Assignment for Week Three

 

 

 

 

In Freeman and McDonnell's Tough Decisions read:

• Preface
• chapter 18 (pp 185-211)
• chapter 1 (pp 3-10)
• chapter 2 (pp 11-16)
  

Please complete your reading of the Preface and chapter 18 by Saturday, and your reading of chapter one by Thursday or Friday. Chapter two should be completed by Monday.

Your primary assignment this week, in addition to the reading, will be to thoroughly discuss and render decisions on two case studies: Maggie's situation in chapter 1, and Jill's in chapter 2. You will discuss one case study for the first half of the week and the second case study for the second half of the week.

• The class has been divided into two groups of six students each.
• In your group you will discuss chapter 1 between Thursday and Saturday, and then post your group decision to the forum titled "whole class group" any time before Sunday evening.
• Your discussion of the second case will begin on Sunday or Monday and your group decision must be posted to the forum titled "whole class group" any time before Tuesday evening (10pm).
• Wednesday will be for comments on other groups' decisions.
• You will find your group discussion folders in the Case Studies folder.

Each of the groups will be discussing the same cases, but whether they will come to the same or different decisions we don't yet know.

Below you will find a list of who is in which small group, and in the classroom, in the case studies folder, you will find a folder in which your group will hold its discussions.

So your discussions this week, at least from Thursday till Tuesday, will take place pretty much exclusively in your small group. After discussing each case thoroughly, you will need to issue a group report describing what your group's decision is, and what the reasons for that decision were, and then post it into the forum titled "whole class group." Decisions about how that group report will be written, who will compose it, what it should say, etc, will be left to your own group. At a minimum, the report should tell us what you (as the decision-making character in the story) have decided to do, and what your reasons are for choosing to do that.

Your group does not have the luxury of not deciding, just as the people in real situations do not have the luxury of not decidiing. You should expect that there may be disagreements within your group about what should be done, but those disagreements will have to be worked through so that the group as a whole comes to a decision. Your way of working through those disagreements will be up to you. It will depend on the group members and how you choose to do it: by consensus, by vote, by some other method. It goes without saying that everyone's opinion should be treated with respect.

Everyone in class will be able to read (if they want to, it's not required) any or all of the other groups' discussions, but please post messages only into your own group and into the "whole class group" forum.

This week is a little light on the required reading, so you might take advantage of the time to start considering what your research project will be about. Details of the research project assignment can be found here.

 

Your first First Self Evaluation will also be due in about a week. Details available here.

 

Following are the group assignments for weeks three and four. If you do not see your name on this list, please let me know. There may be a reason, or it may be an oversight.

Group A

• NATHAN
• BINH
• HOLLY
• KELLY
• ASHLEY
• MARY
• JOANN

Group B

• MICHELLE
• AMBER
• JENNIFER
• MELLISA
• BRIAN
• JESSICA
• SOBIA