources.
• Try not to focus your response on disagreement or agreement with the presenter’s theses. Instead, explore questions and open up related lines of discussion based on the presentation.
• Start the discussion with a single question. The question should not be so open-ended that the class has nowhere to start, nor should it be so narrowly focused that a word or two will answer it. Instead, use the presentation as a springboard for discussing a relevant passage in Milton, or quote one of the presenter’s point and ask a question about that point, or perhaps even ask the presenter for clarification / expansion and then turn his or her response into a question for the class.
• One of the best ways to lead a discussion is to listen very carefully to what the discussants are saying. That’s hard to do while you’re considering your next step, but it’s essential. Sometimes a response to a question will lead you and the group to the real question on everyone’s mind. Be ready to seize this moment!
• Don’t feel you have to speak after every contribution. Don’t encourage the class to direct all its comments to you. Your responsibility is to stimulate and guide discussion, not to prompt the discussion at every turn.
• The discussion may flag unexpectedly, so be sure you have several back-up questions ready. On the other hand, don’t be afraid to let the class consider a point or question silently for several seconds. Those seconds will seem like an eternity, but they’re often the difference between a thoughtful discussion and a superficial one.