MLD 377
Organizing: People, Power and Change
TEACHING FELLOW MANUAL
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
January 2013
In the spirit of preserving the history of PAL-177 / MLD-377
let it be known that this manual was originally written
by Heather Harker
in collaboration with
Andrea Sheppard & Mary Hannah Henderson
2000
Edited by
Year
Lisa Boes and Jenny Oser
Aimee Carevich
Jack Pan
Lisa Boes
Jama Adams and Sarah Staley
Jorge Gastelumendi and Erin Sweeney
Esther Handy
Kate Hilton
Josh Daneshforooz
Melanie Vant and Laure “Voop” de Vulpillières
Erica Dhawan
2001
2002
2003
2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 6
Purpose of the Manual ......................................................................................................... 6
Whether or not to be a Teaching Fellow? ........................................................................... 7
What the Course is About .................................................................................................... 8
The MLD-377 Teaching Team ............................................................................................... 9
The Campaign of "Organizing: People, Power, and Change"...........................................10
A week in the life of MLD 377 ..............................................................................................11
FOUNDATION .......................................................................................... 13
Foundation Checklist ..........................................................................................................13
Teaching Team Initial Meetings ..........................................................................................13
Retreat ..................................................................................................................................14
Payment and Tracking Hours .............................................................................................15
TF Responsibilities to Share ...............................................................................................15
Community Fellows .............................................................................................................18
FIRST Day and 1:1s ................................................................................ 21
Shopping Day.......................................................................................................................21
First Day ...............................................................................................................................21
Addressing Common Student Concerns ...........................................................................22
Projects ................................................................................................... 25
Project Selection..................................................................................................................25
First 1:1s with Section Members – Project Meetings ........................................................30
CLINICS AND EVENTS ........................................................................... 32
Community Night Checklist ................................................................................................32
Action Skills Session...........................................................................................................35
Relationship Clinic & Structuring Peer Learning Teams ..................................................42
Coaching Clinic....................................................................................................................45
SECTIONS ............................................................................................... 48
Sectioning ............................................................................................................................48
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Preparing for Section Meetings ..........................................................................................48
Typical Sections ..................................................................................................................50
Summary: Elements of Leading Section ............................................................................53
Office Hours .........................................................................................................................55
Teaching Fellow Weekly Meetings .....................................................................................56
Weekly Planning/Preparation and Student Progress Meetings ...........................................56
TF Section Planning Meetings ............................................................................................56
Section Debrief Weekly Meetings .......................................................................................57
Weekly Section Planning.....................................................................................................58
Public Narrative: Story of Self (Week 2) ..............................................................................58
Organizing Projects (Week 3) .............................................................................................60
Relationships (Week 4).......................................................................................................61
Structuring Teams (Week 5) ...............................................................................................63
Strategy (Week 6)...............................................................................................................65
Action (Week 7) ..................................................................................................................67
Catching our breath (Week 8) .............................................................................................69
Organizing projects (Weeks 9 & 10) ...................................................................................71
Being a Good Organizer (Week 11) ....................................................................................74
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................... 77
Final week of class ..............................................................................................................77
TF evaluation........................................................................................................................77
Celebration ...........................................................................................................................78
GRADING ................................................................................................. 79
Attendance ...........................................................................................................................79
Student Participation ...........................................................................................................80
Weekly Reflection Papers ...................................................................................................80
Midterm.................................................................................................................................82
Midterm Evaluation .............................................................................................................82
Grading Midterm Papers.....................................................................................................82
Mid-Course Interventions....................................................................................................84
Midterm Meetings ...............................................................................................................85
Final Papers .........................................................................................................................85
Final Paper Grading Criteria ...............................................................................................86
Components of the Final Grade ..........................................................................................87
The Art of Crafting the Final Grade .....................................................................................90
Using the Excel Sheet for Calculating Grades ....................................................................91
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WORKSHEETS & HANDOUTS ............................................................... 93
Community Fellows Nomination Form ...............................................................................94
Community Fellow Interview Form .....................................................................................95
Learning agreement.............................................................................................................96
Student Interest Form ..........................................................................................................97
Section Presentation Pointers ............................................................................................98
Tips for Selecting a Project .................................................................................................99
Project report form ............................................................................................................100
Weekly Reflection Paper Assignment ..............................................................................101
Instructions for Community Night Student Panelists .....................................................102
Public narrative worksheet ...............................................................................................103
Coaching Tips ....................................................................................................................110
Strategy worksheet ............................................................................................................112
Motivational Task Design Diagnostic ...............................................................................112
Epic Exercise Explanation ................................................................................................114
Points to include in a meeting agenda .............................................................................115
Week 11 Section Reflection Exercise ...............................................................................118
MLD-377 Mid-Term Evaluation ..........................................................................................120
Midterm Paper Assignment...............................................................................................122
Final Paper Assignment ....................................................................................................123
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INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE OF THE MANUAL
The manual serves as a resource to support the work of teaching fellows in MLD-377: Organizing:
People, Power and Change. The skills and resources are easier to relate than the experience of being
a TF. This manual articulates something of that experience while providing concrete, specific tools
to make your work more manageable – even if you are a full-time student yourself. You should also
receive a disk or electronic file containing the forms and handouts that are integrated in the
manual.
This manual is intended to accomplish the following objectives:
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Explain the praxis of the class as an opportunity for leadership development;
Provide Teaching Fellows with concrete tools, such as grading grids and guidelines, to do
their work more effectively;
Acknowledge the risk of action in making the class experience ‘real’ and suggests ways to
support students as they confront the ‘real world’ via their projects;
Help teaching fellows articulate why/how we are doing what we do.
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WHETHER OR NOT TO BE A TEACHING FELLOW?
What do we see ourselves doing? This is not an easy question. The time, energy, and intensity of
being a TF for this course demands a great deal of personal and professional reflection as we are
often challenged by not only our students, but by ourselves and by Marshall.
If you are signing up to be a teaching fellow just to earn some money, forget it. Be a TF for another,
easier course. This is not for you.
If you are signing up to be a teaching fellow because you care about the topic at hand (democratic
leadership, social change, community organizing) and you are interested (read: highly motivated)
to deepen your own knowledge and experience of developing the leadership of others as they learn
tools of social change, then this TF job is for you.
Before you commit to being a TF, you should consider these points. Be certain that you have fully
understood and accepted the following:
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Understanding the time commitment (15-25 hours a week on average, which is more than
the 10-12 estimated for most HKS courses).
Accepting the TF pay (whether it is an hourly rate or a flat stipend for the semester – it
should be a fair hourly wage).
Keeping your schedule clear to fully participate in the weekly teaching team meetings
(preparation for the week, planning your section with the other TFs and debriefing section
meetings).
Acknowledging the nature of the work involved (intense relationship with students, focus
on development and support of others). You will need to be able to manage close
relationships with students while remaining professional.
Recognizing the possibilities of ‘hot topics’ such as race, class, gender, political differences,
sexuality, and religion, arising in class on a fairly regular basis - keeping in mind that the
role of the TF is not to problem solve those issues but to facilitate a learning discussion
amongst the students regarding those topics in relation to organizing.
A critical learning of the course revolves around the importance of transforming people and
communities - not just one individual. Notwithstanding the famous starfish story, numbers do
matter. Therefore, as a Teaching Fellow responsible for 12-18 students, it is not enough to simply
have one or two ‘stars.’ It does matter that you reach out to, support, and guide the learning of all
12-18 students, no matter where they fall along the learning curve. The relationship between the
TFs and Marshall Ganz, the developer of the course, is centered on building relationships,
developing leadership, and holding each other accountable for support and growth over the course
of a semester.
This course is different from many academic courses because it incorporates the use of real world
problems and accountability. That is, the students are not allowed to remain behind the hallowed
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ivory tower walls of Harvard and instead must actually get out and do the work of ‘people, power,
and change’ in an actual community. It is the use of these real world situations that provides
students with the true assessment of their learning progress – and mistakes are a favorable part of
that process! We create a different level of learning when we encourage reflective learning within
the real world context. Further, when projects are well designed, the community a student is
organizing teaches by holding that student accountable for the outcomes. Marshall often remarks
that he is not teaching as much as he is recruiting leadership to make democracy work.
WHAT THE COURSE IS ABOUT
In Organizing: People, Power, and Change, we teach what de Tocqueville called the “mother of all
forms of knowledge” in a democracy—the knowledge of how to combine. On three levels, the class
addresses:
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Leadership that builds Community that mobilizes Power. It addresses problems that result
from the lack of power, not technical or knowledge problems that can be solved with research.
Organizing that focuses on Voice instead of efficiency. It’s about constituency building (not
serving clients or attracting and exchanging with customers), effectiveness and change, not
event planning.
Reflective Practice not about leadership, but in leadership.
Teaching organizing, like organizing itself, is a practice that must be learned through experience.
Therefore, the course must be genuinely rooted in the participant’s passion, and not out of
convenience. We can learn more from our experience, however, by reflecting upon it, writing about
it, and drawing lessons - or "theory" - from it. That is what we have tried to do in preparing this
manual.
Teaching organizing as reflective practice is rooted in the moral, political and pedagogical traditions
underpinning democracy - what John Dewey described as the "exercise of agency in association
with others." In this era of globalizing institutions, increasing inequality, and social fragmentation,
making democracy work has become a major challenge. One way we can help meet this challenge is
to identify, recruit, and develop leadership with the needed moral, intellectual, and practical
understanding.
This course began as an initiative by Harvard Kennedy School students who wanted to learn
organizing tools. One lesson we have learned is that learning to use new tools can require learning
more about ourselves. So, just like any organizing project, our first job is to build relationships to
construct the "community" within which students will learn. In like fashion, we work with students
to develop their story of why they are doing what they are doing, as well as their strategy of how
they will do it. And we coach them through the "snare of preparation" to translate their concerns
into action.
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This class addresses three questions: why do people organize; how does organizing work; and what
does it take to become a good organizer. The context within which the learning of this class takes
place is one of strengthening democratic traditions and practices, particularly as it relates to civil
society.
There are several values integral to the effective teaching of this course, but the most important is:
walk the talk. For example, if in class, we talk about developing leadership, don’t just talk about it,
do it, as the teaching fellow. Just as Marshall is developing the leadership of the TFs by supporting
them in their sections, so should the TFs develop the leadership of the students by supporting them
in their projects.
The importance of reflective practice cannot be overstated. How do we model ‘reflective practice’ in
a way that creates a space for the students to do so as well? What does reflective practice look like
in a classroom? It means, in part, to do the end-of-section weekly evaluation, reflecting on and
acknowledging what had been done well and what needs to be improved. Thus, the mission, values
and strategies of the class all revolve around actually practicing and modeling what we are teaching
- to the best of our ability.
THE MLD-377 TEACHING TEAM
One of the unique aspects of being a TF for MLD-377 is that you have the opportunity to join a team
of people who are committed to their own growth as leaders and teachers, as well as the growth of
their students. The teaching team is the leadership team for the TFs, and the project is organizing
student learning. Each member of the teaching team, as well as the team as a whole, is a resource to
be utilized fully throughout the course of the semester. To prevent becoming a “lone ranger” in the
effort to make this course a success, you are strongly encouraged to share questions, concerns,
frustrations and/or celebrations with your teammates. Teaching team meetings and TF section
planning meetings are where much of this mutual learning and support will take place, but don’t
hesitate to ask for a 1:1 meeting with another TF as it is helpful to you. Each year the teaching team
changes, new students offer new challenges, and the world around us brings new demands – all of
which provide us with opportunities to continue to learn more about how to do this work. We look
forward to the new insights our work together this year will bring.
In addition to having other teaching fellows as resources, we can also draw on Marshall’s
experience in organizing and teaching organizing. All TFs are encouraged to meet with him
throughout the semester regarding any questions or struggles they are encountering.
Because Marshall is very committed to high quality work, and the maximum development of the
teaching team, he can be very demanding of his Teaching Fellows. Know going into the semester
that he WILL challenge you at one point or another, and that he will do so out of his desire to make
you a better teacher and leader. Likewise, fellow TFs will also offer constructive criticism in “delta”
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fashion at many points during the semester. During times when you feel overwhelmed or
frustrated, know that you were selected as a Teaching Fellow for a reason (you were not chosen by
mistake!) and that the entire teaching team wants you to succeed. Therefore, remember to turn to
your fellow TFs (and Marshall) for support, encouragement, advice and assistance along the way.
Marshall also has a way of motivating you to contribute your physical resources of time and energy
as a good organizer can. His ability to delegate and motivate will keep you and the class going at
many difficult points in time. However, as a result, there will be occasions when you want to spend
more time on the MLD-377 campaign than you have agreed (along with the rest of your team) to
commit. Remember to protect your personal time throughout the semester, and ask for help in
doing so when you need to, as self-care is one of the essential components of being a good organizer
for the long haul. The teaching team should do its best to all hold each other accountable to the
agreement that we make together at the beginning of the semester.
A final note about working with Marshall is that some TFs in the past have engaged in debates or
struggles with Marshall. While often they are productive, they can also result in tension and
frustration for the whole teaching team. It is important to balance the new perspective one brings
with the experience reflected in Marshall’s perspective, recognizing his ultimate responsibility to
guide the course. Notice times when you are feeling defensive, and look to how to turn the situation
into one that you and the other TFs can learn from. This is not to say that you should always agree
with Marshall. In fact, he encourages new ideas that mesh well with the MLD-377 curriculum. The
best advice is to make your case as you see fit, do your best to hear his perspective and those of the
other Teaching Fellows, but understand that he is responsible for the course and the decision is
ultimately his. Keeping these things in mind will make for a more enjoyable and productive
semester.
THE CAMPAIGN OF "ORGANIZING: PEOPLE, POWER, AND CHANGE"
Organizing: People, Power, and Change is enacted as a semester-long campaign. It has a specific
beginning and ending, with periodic peaks culminating in a final peak, which leads to the resolution
at the end of the term. For this time period, all teaching team and students focus intense energy,
time, and resources to make this campaign successful. Foundation work is done in preparation
meetings with Marshall as a teaching team. The initial kick-off begins on the first day of class, on
which our campaign "plan" is presented. The next peak is the first section meeting. With the
leadership of the TFs, students begin to construct their own campaign of relationship building,
understanding, and purposeful action. Leading into the mid-term there are other momentumbuilding opportunities such as project engagement and victories (or setbacks). We continually
evaluate the campaign progress through student 1:1s and meetings with the teaching team.
Another natural peak is the mid-term paper. This is a time to reflect upon our action to this point
and re-strategize and motivate to reach our goals and the final peak at the end of the semester. At
the end of the term, we evaluate our efforts and celebrate our campaign of relationship building,
understanding, and action, known as "Organizing: People, Power, and Change."
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As with any campaign, there are different types of activities that support the campaign towards its
goals. There are arrow-like activities that are specifically designed to move the campaign forward –
the mid-term paper is an example of this type of activity. Then there are also the cyclical activities
such as the grading and writing of comments on the weekly reflection papers that support the
ongoing efforts of the campaign. The midterm arrow would be useless without the ongoing cyclical
work of the weekly reflection papers. Similarly, the ongoing cyclical work of the reflection papers
leads to nowhere without the focused energy generated by the pressure and deadline of the
midterm paper. As you progress over the course of the semester, it is useful to step back and reflect
on whether and how both the arrow and the cyclical work of the course are being adequately
supported for the students’ learning.
A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF MLD 377
A TF typically spends a minimum of 15 hours doing this:
Before the lecture
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review the week’s reading assignment (.5 to 2 hr)
look over Marshall’s comments on graded papers, return to students,
and enter grades into grading spreadsheet (.5 hr)
meet with teaching team to discuss papers and student progress and
review the lecture agenda (1.5 hr)
Lecture
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attend lecture (1.5 hr),
talk with students afterwards (.25 hr),
enter attendance into grading sheet (.1 hr)
Day before
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read and comment on reflection papers (2 hr)
finish prep for section (revise agenda, make posters) (1 hr)
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meet with the TF team to review key teaching points and prepare your
agenda for section. (1 hr for team meeting and half hour for additional
prep)
lead section (1.5 hr)
talk with students afterwards and enter participation grades into
grading sheet (.25 hr)
meet with teaching team to debrief section (1.5 hr)
After section
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finish comments and grades on reflection papers (.2 hr)
send papers to Marshall by Friday night/first thing Saturday morning
Ongoing throughout
the week
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hold office hours (2 hr)
manage emails (2 hr)
Section
Section
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Other responsibilities (for approximately an additional 100 hours) include:
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Pre-class teaching team training and planning meetings (15 hr)
CF Interviews (2 hr)
Saturday Skills Session (8 hr)
Meeting to decide “who’s in” and do Sectioning (2 hr)
Community Night (3 hr)
Relationship clinic (1:1s) (3 hr)
Coaching and facilitation clinic (2 hr)
First 1:1’s with section members (8 hr)
Midterm 1:1’s (8 hr)
Grading midterm (8 hr)
Midterm teaching team meeting (6 hr)
Grading Finals (12 hr)
Meeting with teaching team to determine final paper and course grades (6 hr)
Class Evaluation (6 hr)
Meetings with Marshall as needed
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FOUNDATION
FOUNDATION CHECKLIST
CREATION OF TEACHING TEAM
 Recruitment of team (diversity – ethnic, generational, program, school is a goal)
 Schedule introductions and training sessions (coaching, evaluating, facilitating)
SYLLABUS REVISION
 Timing/calendar
 Content, readings
MATERIALS
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Revise course handouts (assignments, extracurricular meetings)
Binder with TF manual for each TF with disk of documents
Desk copies of books for TFs
Revise list of projects (see community outreach)
LOGISTICS
1. Room reservations for sections
2. Room reservations for Saturday skills session, community night, relationship clinic,
coaching clinic, and facilitation clinic
3. Schedule and reserve videotape for lecture and section rotation
4. Discuss additional programming (extra story sessions, movie nights, etc.)
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
1. Community Fellow recruitment, interviews, selection
2. Recruit organizations and schedule “community night” (use updated spreadsheet)
TEACHING TEAM INITIAL MEETINGS
All Teaching Fellows and Marshall meet at least two times before the semester begins. These
meetings will provide an opportunity to get to know one another, to get a general overview of the
course as it works from the perspective of teaching team, to review the syllabus and course
readings, to schedule weekly meetings as a teaching team during the semester, to plan recruitment
for the course, and to assign TF responsibilities (see TF Responsibilities Chart on page 18).
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There are additional meetings to prepare for a community night, initial student 1:1s, and the
student sectioning process as well as a retreat (see below to begin developing the skills necessary
to be an effective teaching fellow). While the logistics of launching the course will always feel like
the most urgent task, it is important to make time for this retreat and training.
RETREAT
In addition to these initial meetings, there will be a mandatory daylong retreat prior to the
beginning of the semester. This may be considered the kickoff for the teaching team. It is an
opportunity for new and future TFs to undergo practical training in three key skill areas: coaching
students, teaching and facilitating discussion, and evaluating student work. We will accomplish this
through discussion, role-play, mock grading and facilitating exercises and other methods. In
addition to these skills sessions, there will be time dedicated to team building and goal setting for
the current teaching team. Don’t push off role-playing coaching and watching videos of sections
from previous years!
Topic/Training Areas
Goal setting
what motivates you to teach in this
course?
what are your goals for the semester?
what team goals do we have?
Coaching
What have we learned from 1:1s?
Coaching situations
(obstacles and ways to overcome)
Facilitating
Former TF section video
Facilitating a group discussion
Goals
Orientation to teaching
Set personal goals
Set team goals
Evaluate 1:1s
Learn what makes for a good project
Learn how to prep students for presentations
Learn how to help students take risks (dive in!)
Learn how to create individual strategies
(targeting)
Learn about public presence
Learn how to guide discussion around key pts
Learn how to manage off-base comments
Learn how to play soccer, not ping-pong
Learn how to balance the tension:
Structure and flexibility
Learn how to evaluate a section
Evaluating
(written work and class participation)
Sample papers
Marshall’s class video
Learn how to evaluate comments in class
Learn how to comment on and evaluate
reflection papers
Enrollment & registration strategy
Recruitment of Community Fellows
Registration and sectioning
Diversity, willingness to learn, commitment
Clarify process and roles
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Distributing TF responsibilities
(see following page)
Equality of time commitment
PAYMENT AND TRACKING HOURS
So long as the teaching team is compensated as Teaching Fellows, not as Course Assistants, there is
no need to track hours. TFs are provided $1000/month pre-tax (or the going rate) for five months,
typically paid on the 15th of the month from February through June. Tracking hours is a tedious task
but is necessary in order to ensure fair pay for everyone, and to accurately monitor the total
number of hours that is required to run the course. The TF assigned to advocating for fair pay
should do a check-in mid-semester to make sure everyone is working approximately the same
number of hours.
TF RESPONSIBILITIES TO SHARE
(Key: 1 = least work, 3 = most work)
TF
Rank
Responsibility
Description
1 beg
Pre-Course
Materials
Work with Marshall’s assistant to update syllabus and
Organizing Notes and revise handouts
send manual and documents to TFs
Prepare materials for first day of class
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1
Technology
Coordinator
Ensure that videos are prepped and ready for class.
Help students access online video and materials.
Assist with Studio KSG. Ensure that each class and
section has digital videotaping equipment and that
videos are uploaded to the course website
3 beg
Community
Liaison /
Community Night
Coordinator
Work with Marshall’s assistant to communicate with
community organizations; revise project list, prepare
orgs for Community Night; invite panel of former
students; follow-up calls to orgs; agenda for each
group
2
Reflection book
Collect weekly student reflections from each TF; design
and print a reflection book for the class celebration
2
Website &
announcements
Work with Marshall’s assistant to troubleshoot student
problems with access to website; manage course web
page (assignments, materials, announcements). Send
email announcements to students during semester.
1
Materials prepped
for class
Help Marshall pull the right posters each week;
transport posters and handouts to each class; create
attendance sheet and make sure it’s signed by students
and delivered to appropriate TFs; take down posters
and return to office
1
Gerta Liaison
After TF meetings report to Gerta any important
course changes or key responsibilities for her
3 beg
Sectioning (2
people)
Initiate and coordinate the student interest forms
process and make an initial proposal to the teaching
team
3 beg
Registration (2
people)
Track registration for course, point person for crossregistration, coordinate with sectioning team. This is a
large time commitment.
2
Community Fellow
Liaison
Captain the selection-process of CFs; handle CF
technology issues (get CFs access to website); check in
with Community Fellows to ensure smooth integration
(regular meetings for retention).
1
Money and Time –
aka “Union Rep”
Help TFs track hours; understand pay process &
deadlines; advocates for fairness/equity
2
Agenda Prep
Work with Marshall before TF meetings (initial retreat,
weekly, grading) to develop agendas. Circulate to
teaching team prior to meeting.
3
seasonal
Grading
Update excel grading sheets before start of class and
distribute to TFs for first class and section. Ensure TFs
are using grading sheets and norm grading during
semester (ensure check and check-plus are consistent
for papers and participation).
Coordinate grading compilation at end of semester.
The person with this job should be comfortable with
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spreadsheets and formulas
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3
TF Manual
Revisions
Track edits to the TF manual and submit a revision –
this is a major time commitment. This could be divided
between two people.
1
Section prep
coordinator
Coordinate who is in charge of prepping each section
prep meeting on a rotating basis
2
Skills Session
Coordinator
Includes: Coordinate agenda/schedule with other
schools. Organize food sign-up, and gather materials
(Marshall’s posters, sign-in, agendas, action plans,
petitions, flip chart paper, markers, tape, extra paper,
etc.) (see detailed instructions later in manual). Take
digital pictures.
2
Coaching Session
Coordinator
Includes: Coordinate prep with teaching team, lead
development of the agenda, gather and prep materials,
confirm A/V set-up, etc. See detailed instructions later
in the manual.
2 beg
1:1 Session
Coordinator
Plan 1:1 and Team Structure Session (see instructions)
1
Mic captain
Ensure mic gets passed quickly around classroom
1
+/Δ
Write +/Δ at end of class
1
Time keeper
Keep the time during class
2
Peer coaching
coordinator
Helps set up coaching for TF Team
2 end
Celebration
Coordinator
Create and work with committee of students to plan
end of semester celebration
1
Evaluation
coordinator
Organize the midterm evaluation surveys and process
the results and share lessons learned from final
evaluation with teaching team
2
Meeting Notes &
Dropbox
Take notes at TF meetings and circulate to teaching
team via the Dropbox. Keep dropbox updated
accordingly.
COMMUNITY FELLOWS
Introduction
Since 1994, Organizing: People, Power and Change, has been taught at Harvard Kennedy School. In
this semester long class, 60 to 90 students learn a praxis of organizing through critical reflection on
their experience leading organizing projects that require clear outcomes achieved by mobilizing
others by the end of the semester. Drawing on literature from social sciences, history, and
practitioner guides, class room lectures and discussion, and work in peer learning sections of 15
students led by teaching fellows, students write weekly reflection papers linking theory and
practice, make class presentations on their work, and write midterm and final papers, evaluating
their own learning. Students are drawn primarily from masters programs at Harvard Kennedy
School, Divinity School, and the Graduate School of Education.
Description
In addition to degree students, MLD 377 sponsors a Community Fellows (CF) program. CFs are full
or part-time organizers or community leaders in the Greater Boston area whom we invite to audit
the course as full participants. At the beginning of the semester we select 4 to 8 CF’s to join the class
as a result of a month long process of recruitment, recommendation, application and interview.
Although not officially registered for the course, we accept the responsibility to work with these
students as with any other, and they accept the responsibility participate fully, complete reading
and writing assignments, carry out an organizing project, present on their work in class and take
part in discussions. Although they do not pay a fee, we require that their time, not only to attend
class, but for reading and writing, be on their employer’s clock. We also require their employer to
cooperate in designing at least a part of their work as an organizing project.
Purpose
The Community Fellows Program serves three purposes.
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The program helps students learn. It brings the experience of local organizers into the
classroom. CF perspectives help ground class discussions in daily practice. They help the
class link theory to practice and challenge theory from the perspective of their own practice.
The program helps practitioners learn. It provides a low cost, but structured and
supportive way for organizers to develop their understanding of their practice – and
improve their practice. The course provides an analytic framework and pedagogical
support for learning to reflect on – and learn from – their own experience. And it is a way
for them to connect with a wide range of people from many different backgrounds,
international and domestic, brought to together by a shared interest on organizing.
The program creates an opportunity for us to have an impact on local organizations, many
of which are struggling to become more effective. By training one of their team members,
we introduce our concepts into the practice of the organization. In many cases, community
18
fellows become supervisors for future interns from the class and opportunities for
internship can turn into employment opportunities.
Recruitment and Selection – January
When MLD 377 is taught in the spring, CF Recruitment and Selection begins in late December
or early January in order to have the CFs interviewed and selected by the first day of class (see
timeline on next page for details). Community Fellows are recruited by offering local organizations
the opportunity to nominate one of their team members, leaders, or collaborators. These
organizations include the 40 to 60 with whom we maintain ongoing relationships, based on student
internships, prior community fellows, and former students who currently work in these
organizations. Former community fellows often provide recommendations. We reach out to
organizations that have hosted particularly good organizing projects in the past.
After receiving the nominations we set up half-hour interviews - one-on-one meetings - with a
member of the teaching team. In these meetings we begin establishing a relationship, learn the
candidate’s background, discuss why they want to enroll in the class, make clear the challenges of
reading, writing, projects, accountability, attendance, and openness to learning. We explain the
commitment that we are prepared to make to working with them in return for their commitment to
take responsibility for doing all the required work.
Because enrollment is limited to a ratio of approximately two CFs per 15 students, we admit
community fellows based on the following criteria with respect both to the individuals and the
group as a whole: motivation, clarity as to their own goals, ability to complete the work, readiness
to learn, diversity (not only in class, race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, age, and sexual orientation,
but also their experience, type of organizing, particular contribution to the class, and so forth). A
Community Fellow’s openness and readiness to learn is particularly important to note in the
interviews, as it is often a key indicator of success in MLD 377.
The selection process happens at the TF retreat and is led by the Community Fellow Liaison.
Recruitment and Selection Timeline:
Late December/Early January….
Nomination forms emailed out by Marshall’s Assistant
2nd week of January…………….. Nomination forms due back to Marshall’s Assistant
3rd & 4th weeks of January………
CF Interviews (with TFs)
TF Retreat (end of January)…….
CFs selected
Challenges
19
Community Fellows find they must adjust to being back in school, taking a college course for the
first time, being in a classroom of people with backgrounds of more privilege, and being at Harvard.
Although most new community fellows are very energized, they may also be intimidated for a host
of reasons including poor writing skills, English as a second language, lack of confidence in
expressing themselves in such a different environment, etc. Although creating a safe learning
environment is important for all students, it is particularly important for CFs in this setting.
First of all, the other students who are attracted to a class like this one are generally very
welcoming to CFs. They appreciate people who have made life commitments the Community
Fellows have, and value their experience in the classroom.
Second, we make a point of integrating them into class discussion from the first day on, setting a
pattern of participation, with affirmative response.
Third, we assigned one member of the teaching team to take particular responsibility for meeting
regularly with the Community Fellows as a group (this is the Community Fellow Liaison). The
purpose of these meetings was to foster peer learning, peer support, and problem solving. One
result was a writing workshop to help Community Fellows prepare for their final paper. Next year
we will conduct such a workshop early in the semester to focus on writing reflection papers,
working our way up to the midterm and final.
Fourth, we work with CFs to negotiate their work demands. Although we are explicit about the two
commitments the employer is expected to make – time for class and study and a work assignment
that meets the criteria for an organizing project in terms of the class – there can be lots of wishful
hearing. We have begun having regular mid-semester check-ins with project hosts to catch
problems like this, because Community Fellows themselves may be reluctant to speak up. In
addition, in the past year, the question of whether to come up with some way to be more rigorous
or provide more support has still been considered. A Letter of Employment could be a form to keep
them accountable in future years.
Conclusion
Historically, teaching teams tend to be pleased with the results of this program but not always. It is
a very low cost way in which we can leverage greater value from the work we were already doing for our students, for organizations in our community, and for the community fellows themselves.
However, it requires a rigorous selection process to ensure that the CFs chosen can handle the
academic requirements, workload, and coaching, as well as sufficiently supported by their
employer.
See the Appendix for the CF Nomination Form and CF Interview Form.
20
KICK OFF: FIRST DAY AND 1:1S
SHOPPING DAY
Depending on how HKS organizes Shopping Day, there will be time for HKS and non-HKS students
to “shop” Organizing to determine whether they want to enroll. This is mostly Marshall’s time to
give an overview of the course, review the syllabus, explain registration, allow time for questions,
and introduce the teaching team.
The TF in charge of sectioning should announce the link (using a tinyurl link is easiest) for the
student interest form (in the appendix). The deadline should be set fairly soon after the first class
so that we can begin sectioning as soon as possible (Sectioning must be done by the second
Tuesday of the first week). The student interest form allows potential students to state their school
and degree year, their intent for taking the course, their background experiences, and ideas for an
organizing project. These interest forms will also later be used for sectioning.
MATERIALS
150 copies each of 5 handouts:





