College in the Schools Field Day
University of Minnesota
January 5, 2010
Instructions for Student Juries
Introduction
The student jury is a shorter version of the citizen juries initiated and run by the Jefferson Center in
Minneapolis since 1974. In citizen juries, a representative group of Minnesotans, serving as a
microcosm of the public, is brought together for a week to become informed about a specific topic of
public concern, discuss potential solutions, and come up with recommendations that are brought to
the attention of the public and local and state government. In student juries the students become
informed about a specific issue through background readings (provided by your teacher), hear the
testimony of experts on the issue, question a panel of experts, meet in “juries” to deliberate about
possible responses to the issue, and come up with a response that is brought to other juries and an
elected official.
Field Day Schedule
8:30 – 8:50 a.m.
Welcome by University of Minnesota admissions and general orientation.
Room 150, Tate Physics Lab, 116 Church St. SE, East Bank
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Students separate into three groups by issue.
Hear panel discussion by experts.
Education Reform, Room 131, Tate Physics Lab
Technology & Rights, Room 133, Tate Physics Lab
Healthcare Reform, Room 166, Tate Physics Lab
9:30 – 9:50 a.m.
Questioning by students of panel.
10:00 – 10:40 a.m.
Students separate into individual juries to deliberate.
You will receive your jury number and room number from your teacher.
10:50 – 11:20 a.m.
Student juries on each issue gather to report findings to one another.
Education Reform, Room 131, Tate Physics Lab
Technology & Rights, Room 133, Tate Physics Lab
Healthcare Reform, Room 166, Tate Physics Lab
11:20 – 12:15 p.m.
Lunch on the East Bank of the University of MN Campus (maps and restaurant
lists will be available in Room 150, Tate Physics Lab)
12:15 – 12:30 p.m.
Issue reporters present findings to public official.
Room 150, Tate Physics Lab
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Remarks and questions from the audience.
Room 150, Tate Physics Lab
Issues Charges: Rethinking the Balance of Federal and State Governments
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Education Reform: What should be the federal government’s role in shaping and funding
education policy? For example, the federal Race to the Top program requires states to change
their education policies and meet federal guidelines in order to compete for funding. Should
the federal government ask states to change their education policies in order to compete for
funding?
Technology & Rights: Minnesota and other states have recently passed legislation
prohibiting text messaging while driving. This has prompted the interest of the federal
government – citing safety concerns – in passing similar legislation prohibiting texting while
driving for the entire country. Some states have objected, arguing that enforcing prohibitions
against text messaging is difficult and expensive. Groups concerned with possible
infringements on individual rights have also raised objections. What should the federal
government’s role be in legislating laws on what individuals can do while in their cars?
Healthcare Reform: Is healthcare a right or a privilege? What should be the role of the
government (at all levels) and advocacy groups (such as those connected to insurance
companies) be in designing healthcare reform? Should the government provide healthcare to
everybody? Only citizens? Only those who cannot afford it? Or something else?
Becoming Informed
Student juries are not focus groups which provide individual opinions on an issue but rather are to
provide collectively considered judgments. The first step in this process involves becoming informed
on the issue on which your jury will deliberate. Background readings for each issue are provided by
your teacher and you must read these before the field day. During the field day, students will divide
into three large groups to hear brief presentations by expert panels on the issue they read about. The
experts will include professors and civic leaders whose backgrounds make them well qualified to
provide an informed perspective on the issue. The experts will be familiar with the background
readings and speak from the assumption that all students have read and are familiar with those
materials. After brief panel presentations, students may ask questions of the panel. In order to
prepare for this, you should write down questions ahead of time and bring them with you. There is
space for writing your questions at the end of this packet.
Deliberation
Students will divide up into individual juries (about 15 students/jury) immediately after the question
and answer period with an expert panel. Each jury will then deliberate on the specific “charge” that
accompanies the issue. Deliberation is a structured discussion with the purpose of providing informed
answers to the charge. It is not a competition among different opinions and students should feel free
to change their minds and be persuaded by one another. Juries should strive for a common
consensus, although not at the expense of honest disagreement and valid minority opinions. Expert
panel members will be available nearby to provide answers to brief, factual questions. The jury
runner relays these questions between the expert panel members and juries.
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Forepersons ask each member of the jury to introduce themselves and describe how they
would initially answer the charge and their reasons for their answer. The two jury
Forepersons should work together to facilitate this process, but should share their views
last.
The Jury Reporter should then summarize major areas of agreement and disagreement.
Forepersons should facilitate a brief discussion focusing on the Reporter’s summary.
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Jury Reporter & Forepersons propose up to three points of common agreement and the
Reporter should write them on a chalkboard.
Jury Forepersons conduct a vote on each point of agreement written down.
Jury Reporter indicates whether each vote was:
a. Unanimous (All jury members agreed.)
b. Majority (Not unanimous but at least two-thirds of the jury members agreed.)
c. Minority (Less than two-thirds but at least a third of the jury members agreed.)
Jury Roles
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Jury Forepersons: These two students conduct the deliberation of individual student juries. Jury
Forepersons should begin by having jury members state their name and their school. It is helpful
for each jury member to make a name place card. It is the job of the Jury Forepersons to make
sure all jury members get a chance to speak and make progress towards providing a report on the
charge. They must conduct and keep track of the voting on points of agreement.
Jury Reporter: This student is responsible for recording the jury’s collective response to the
charge. They will work with the Forepersons to report initial areas of agreement and
disagreement and will write them on the chalkboard for the group. They will also report these
points to the other juries deliberating on the same issue (see below). Jury Reporters must give
your reporting sheet to the Issue Reporters at the 10:50 session.
Reporting Jury Findings
Juries have until 10:40 a.m. to finish their deliberations and juries that finish early must remain in
their jury rooms. All juries on a given issue will return to the room where they heard the expert panel
to report the results of their deliberations. A reporter from each jury will then announce their findings –
what, of the three points of agreement were voted on unanimously, by a majority and by a minority- to
members of the other juries (reports should be approximately 3-4 minutes per jury).
Issue Reporters
Issue Reporters should report to the facilitator of their issue's expert panel at the 10:50 a.m. session
when the juries present their findings. In order to be prepared to put together final reports for the
afternoon session the Issue Reporters will help to facilitate the 10:50 a.m. meeting. Facilitation will
entail a) writing points of agreement on the blackboard, b) taking further notes during individual jury
reports, and c) collecting jury report sheets from individual jury reporters. During lunch, the issue
reporters will summarize their notes into a brief form, noting what points most juries appeared to
agree on and whether there were consistent areas of disagreement. When all students gather at
12:15 for the session, the Issue Reporters from each issue will present their findings to her
(approximately 5 minutes per issue). Issue Reporters will work over lunch in Physics 157 to prepare
their presentations. Lunch will be provided for them.
Jury Member Notes
Initial Jury Member Response (How would you answer the charge?)
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What are the reasons for your response to the charge?
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Possible Questions for the Panel (Prepare based on background readings.)
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Questions for the afternoon session with the public official: