Each student serves once twice as discussion leader. This role is worth 8 percent of the final grade because it carries real responsibility for the quality and depth of the seminar on that day.

The discussion leader is not a presenter and not a lecturer. The role is to ensure that the class spends sustained, careful time unpacking the assigned material.

Sign-up

You will be able to sign up on this Microsoft List. Find an available date (not currently taken by someone else) you would like to present. You will only be allowed to select one date. Click in the cell under the ‘Discussion Leader’ column, and then click beneath the ‘Discussion Leader’ heading in the pop-up. You should be able to enter your name or email address. If you’ve done this correctly the field will populate with your name and photo.

Responsibilities

On your assigned day, you are responsible for:

  1. Keeping the discussion moving. If discussion stalls or goes superficial, it is your job to pose further questions, redirect attention to the text, or press for clarification.

  2. Anchoring discussion in the text. You should be prepared to point to specific definitions, examples, or arguments in the reading and bring the class back to them.

  3. Sustaining depth. Rushing through material, skipping difficult points, or settling for vague agreement counts against successful leadership.

  4. Engaging the room. You are expected to call on multiple classmates and involve them in the discussion. Dead air is your responsibility to address.

  5. Synthesis. At least twice during the class, you should summarize where the discussion stands and what has been established so far.

Evaluation

These axes assess how the discussion was led, not whether classmates were fully prepared or gave strong answers. You will pass if the class spends sustained time on the central ideas of the reading, with visible engagement and technical detail. You may fail if discussion is shallow, rushed, unfocused, or repeatedly stalls without recovery.

Instructor intervention does not count against you, but repeated intervention to supply questions or restart discussion does.

Rubric Axes (each scored 0-4)

  1. Core Outcomes and Focus
  2. Question Design and Sequencing
  3. Time and Flow Management
  4. Text Evidence and Boardcraft
  5. Distribution and Climate
  6. Responsive Teaching (Adaptation)

Axis Descriptors (0-4 scale)

Core Outcomes and Focus

  1. Core aims for the reading are not surfaced.
  2. One aim is mentioned, but undeveloped or vague.
  3. Major aims are stated, but discussion drifts or key aspects are underemphasized.
  4. Major aims (more than one possible) are surfaced and most discussion time stays on them.
  5. Clear, repeated focus; class leaves with major takeaways that can be stated in their own words.

Question Design and Sequencing

  1. Prompts are vague or absent; discussion stalls or meanders.
  2. Some prompts land, but sequencing is random or reactive.
  3. A few strong prompts appear; sequencing is uneven.
  4. Prompts are specific and text-anchored; questions progress logically and keep discussion moving, even when a student struggles.
  5. Questions build insight step by step; leader pivots smoothly on student contributions and uses brief recap or low-stakes prompts to maintain momentum.

Time and Flow Management

  1. Major segments are not reached; time is mismanaged.
  2. Late pivots; end is rushed or incomplete.
  3. Acceptable pacing, but one major segment is thin or compressed.
  4. All major segments are reached; transitions are clear.
  5. Time is managed deliberately; secondary threads are explicitly deferred to maintain focus on essentials.

Text Evidence and Boardcraft

  1. Discussion is untethered from the text; no concrete examples.
  2. Occasional reference to the text; examples or boardwork are unclear.
  3. Regular textual anchoring; at least one concrete example or construction attempted.
  4. Consistent page or line anchoring; clear example or boardwork when appropriate.
  5. Every major claim is anchored; concise boardwork or examples clarify the hardest point.

Distribution and Climate

  1. Same few voices dominate; interruptions or dead air go unaddressed.
  2. Some variety of voices, but airtime is uneven.
  3. Most students are heard; leader nudges politely.
  4. Broad participation; respectful climate; quiet students are invited using short prompts or recap questions; discussion continues when someone flounders.
  5. Deliberate equity; wide variety of voices over time; leader redirects or reframes smoothly when a student is unprepared, without loss of momentum.

Responsive Teaching (Adaptation)

  1. Confusion is ignored; leader presses on regardless.
  2. Confusion is noticed but not resolved.
  3. A brief clarification or example is offered.
  4. Leader adapts with a short explanation, example, or reframing that works.
  5. Confusion becomes a teachable moment; leader checks understanding and reorients discussion without losing focus.

Minute-Milestones (leader hits these or triages intentionally)

  • By ~10m in: Evoked clearly situated introduction, and offered accepted summarization
  • By ~35m in: Deep into the heart of the technical matter; at least one concrete example/demonstration, possibly boardwork, and onto a second
  • By ~50m in: At least into some second fragment of deep technical discussion (could well be further)
  • By ~60m in: Nearly concluded, synthesis w/2-3 bullet takeaways students can state in their own words.

What Leadership Is Not

  • It is not giving a talk.
  • It is not reading prepared notes.
  • It is not answering every question yourself.
  • It is not deferring responsibility for discussion quality to the instructor.

Preparation

You should come prepared with:

  • several questions that press on technical or conceptual difficulty,
  • several concrete examples or constructions from the text,
  • a sense of what this reading sets up rather than resolves, and how it fits into a larger argumentative arc.

There is no fixed script. You are expected to exercise judgment.

Why This Matters

A seminar only works if someone is responsible for its momentum. Learning to sustain serious technical discussion is part of the course and is evaluated accordingly.