Syllabus
Requirements-at-a-glance
Tips for selecting a project
Technology info sheet
Organizing Projects (list of community organizations hosting projects with contact info)
Make sure to bring:
Tape & charts that Marshall selects ahead of time
FIRST DAY
The first day of class goes quickly. The better the teaching team is prepared the first day, the better
the day will result. Mostly, this is Marshall's time to overview the course with potential students.
Marshall introduces the course purpose and syllabus content, overviews the requirements, explains
the process for registering for the class (no artificial limit on enrollment), highlights project
opportunities, introduces the teaching team, and allows time for questions. Students should be
reminded to fill out the Student Interest Form. During this week, pick out three top papers or one
page write-ups from last year’s project and include them on the course site and share with
students.
21
MATERIALS


120 copies each of 4 handouts:
o Syllabus
o Requirements-at-a-glance
o Tips for selecting a project
o Technology info sheet
Make sure to bring:
o Tape & charts that Marshall selects ahead of time
You will need all of these materials for the first several classes as well.
This time goes by quickly. Be sure to review the agenda in a TF meeting in advance.
Teaching Fellow responsibilities for the first day include:




Notify students how to access the online student interest form
Hand out copies of the syllabus, tips sheet, technology info sheet, and summary of course
requirements,
Prepare a one-minute introduction of yourself to present to the class,
Help hold us/Marshall accountable to the time,
After the class, TFs should also be available in the hallway to answer questions.
ADDRESSING COMMON STUDENT CONCERNS
MLD 377 is not a journey for the faint of heart or those lacking a commitment to growth. The
students will be nervous, mostly about:
 The project – the class is workshop to learn about organizing in a hands-on way. This is an
opportunity to “get outside the bubble” of Harvard and work on a project of your choice.
 The readings – Many students will be nervous about the amount of reading assigned each
week. Emphasize that this is a practical, hands-on learning experience. As Marshall tells
students, focus on the Practical readings (marked with a (P) in the syllabus) and feel free to
skim the Historical (H) and Theoretical (T) readings if they don’t grab you. The point is
individual learning - hearing different voices from different sources
REGISTRATION PROCESS
Registration Process Draft:
1. TFs who are in charge of registration, Marshall, and last TF who was in charge of
registration MUST sit and talk about: the registration process look like+ what Marshall’s
expectation on the registration process + the portion of students + something need to be
careful about during the registration process.
22
2. Do not be afraid to ask any question to Marshall. Any miscommunication and ambiguity will
cause more trouble and anxiety in the registration process.
3. Since the registration will get done in a week, so you will be in a quite intense working
environment. Be prepared.
4. Communicate well with your work partner. The registration may be the first project you
two work together, give each other at least an hour relationship building process, get to
know each other and know each other working style.
5. The registration process usually will happen and end in the first week. The whole process
will be time consuming. TFs who are in charge of registration must allocate a long enough
time during the day (6-7 hours) to work together during the week (including weekend) to
clear up the registration data. Be prepared to prioritize the registration work.
6. Any TF signed up the registration process please install an Excel (trail is OK) and Dropbox
in its own computer for work at registration.
7. Put all students’ name in a MAIN excel sheet, not even creating any individual sheet in an
Excel document. The mainsheet is based on the Student Interest Form(SIF) that students
filled out in the shopping day. Then TFs update new students’ name, including some
students who sent emails to Marshall but did not fill out SIF.
8. Marshall will send students’ email about cross-registration inquiry. Again, keep every of the
students’ name on the Excel. Any course registration request should be keep in the MAIN
Excel sheet.
9. FIRST TIME CHECK IN WITH MARSHALL ON STUDENT NUMBERS: Check with Marshall
after the shopping day, let him know how many students in each school. School categories
are as follows: HKS, HGSE, Community Fellow, Harvard College, Other Harvard Schools
(HDS, HBS, HMS,HSPH,GSD,GSAS), Other Schools (Tufts, MIT or Brandies), and Fellows
(including any fellow from HKS and MIT).
10. During the first week, the list will become complicated. But be sure to keep all students’
name on the Excel. Some of them came to the shopping day, some of them came to the first
day of class, and some of them only came to the second day of class, but keep all their names
on the Excel sheet.
23
11. SECOND TIME CHECK IN WITH MARSHALL ON STUDENT NUMBERS: Marshall wants to
take a look at the students under these conditions under each school category (see 6):
 Who filled out the SIF and came to the first day of class.
 Who filled out the SIF, Registered, and Came to the first day of class (Only apply to HKS
students).
 Who filled out the SIF but did not come to the first day of class.
WARNING: Please create a separate column in the Excel sheet indicates that whether this
student is admitted. Then when you send emails out, you are sure about who these students
are. But you do not send out emails to those waitlists. You only send out emails to those who
are admitted after the second time check in.
12. Unless MLD377 is cross-listed at other Harvard schools, all other students (except HKS
students also) need to go through Cross-registration. They do not need do any paper based
registration petition, and neither do they need the signature from Marshall, except Harvard
College students. Marshall just need to approve students cross-registration online through
SPARK.
13. IMPORTANT: No matter how eager the students want to take the class, always ask Marshall
before you would like to offer a seat or not. Do not send out emails to students unless
Marshall read it through. Do not admit or reject students unless Marshall checks that. Do
not send out emails just because you want to get things done. If you do that, you will have
more emails to reply if you get things wrong.
24
PROJECTS
PROJECT SELECTION
One key lesson learned over the years of teaching this class is that a good project makes all the
difference! Good projects allow students to maximize their learning over the course of the semester
in many ways. As a teaching team it is our responsibility to help students in the project selection
process, particularly given what we have experienced as criteria for good projects.
At a “Community Night” prior to the end of the second week of classes (and before Project Report
forms are due), representatives of organizations "hosting" organizers will be briefed on what is
expected of them, what they can expect of their organizers, and so forth. At the same time, current
students will meet with former students to learn about their experiences in projects. After this
initial hour, organization leaders and current students will come together to meet one another, and
discuss potential organization “fits.” Note: Based on last year’s experience, we must be careful with
how we structure Community Night. Historically we have had great partners are CityLights in
Jamaica Plain, previous political campaigns, and Hotel Union. More recently, we haven’t had as
much support from community partners so either we have to make a bigger upfront investment in
working with these groups or drop it.
Focus the first 1:1’s you have with your section members upon potential project selection/ design
by using the student’s draft of the Project Report Form.
The guiding sentence in project selection and direction is, "I am organizing
(WHO)______, to do
______(WHAT)______by ____(WHEN)____?" (Thanks to Devon Anderson, Teaching Fellow ’97 for this
tip!) The two most critical questions regarding the project are: ‘Who is my constituency/Whom am
I organizing?’ and ‘What outcome will I achieve?’
Make sure to refer to Tips for Selecting a Project for helpful hints in project selection (in appendix).
Additional questions for consideration include: Does the student have specific organizing
responsibilities? What is their piece of the work this semester? Does the student have adequate
supervisory support in the project? What are the short-term and long-term goals of this organizing
project? How will the student be building relationships, developing leadership, and getting to action
in the course of this semester?
There are organizations which have earned the "gold star" of organizing for outstanding support
and opportunities in learning (e.g. GBIO, BYOP, and the Kitchen Table, to name a few). It is
important that the students, with the TF’s guidance, assess whether they would learn more
effectively in a structured internship with a project supervisor or through doing a more
independent project for which they have to provide their own structure, relying for supervision
only on coaching from the teaching team. In the past, successful projects have come from both
organizations and from student-initiated efforts. However, generally, students have performed better
25
in learning the work of organizing when working with an organization that provides accountability,
supervision, and structured learning opportunities.
Do not underestimate the importance of this 1:1 with section members. If you steer them and their
organizing projects in the right direction at the start of the course, you will save both them and you
a lot of headaches down the road. Help them shape their projects so that they have a clear WHO
and WHAT – and ideally a BY WHEN and HOW.
Keep in mind (and explain to students) that a project does not have to be a ‘success’ for the student
to do well in the course. As a teaching team we evaluate a student's learning of the core concepts of
“Organizing: People, Power and Change.”
Monitor the students’ weekly progress with an eye towards their learning styles, preferences and
when and where they respond most effectively. Is this particular student one that learns more
effectively with structure, supervision and accountability provided? How can the students design
class projects that allow them to effectively apply the class material? These observations should be
shared in the weekly teaching team meeting, which reviews the performance of each student.
Here is a sample Project Expectation Form
Opportunity to Take on a Volunteer Organizer
Hello! We are offering you the opportunity to take on a volunteer organizer in your project. This organizer
is a student from the Harvard Kennedy School class entitled Organizing: People, Power, Change. In this
class, students work as organizers in real projects.
As you think about the kind of project you could offer, please keep in mind these expectations for
organizing projects.
A successful organizing project has three qualities:
1. It is rooted in the student’s own values and concerns and allows him/her to exercise significant
leadership.
2. It achieves a specific outcome by the end of the semester while considering time constraints,
assignments, and both short-term and long-term goals of the organization and the student.*
3. You must mobilize others to achieve that specific outcome.
In their project, students should take real responsibility for achieving a specific goal through mobilizing
others (not just doing tasks for someone else). Student organizers should be responsible for identifying,
recruiting, and developing the leadership of some part of your organization’s constituency.
26
Although the following activities may be part of an organizing campaign, they are not, in themselves,
organizing projects that meet this course’s requirements:





