Teaching Resources

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Teaching Resources


How to Use the Book

This book can be used by itself or with other readings, either for a 10-week quarter, a 14-week semester, or any other configuration. Download a course schedule to see how to use the text in these different formats and with other key readings.

Chapter Summaries, Questions, and Applications

Teaching assistants who have assisted with a course on political deliberation have developed sets of key concepts, discussion questions, and practical applications for each chapter. You can access those for each chapter by clicking on the corresponding links to the left.

The author has received considerable assistance from Laura Black (Ohio U) and Justin Reedy (U Washington) to develop sets of key concepts, discussion questions, and practical applications for each chapter. You can access those for each chapter by clicking on the corresponding links to the left.

Downloads

Major Class Assignments

When teaching using this book, you may wish to assign one or two major papers or projects for students to do by themselves or working in groups. Here are some sample assignments I have used when teaching an upper-level undergraduate course on small groups:

  • Group project assignment (pdf): For this project, students were asked to work in groups and study a particular theory of small-group communication in a particular context and present their findings to the class.
  • Group project worksheets (doc): In this project, student groups pick a social problem or issue, conduct research on that issue, devise and implement a solution, and assess the effectiveness of the solution.
  • Group project description and contract (doc): For this project, students were divided into groups and asked to focus on a particular small group archetype — either one discussed in The Group in Society or a novel archetype. They studied the presence of that archetype in our culture and society, and provided an overview of academic research that has examined such small groups.