“A Teaching Manifesto on the Assembly:” Co-facilitating Collaborative, Participatory Learning in SPAN 280: Revolution!

One of the key motivations for developing these activities was to give students more opportunities to learn by doing and prepare them to apply key course concepts through problem-solving and teamwork. Another goal was to add more diverse modes of instruction and create more assessment methods, beyond the exam and paper model. Incorporating active participation techniques and the assessment components that go with them helps to broaden the students’ practice and competencies and provides instructors with more meaningful ways to provide feedback and assess students’ achievement of learning outcomes.

Through facilitating the Assembly, students learn to:

• Lead and participate in peer inquiry and dialogue about complex ethical and political issues related to revolutionary movements in Latin America
• Analyze historical and cultural texts and narratives produced as part of revolutionary movements

Description

During the first two weeks of class, students participate in two model Assemblies to experience multiple approaches to facilitating a small group discussion. They experience possible approaches to facilitating the Assembly as participants before their peers take on that role.

Delivery

Both synchronous and asynchronous

Work

• Include guiding questions for the 8-9 Assemblies held each semester in the course syllabus.
  • New topics are developed for each semester so that the Assembly stays current and the topics are fresh.
• Instructor decides to either pre-assign students to groups or have students self-select into groups of 8-10 students.

Method

1. Instructor provides sample of questions, quotes, music and film in a “round-robin.”
2. After the model assemblies, lead short debriefing discussions so students can ask questions and share their observations.

Note: This activity will be completed in two 50-minute class sessions. 

Description

Students create a facilitation guide and rationale and submit them to the instructor for feedback before the Assembly.

Delivery

Both synchronous and asynchronous

Prep Work

• Prepare, introduce, and announce the Assembly focus question Method

Method

1. Assembly facilitators write a facilitation guide that outlines the questions, quotations, and media that they will use to facilitate dialogue with their peers during a 20-minute discussion.
   • They also provide a two-paragraph rationale for their chosen approach. Some students will discuss their plans in progress during office hours. Facilitators submit their guides to the instructor two days before the Assembly.
2. Provide individualized feedback on 6-8 facilitators’ guides no later than one day before the Assembly, to help them organize and prioritize their facilitation plan.
3. Student facilitators finalize their plans for the discussion based on received feedback.

Note: This activity is completed weekly. 

Description

The Assembly activity is a weekly peer discussion facilitation activity based on the core organizational structure of revolutionary movements in Latin America. The Assembly activity cycle repeats 8-10 times during the semester, to ensure all students have to opportunity to act as the facilitator.

Prep Work

1. Confirm the facilitators.
2. Have students read the weekly assigned texts and participate in lecture and all-class discussion and engagement activities before participating in the Assembly.
3. Create the master facilitation guide, using the previously submitted guides from students facilitating for that week.
4. Provide the master facilitation guide to all students, which includes all groups' facilitation plans for the week.

Method

1. Students facilitate the 20-minute discussion.
2. Summaries of all the Assembly discussions are posted on the course discussion forum.
3. Students provide anonymous feedback on the week’s Assembly through a Canvas survey. Aggregated peer feedback, both on positive aspects and constructive suggestions, is provided.

Grading

Currently this activity is formative, and the discussions help students develop ideas and arguments that they can explore in the formal focus question essays and in their final video project assignment.