research projects
volunteer coordination
writing policy or advocacy pieces
administrative work
web design
Student organizer expectations



Commit to at least 60 hours of work toward the organizing project (6 hours per week for at least
10 weeks) on a flexible schedule. Students are not expected to put in 6 hours of time at a specific
office or location.
Work with the host organization in identifying a goal that you care about and can be
accomplished in the 10 week semester.
Apply organizing practices in carrying out the project: building relationships through 1:1 meetings,
recruiting and identifying leaders, developing a team, exploring the why (motivation) and how
(strategy) of action for social change, acting to achieve a substantive outcome by the end of the
semester.
Host expectations



Work with the student(s) in identifying a goal that the student cares about and can be
accomplished by the end of the semester.
Schedule weekly meetings between the student and an organization supervisor that focus on the
student’s work and course topics.
Support the student’s leadership by opening doors to relationships and team-building with your
constituents and members.
Model Projects



Organize with parents, teens and neighbors to address violence in the South End neighborhood
of Boston by working together on a community mural.
Work with parish organizers and community leaders in a Dorchester low income and multiethnic
parish long active in community organizing, challenging a decision by the Diocese to close the
church.
Organize local hotel and restaurant Workers onto Organizing Committees in preparation for a possible
city-wide strike.
*Successful projects must have a beginning and an end. Both host organizations and students should
pursue projects while considering these constraints.
27
Organizing Project Form
MLD 377 Spring 2012
Name of your organization:
__________________________________________________________
Address of organization:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Organization’s Web Address:
__________________________________________________________
Your name:
___________________________________________
Phone:
___________________________________________
Fax:
___________________________________________
E-mail:
___________________________________________
Please check one of the following:

Yes, I am interested in hosting an organizing intern at my organization, and will attend the
meeting on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012. (please fill out below information)
o # of people attending: _______

No, I am not interested in hosting an organizing intern at my organization; please take me off your
contact list.
If you are interested in hosting interns, please fill out the following (in written or electronic form)
Organization Description and Tentative Time Frame:
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
28
Organizing Project Description
MLD 377 organizing projects are designed to offer students the opportunity to take real responsibility for
achieving a specific goal by mobilizing people to work together. Each project should have a clear,
measurable outcome that is achievable within a three month semester (February-May).
Please name the current projects or campaigns that your organization is undertaking in which a student
organizer could play a role.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What piece of these projects will the student organizer be responsible for?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Who is your organization’s constituency? Who are the people that the student organizer will work with
and mobilize as part of the above-listed projects or campaigns?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Please return this form to Gerta Dhamo, gerta_dhamo@harvard.edu. Send questions/comments to Gerta
by email or phone, 617-384-9637.
29
FIRST 1:1S WITH SECTION MEMBERS – PROJECT MEETINGS
Once the sectioning process is complete, TFs should email their section to set-up 10-minute 1:1s
with each of their students to start building a relationship and discussing their project. End the
meeting with the student making a clear commitment about his/her next steps for confirming
his/her project. A key learning from previous years is to focus on the “who are my people” question
in the 1:1, which then informs the project selection.
Background
 Spend 5 minutes learning about where the person comes from. Where did they grow up?
Why study at (school) Harvard? Why this course?
 What is it exactly that excites you about this project? Why this project as opposed to a
different one? How did you find the project? How is it related to your story?
Project Specifics
You will be organizing WHO (specific people you’re targeting or recruiting) to do WHAT
(measurable outcome) by HOW (specific means)?
Who will you be working with?



Who will be the people around you every day?
Who is your constituency? Are these the same people as the people that will be around
you every day? (because maybe they should be)
Who will be supervising you or giving you support?
What are the goals or outcomes towards which you will be working?
What makes this an organizing project as opposed to a service project, an advocacy project, or a
consulting project? [If the person doesn’t have an answer for this] How are you going to get the
support you need to turn this into an organizing project?
[If you are working with an existing organization]
Have you spoken with the organization about…




What exactly you will be doing and are responsible for
Who the constituency is and who you will be spending time around
What the objectives/outcome will be
Carving out your own space within the organization to do an organizing project that feels
like YOUR OWN and in which there is space to EXPERIMENT and learn?
30
What are the relationships that you need to begin to establish now? By when are you going to have
started building those relationships? And how are you thinking of establishing them?
Thinking through a Learning Strategy
From Your Project



What do you think your greatest contributions to the project will be? What strengths do
you bring to the project?
What do you think the greatest challenges for you will be?
As a coach, what should I be looking out for or calling you out on? [Ask this question so that
if I do need to call someone out on something, he/she is prepared for it.]
From Section



31
What do you think your greatest contributions to section will be? What strengths are you
bringing to section?
What do you think the greatest challenges for you will be? As section leader, what should I
be looking out for?
Any questions you have for me about myself, my strengths/challenges, your project, or
thecourse in general?
CLINICS AND EVENTS
COMMUNITY NIGHT CHECKLIST
Community Night is a critical cornerstone of launching MLD 377. The night’s success is based on
not only the event logistics (which are in themselves a project!), but also having the right people
and projects in the room. Taking the time to develop relationships and clear project expectations
with Community Night participants will both enhance the quality of projects that students tackle,
and save the teaching team a lot of time and energy salvaging bad projects. This requires beginning
outreach to participants early. You might consider doing this at the same time you are recruiting
community fellows (January).
Pre-Logistics




Book Room in advance (Taubman A/B/C is preferable)
Revise agenda
Find out what time the street side doors will be locked (7 pm in 2011)
Order pizza or snacks in advance (as budget allows)
Day of








Make signs to direct students to the inner courtyard entrance (security staffed)
Inform the security guard how many students/organizational reps will be coming
Ask the security to direct students/guests to the 5th floor & post signs to the 5th floor
Set up pizza or snacks
Set up chairs (panel at front & semi-circle audience) in B/C room
Set up chairs (circle) in A room for the organizational representatives
Set up table in hallway for copies of agenda, project tips, and project list, name tags and
markers
Clean up
Former Student Panel





