Learning & Assessing
Through Seminars
Dr. Mok, Y.F.
Seminar
Assessed?
Deserving Credits?
Negotiation
Before doing seminars, discuss with students
elements of a successful & a poor seminar
criteria for assessment
(weighting, process of marking)
Unsuccessful Seminars
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Inadequate preparation
Lecturing (reading out points)
Little time for discussion
Little discussion stimulation
Unable to summarize arguments
Lack clear conclusion
Weak oral / communication skills
Basic Features
• Group presentation.
• Listening groups consider presentation & agree
questions.
• Questions & discussion.
• Reports on seminar topics / group performance.
New Initiatives
Assessment through Seminars
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Group skills taught & assessed
Handouts
Ask questions
Draw conclusions
Students to manage the whole session
Teacher as facilitator or even ‘an expert in not
knowing’ (Raab, 1997)
Weighting System
• Content
• Oral skills
• Use of audio-visual aids
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Interest engendered
Effectiveness of questions
Seminar leadership
The summing up
Presentation
Seminar
The Presenting Group
• Raise issues about the topic.
• Stimulate discussion with a series of
prepared questions.
• The presentation should not be so
comprehensive  space for discussion.
• Make discussion productive (passive, not
assertive).
• Draw threads together to sum up.
Helping Presenting Group
to Prepare
Relate topic to perspectives
Dig into higher order thinking
Formulate questions for discussion
Define & take up roles
Integrate members’ ideas
Plan seminar layout
Relate Topic to Perspectives
historical
global
Perspectives
ethical
economic
Dig into Higher Order Thinking
application
evaluation
Thinking
synthesis
analysis
Formulate Questions for Discussion
comparisonbased
fact-based
Questions
case-history
based
opinion-based
Define & Take Up Roles
leader
interaction
processor
Roles
note-taker
manager
Integrate Members’ Ideas
Use concept mapping to
 capture individual member’s knowledge/ideas
 work for collective knowledge
 achieve consensus
 then,
 to match to roles, process, questions …
Plan Seminar Layout
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Objectives
Time frame and sequence
Methods to present
Methods to stimulate / proceed discussion
Contingency plans
An example of
concept map
gaines@cpsc.ucalgary.ca 30-Jul-95
Team Mapping Method (1)
concept
map
concept
map
concept
map
Team to review together
discuss & formulate
concept
map
Team Mapping Method (2)
Part of Topic
Concept Map
Fit in?
Refine own map
Part of Topic
Concept Map
Global
Concept Map
Part of Topic
Concept Map
Part of Topic
Concept Map
Listening Group
• Prepare for participation in the seminar
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Evaluate seminar
Learn from the presentation topic
Respond to the discussion questions
Input new insights
More Resources
• http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/webb/GoodSeminars.htm
• http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~lwarley/documents/seminarsSpring2004.pdf