Contact former students (as advised by Marshall). See the Appendix for a sample email
for outreach to former students.
Aim for diversity – 2 men/2 women, racial/ethnic background, experience inclass;
different types of former projects (individually-directed vs. internship, team vs.
individual projects, successful vs. failed); hopefully one (or more) former teaching
fellow
Request 4-5 sentences of biographical material to use in handout/introduction
Coach panelists on structure: 3 minutes for each panelist; questions from moderator
and audience
Ask them to meet at 5:45 pm (or 15 minutes early)
32





At that time, introduce panelists to one another; make sure they are comfortable (have
water, snacks), explain the format
Facilitate the panel with a welcome & brief introduction
Facilitate the discussion
Thank everyone at the end – the students & (especially) the panelists
Write thank you follow-ups to the panelists
Organizational Representative Meeting
(1) Begin by looking at the end-of-year notes from last year’s teaching team to determine which
were good placements in the prior year and which organizations did not work out.
Consider removing unsuccessful organizations from the outreach list, and cultivating the
relationship with those who were successful with a phone call or meeting. See if they might
be willing to take on more than one student this year.
(2) The TF with the lead responsibility for Community Night should then contact all
organizations in advance of Community Night (~ 1 month prior)
(3) TFs should use that organizational phone directory (from Marshall’s Assistant) to follow-up
& remind organizations of their participation in Community Night
a. Divide phone numbers among the TFs
b. Use the phone call to remind organizations about the purpose of the course and
discern whether the organization is truly providing an organizing internship (not
research, administrative work, etc)
(4) Give each organization representative a copy of the syllabus and the “Tips for Selecting a
Project” sheet
(5) Advise representatives that they will have a minute to present and there will be a
timekeeper
(6) Give students a complete list of names, organizations & contact information for students to
follow along and allow students to be in touch with these representatives in the future
(7) The TF with this responsibility will need to keep updating the hard copy and online list of
projects if new ones get confirmed
Organizations should present in the same order as the printed list of organizations so they can
write notes on the handout.
Take the time to screen projects and Community Night participants. This should be a shared
responsibility between Marshall, who has an ongoing relationship with many of these
organizations, and the TFs who may not. Look for “organizing” projects and organizations where
there is someone to which the student will be clearly accountable. Remember, you are seeking
places where students will have the maximum learning opportunities.
33
Sample Agenda
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Taubman A/B/C (5th floor)
1st ½
hour
Taubman A
Taubman B/C
Community Organization
Meeting
Former MLD-377 Student Panel
Welcome & Introductions
Overview of course and
expectations
Questions & Discussion
Welcome & Panelist Introduction
 Former Student 1
 Former Student 2
 Former Student 3
 Former Student 4
Panelists Present on projects, learning/teaching
experience
Questions & Discussion
2nd ½
hour
Taubman B/C
Introduction of Projects to Students
Welcome
1-minute project overviews (in the same order as the latest version of the list of
community groups so students can take notes)
(Timekeeper important to keep groups the 1-minute limit)
3rd ½
hour
Taubman B/C
Time to talk 1-1, ask questions, and mingle with community groups
34
ACTION SKILLS SESSION
This all-day session (typically held on a Saturday) is mainly Marshall's time to overview the course
concepts as connected to student action within the framework of campaigns. It is designed to give
students an introduction to some of the skills at the beginning of the course when they are initiating
their own project. This is a day, during the second or third week of class, to show how all the
concepts fit together through student experience of engagement with one another and action “on
the street.” It’s best to do this as soon as possible. It makes for a busy first week, but it is very
valuable to have this experience before the students need to finalize their projects. Stress to the
students during the first weeks of the course that this is mandatory. It is an invaluable opportunity
to experience the concepts in action, get out of the snare of course preparation into action, and
experience YCMAD (you can make a difference) in the course of one afternoon. It is good to help
students understand that the thing they are really organizing that day is a TEAM – themselves. The
actual action students take in Harvard Square that afternoon ranges from those that feel more like
“service” to “advocacy” to “organizing.”
In recent years, the skills session has included classes of students studying organizing at other
schools, including UMass Amherst, Holy Cross and Providence College. This is an exciting
opportunity for all the students to meet others doing this work, and for students beyond Harvard to
have a chance to work with Marshall. When planning, be sure to provide opportunities for students
to work in mixed groups. This partnership is growing and developing each year, so be creative and
willing to take risks. Take a look at last years’ meeting notes for advice on “what worked” and
didn’t work, and suggestions for next year.
A TF needs to be responsible for the Skills Session, ideally one with experience with this Skills
Session or organizing other workshops (see checklist).
Coordinating Checklist








35
Schedule conference call with faculty from other schools who will participate to Determine
/ Review:
Number of students and TAs coming from each school
Type of students (graduate / undergraduate)
Place in syllabus that everyone will be at in semester (some will already have projects
launched, others will not)
Timing, logistics, directions, parking (vans may need to be parked in HBS parking lots as
they will not fit in garages)
Breakfast potluck assignments. In the past schools have wanted to participate in the
potluck so they feel like they are making a contribution.
Faculty and TF roles during the day --- create a coaching plan for how faculty and TFs will
be assigned to coach groups (usually 2-3 each) during the planning and action period.
Schedule faculty/TF debrief --- ideally at end-of-day. If not, on a pre-scheduled Monday
conference call.


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
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




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Book Taubman A/B/C (or Littauer 140) in advance
Make announcement in class to direct students to the room location and ask students to
arrive at 8:30 (30 minutes early) to eat breakfast
Pass around a breakfast potluck sign-up sheet in class prior to the event (including for
plates, cups, napkins, spoons, etc.)
Ask students to bring their own lunch in advance
Tell Dunkin Donuts beforehand that there will be a rush that morning so that they can
prepare accordingly.
Make sure there is a BIG garbage can/bag available in the room
Provide name tags and markers at the door
Provide the session agenda at the door (see samples)
Go through the organizing charts with Marshall in advance & post them
Set up chairs if necessary (Marshall at front & semi-circle audience)
Provide as many clipboards as possible
Bring a stack of petition sheets (see sample)
Bring supplies like markers, tape, sheets, paint, chalk, poster-board, scissors for “hitting the
streets”
Be prepared to provide students with computer & copy machine access
Print out extended version of the agenda & the coaching guide for TFs
Ask Marshall to walk Teaching Team through the event (to understand coaching
expectations & strategies) in a meeting before the session
Assign one TF to be timekeeper for student reports to the group
Bring digital camera to take photos
TFs and Marshall should arrive by 8:15 am (earlier if room needs to be set up) to prepare
and plan on staying about an hour after the session to evaluate and clean up.
MATERIALS: Make sure to pass around a student sign-up sheet this day. It is difficult to recall who
attended, later in the semester, since sections are not divided at this point and each TF does not
have a group of students for which to be responsible. Also bring clipboards, several copies of a
generic petition, charts, tape, extra flip chart paper, several markers, and agendas for the day.
All TFs should pay attention to students during the skills session. Forecasts for future challenges
and opportunities are revealed as early as the skills session. Who has leadership potential? Who
"gets it"? Who has energy and eagerness to learn? Who seems to be "out of it"? Who distrusts the
concepts and/or disengages from the sessions?
Discuss this as a teaching team immediately following the session.
Immediately following the skills session, there should be a follow-up evaluation among the teaching
team (TFs for MLD-377 and Marshall). What is the general feeling of the day? What went well?
What could be improved? What did anyone notice about particular students?
36
There should also be follow-up in the larger class meeting, to provide a bridge between the intense
experiences of this day and the larger class. This could take a variety of forms, such as covering
highlights of actions or eliciting student re-telling of the day's story of relationship building, interest
identification, and group action.
Skills Session Agenda – LEADERSHIP TEAM
Time
Activity
8:00 – 8:15
LEADERSHIP TEAM – Set-up @ Taubman
8:15 – 8:30
LEADERSHIP TEAM – Coaching prep
8:30 – 9:00
Breakfast
9:00 – 9:15
Introduction & What is Organizing?



9:15 – 10:00

10:00 – 10:40
9:15 (20 min): Discussion
9:35 (10 min): Exercise
o 1-1, come up with common interest
9:45 (15 min): Introductions
o Names & share common interest
Interpretation 1: Motivation, Story (WHY?)


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37
Welcome
Who is from where
Introduce teaching team
Relationships


Notes
10:00 (15 min): Discussion
10:15 (15 min): Storytelling Exercise
o Groups of 4 (two pairs)
o Identify issue all 4 want to work on
o Tell stories about why you care about that
interest
o Assign coaches
10:30 (10 min): Team Reports
TF to kick off “Discussion”
with example of 1:1.
Each coach will be
assigned to 2-3 teams.
(Remember to eventually
get cell phone #s of
someone from each team
so you can find them in
Harvard Square later.)
o
10:40 – 11:30
Interpretation II: Strategizing, Deliberating (HOW?)



11:30 – 12:00
A few examples
10:40 (15 min): Discussion / Brainstorming
10:55 (20 min): Deliberation Exercise
11:15 (15 min): Report Out
Action Planning

Role Playing Exercise
12:00 – 12:30
Lunch / Finish Action Plan
Encourage teams to get
out the door & “dive in”!
12:30 – 2:00
Take ACTION
Coaches will check on
assigned teams.

Check out with coaches
Remember to take
pictures :)
2:00 – 3:00
Debrief
 Action Reports
a. Count what did/made/collected
 What did you learn?
 Evaluation
3:00 – 4:00
Time will be tight:
encourage your teams to
quickly get signs up, do
their counts & be ready to
report
LEADERSHIP TEAM – Debrief & Clean up
Coaching Notes for the skills session
Exercise 1 – Relationships
Instructions: Have every person pair up with someone s/he doesn’t know. Ask them to learn
enough about the person to discover a common concern they might want to do something about
today. Have one person be ready to introduce him/herself and partner and share common concern.
38
Debrief:
Select timekeeper to keep every pair to 30 seconds. Tell people to listen carefully to other pairs
with similar concerns because for the next activity, each pair will team up with another pair. The
trick is to get through everyone on time.
Exercise 2 – Motivation
Instructions:
Each pair should find another pair and team up. Tell them that when they are in the group, each
person should share a personal story about why they care about the selected issue. Afterward, the
group should come up with a one-minute group story that draws upon individual stories, and may
include specific examples from them. Each group story consists of three parts: the challenge, why
the group cares, and why others might care. The goal is to tell a story that will resonate/connect
with other people’s personal stories, and be moving enough that they are willing to take action.
Have one person be prepared to share the group story.
Debrief:
Ask someone to share. Then ask the audience whether they were moved by the story. Why
(plusses) or why not (deltas)? Do this kind of assessment with a couple of groups, but every group
should share. The point to draw out of someone’s example is that the most moving stories are
those that are connected to personal stories rather than moral imperatives.
Exercise 3 – Strategy
Instructions:
Ask people to return to their teams, and use the Action worksheet (see following page) to work
through the following questions. First, they must decide what it is they want to get through
mobilizing people. Then, they must figure out what resources they have to help accomplish that
end, decide who they want to target, and how they will convince those people to give them what
they want. (WHAT, WHO, HOW) Have one person be prepared to share that with the rest of the
group. Encourage people to think about very simple actions.
Debrief:
Have each group share their goals, targets and tactics. Write this up on flip chart paper.
Exercise 4 – Action
Instructions:
39
Ask for two volunteers to role play – one to ask for a commitment (have them use what they will do
in their own action!!!) and another to be recruited. Instruct the recruited to be a little bit reluctant
to give, but not too hard. Give the recruiter 1-2 minutes to try to get a commitment.
Debrief:
Ask for applause for bravery. Ask recruited what the recruiter did well, and what could have been
better. Then, ask the same of the recruiter. Finally, open it up for the group to evaluate. Remind
everyone that this is a learning process for everyone. Thank volunteer again.
Exercise 5 – Hit the Streets
Instructions:
Let people know that they have lunch time to continue strategizing, but that they must hit the
streets no later than X time and that they must return no later than X time. Tell everyone that
before they leave they must post their location and collect cell phone numbers from at least one
person from each group. Let them know that you and the coaches will be coming around to visit.
Notes to facilitator and coaches:
Try to go in groups of 2-4 to check up on people. Encourage the people who are doing well.
Encourage others who are not doing well by asking how it is going, and showing them how to ask
for commitment. Try to draw out hiding people by asking them how it is going, and making
suggestions about different locations. In general, be supportive and encouraging.
Debrief:
Ask each group to post anything they have on the walls and tally the number of commitments that
they got. Ask each group how it went and how many commitments they got. You may want to ask
one thing they thought went well (strengths), and one thing they would do differently (challenges)
to give it more structure. Allow time to discuss learning from failure. In any case, after each
commitment # is announced, applaud. Write up the numbers and have a coach be tallying them as
groups go. When a group does not do well, ask them what happened, what they learned, how they
could do better next time, etc. Emphasize the total number of commitments gained in such a short
amount of time.
Key Learning
Ask people what they learned about relationships during the day. Repeat for motivation, strategy
and action. Conclude with how these concepts relate to Community, Leadership and Power.
Evaluation
Ask people for plusses first. Then ask people for deltas/things to be improved.
40
Action Plan
STRATEGIC SENTENCE
We are organizing ________________________________________ (Who are you targeting?)
to DO _________________________________________________________ (What outcome?)
by ______________________________________________________ (How? What strategy?)
because ______________________________________________________________ (Why?)
STORY
What’s the problem you want to fix? What’s the injustice? Why does it matter now?
____________________________________________________________________________
Why do you care? Who are you? Where do you come from? Why now?
____________________________________________________________________________
Why should we care? Who are we? Where do we come from? Why now?
____________________________________________________________________________
STRATEGY
What goal do you hope to achieve?
What resources do you hope to mobilize?
What opportunities do you hope to take advantage of?
What is the target of your action?
When, where and what is the action?
How do you expect it will turn out?
Why? _______________________________________________________________________
ACTION
Who are you targeting?
How are you organizing time?
How are you organizing yourselves?
What are you asking them to do?
How will you get commitments?
How many people do you expect will participate?
How will you follow up?
41
RELATIONSHIP CLINIC & STRUCTURING PEER LEARNING TEAMS
Introduction
Students overwhelmingly ask for help on doing 1:1 meetings. They often say it will help them feel
more comfortable with the relational work and to “jump in” sooner in the project.
The point of this training session is to practice 1:1 meetings. We introduce 1:1 meetings with a
fishbowl. Student then break into pairs to practice 1:1 meetings. The goal of each 1:1 should be to
work towards a commitment to each other’s projects. At the end of the session, make sure to tell
students that they will need to do 5 1:1s within their projects by the Relationship Week. Remind
them of this in class as well.
Checklist
These tasks can be delegated across the Teaching Team.
BEFORE
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Book room in advance (prefer Taubman A/B/C)
Secure microphones and videotape the event for those who are absent (request camera for
room)
Make announcement in class to direct students to the room location
Get supplies (name-tags, markers, organizing charts and tape)
Finalize and photocopy agenda and handouts
Schedule a half hour prep session with TFs and Marshall just before the event
Ask 3 TFs to be in charge of bringing over the materials, posters, and photocopies and 1 TF
to do a 1:1 role-play with a student at the event
PREP SESSION WITH TFs and Marshall

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
Review agenda
Determine roles: timekeeper, note-taker, microphone runner, etc.
Practice 1:1 role-play and fishbowl
DURING

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Ask 2 TFs to staff sign-in and name tag table to speed things along
Provide the session agenda & explanation sheet at the door (see samples)
Bring appropriate organizing charts and tape
Clean up & bring easels/supplies back to the Hauser Center
Materials
Name tags
Posters
Timer
Time Warning Signs
42
Markers & Pens
Tape
Laptop
Sign-in sheet
SUGGESTED DETAILED AGENDA (from 2011)
6:05 – 6:40
Teaching team meets to prepare and role play before clinic.
6:40 – 7:00
Set up room
7:00 – 7:30
Large Group Session
Introduction, Agenda, & Logistics (5 minutes)
Lecture (8 minutes)
Fish Bowl 1:1 (10 minutes)
De-brief (5 minutes)
Instructions for how Pairs and Small Group Fish Bowl is going to work (2 mins)
7:30 – 8:00
Pairs
Find each other and begin (1 minute)
1st Role Play 1:1
Person 1 is the organizer and Person 2 is the student (10 minutes)
Debrief (4 minutes)
Change partners (1 minute)
2nd Role Play 1:1
Person 1 is the student and Person 2 is the organizer (10 minutes)
Debrief (4 minutes)
8:00 – 8:20
Small Group Fish Bowl
Form 6 small groups (or the number of teaching team members that we have) (2
minutes)
Two students volunteer and role play a 1:1 (10 minutes)
43
Debrief (8 minutes) *Teaching team experts make sure to provide feedback here.
8:20 – 8:30
Evaluation – Key Learnings, Pluses, and Deltas (10 minutes)
MEETING FACILITATION CLINIC
In 2012, the Teaching Team organized a mandatory Meeting Facilitation Clinic (and moved the
Coaching Clinic to section) and upon reflection decided that it should be a required component of
the course for all students in future years.
Teaching objectives

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
Students understand the practice of meeting facilitation (shared purpose, norms, role
taking, decision making, commitment and close)
Students practice facilitation
Students receive coaching on their facilitation
Materials

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
handouts
poster with structure for de-briefing each meeting section
o Ask the group members what s/he observed/diagnosed/intervened
o Ask the facilitator what s/he observed/diagnosed/intervened
o Ask the group what was helpful? Why?
o Give feedback as observer in regard to observation/diagnosis/intervention
Poster for key learnings
Roles
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All 6 TF’s hosting a meeting group
Timekeeper
Scribe
Agenda:
10 minute intro and lecture Marshall
10 minutes - Get into small groups based on role, TFs explain activity, give students the rest of the
time to prepare for their role.
The overall purpose of the project the team is leading is to mobilize participation in a class
celebration.
The purpose of the meeting is to launch the leadership team.
The strategic decision they must make is what to call themselves.
44
55 minute - Building Leadership Teams Activity
5 min Welcome and Why are we Here
2 min Debrief
8 min Shared purpose
4 min debrief
5 min Norms
2 min debrief
5 min Role Taking
2 min debrief
10 min Decision Making
5 min debrief
4 min Commitment and Close
3 min Debrief
10 minute - Group Discussion Takeaways
5 minute - Plus/Delta
COACHING CLINIC
In 2011, the Teaching Team organized an optional Coaching Clinic and upon reflection decided that
it should be a required component of the course for all students in future years. It was also decided
that coaching should become a more explicit part of the organizing framework in the Structure
segment of the course. In 2012, the Coaching Clinic was moved from an evening activity into a
session during the Thursday sections. Upon reflection, it was recommended to move the coaching
clinic up earlier on in the course or atleast keep it right after the mid-term point.
Teaching objectives


45
Students understand the purpose of coaching (strategic, motivational, educational)
Students learn the coaching process

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Students practice coaching
Students receive coaching on projects
Materials
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handouts
poster with structure for de-briefing coaching session
o Ask the coach what s/he observed/diagnosed/intervened
o Ask the coachee what was helpful? Why?
o Give feedback as observer in regard to observation/diagnosis/intervention
Poster for key learnings
Roles
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2 TF’s to model coaching
Timekeeper
Scribe
Detailed Agenda
Coaching Overview (10 mins)


What is coaching and why do it? (2 minutes)
o Coaching is direct intervention in an individual or team’s work process to help
improve their effectiveness
o Coaching is helping individuals to overcome motivational, strategic, and
informational challenges
How do we do it? (8 minutes)
o Ask students to take turns reading Marshall’s hand-out
Coaching fishbowl - (20 mins)

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

Ask one of the TF’s to be a coach and a student to present a challenge they’re facing in
organizing (1 min)
Fishbowl Coaching session - (4 mins)
Feedback/ de-brief from class (5 mins)
o Ask the coach what s/he observed/diagnosed/intervened
o Ask the student what was helpful? Why?
o Ask the group - What did you observe/diagnose? How would you have intervened?
Repeat (10 mins)
Coaching Partners (40 mins)

Introduction (1 min)
o Focus is on coaching; secondary is content
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Break students into groups of 3: observer, coach, student
Give directions: each student will have 8 minutes to be coached, coach will get 5
mins of feedback from observer on observation/diagnosis/intervention
o Find partners (1 min)
Student shares where he/she is in campaign & challenge and gets coaching (8 min)
Observe gives feedback on coaching (5 min)
Repeat twice more (26 mins)
o
o

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
De-Brief (10 min)


Who coached on a motivational challenge? How did you know the issue was motivational?
What intervention was helpful?
Repeat for other elements - strategic and educational
Key Learnings & Evaluation (10 min)
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SECTIONS
SECTIONING
Sectioning must be done by the second Tuesday of the first week so that TFs can begin project
interviews before the due date for the project form (Tuesday of third week).
Assignments are made to sections to balance gender, school affiliation, nationality, race/ethnicity,
organizing experience and perceived strength of the contribution they can make to the course. If
more than one student will be working on the same project, it’s best for them to be assigned to
different section. Also, consider personal and peer relationships of TF’s and students as possible
sources of tension, bias, or challenge. Also be sure to consider TF requests and if students will be
working with others in the class (it’s best to keep them in different sections). It is best to sort out
students by school and then begin adding them to sections based on the rest of the criteria,
continually checking for balance in all of the areas. Index cards are a good way to do this. The two
TFs who are responsible for sectioning will prepare a draft, sharing it with the teaching team who
provide feedback.
PREPARING FOR SECTION MEETINGS
As a Teaching Fellow for the course, you are the organizer of your MLD-377 section. You are there,
organizing (WHO?) your section members to (WHAT?) have a productive experience in the class by
(HOW?) fully engaging in organizing projects of their own. Everything you do as a Teaching Fellow
/ organizer becomes a model for the students’ work and reflective learning processes. Actions
speak louder than words. In the appendix is a one-page outline of section responsibilities titled
Elements of Leading Section. Set extra time for the relevant team meeting for each TF to role-play
their first section.
A critical part of this course is that TFs provide support for each student and his/her respective
projects. This 1:1 coaching happens in a variety of ways: comments/feedback on papers, 1:1
meetings, discussion of student’s project with other teaching team, providing feedback during class
and section, etc. All of the activities in this manual are designed to support students in their work of
“Organizing: People, Power and Change.”
The purpose of section is to create a safe space for students to reflect on their learning and their
projects, to learn from each other, to question and to discourse about “Organizing: People, Power
and Change.”
Ways in which the TF can contribute to creating a safe space include:


Holding and using his or her authority wisely;
Establishing and maintaining boundaries of physical space, time, topic, reflection, respect
and confidentiality;
48

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
Developing the art of focused reflection and discussion (how to learn from diverse
projects and experiences using a common framework or focus), as a group process, over
time; and
Modeling facilitative behavior that elicits open, wide-ranging thoughts, feelings and
reflections from the students.
Facilitating section activities that put students in relationship with each other and give
each other feedback
Marshall visits sections on a rotating, regular basis. Because of this, he serves as an excellent
resource for helping guide and implement these principles. TFs must hold him to the same
standards with regard to time, agenda, and so forth as everyone else. Let your section know why
and when this will be happening.
Each section is videotaped, on a rotating basis, which provides an excellent venue to give and
receive feedback from your colleagues on the teaching team regarding your work as the TF.
Marshall also takes a turn in this video-based feedback rotation, using the large class session for his
data. Remember where in the tape you think you handled a situation well, and where you’d like
constructive criticism.
Leading a section offers an opportunity to model coordinating a leadership team. Students can be
asked to make commitments to their section-mates each week about something they were going to
do in their project. At the beginning of the following section they can be asked to “check-in” about
how the commitment went – a “yes/no”, a why or why not, and a what was learned – time
permitting. The TF can ask probing questions beginning with people who had successfully met their
commitment asking what made them successful; then those who did not complete their
commitment and what it might take for them to achieve it next week. “Is there anything that their
section could do to help them complete their commitment next week?” Students can check-in with
each other mid-week, or help find/make contacts as we saw some real creativity and collaboration
emerge Remember, these are your teaching moments!.
At the end of section, students made commitments for the following week. An easy way to do this is
have students write their commitment on a post-it note and stick it onto the chart at the end of
class. The Commitment Wheel for Esther’s Section looked something like this in 2008:
49
Dreaming big, Esther envisions this someday as a laminated poster that could be brought to section
each week.
As the semester progressed, students were selected to lead the commitment check-in in section.
This gave students an opportunity to practice holding each other accountable, and got them
engaged in each other’s work. It is important to carefully select and coach the first students who
take this on to ensure that there is good modeling for the section. A TF should be mindful to not
allow his/her presence or authority to be undermined in the section through this exercise, but
rather allow it to build trust and respect amongst his/her section. If you feel like this is not working
in your section, bring it to the teaching team to trouble-shoot.
TYPICAL SECTIONS
Section begins with the Teaching Fellow beginning on time reviewing the agenda for the day. A
typical agenda looks like this:
Up to 15 min
45-50 min
5 min
5 min
80 min total
welcome
Review agenda & learning objectives Commitment check-in’s/peer learning
team check-in’s announcements
Review concepts
activity & discussion
key learning & evaluation
commitments for next week
50
Welcome, Review, Commitment Check-in, Reflection
The introduction includes calling the class to order, asking for announcements (this is a good way
to begin as it gives students a ‘transitional’ moment to give their full attention to class), asking for a
timekeeper, managing logistics (such as handing out photocopies), and giving a brief review of the
topic of the week, using the charts from the Reading Packet to supplement your spoken words.
After the review, it has been the experience of previous TFs that offering a reflection relating to the
topic of the week (not necessarily religious – it can be a poem, a quote, a piece of music, or anything
that inspires you) creates space for the expression of the soul and not just the intellect. Since
Harvard is overloaded on the intellect, we need all the soul we can get. Please collect all reflections
given throughout the course of the semester so they may be made into a Reflection Book by the
designated TF. If you choose to do weekly commitments in section, this is also the time to do a
check in.
Activity & Discussion
The learning in each section will be based on the practice of skills associated with the focus of that
week’s class. In the first section, for example, the skill focus is that of story telling. Each week, the
Teaching Team will design activities to translate that week’s concepts into practice, opportunities
for reflection, and developing the capacity to teach this skill to others. Usually this involves some
combination of individual, paired, small group, and whole section work. These activities also afford
students who are struggling with an opportunity to learn from their peers who are doing quite well.
Each activity must include coaching, opportunity for reflection, and, even as it concentrates on the
“hands” should offer opportunity for insight of the head and of the heart.
Sections are not the place for problem solving, e.g. the section should not spend a 20 minute
discussion debating how Angie and Tom can find 500 people to show up at their rally. It is a place
for critical reflection, analysis, and using the framework to learn from each other’s projects. TF’s
should prepare 2 or 3 open-ended, provocative, and even “agitational” questions to evoke a
discussion if students are less responsive after an activity. (This will happen, and you will need
those questions in mind at least once during the semester.) Refer to the Weekly Teaching Tools
section of the manual and the Organizing Notes for ideas.
Key Learning Points and Evaluation
It is critical that, at the end of each section, the teaching team ask students to share their ‘key
learning points’ from section that day. These should, for the most part, relate directly to the topic of
the week and their experience of learning about it. This should take 5 minutes and the points
should all be carefully recorded on a large sheet of paper (you’ll need them later!); and then the
final five minutes should be spent in evaluation. There are only two questions in evaluation, to be
asked in turn:

51
What did we do well today? (plusses)

What could we do better/improve? (deltas)
The results of the evaluation should be carefully recorded and taken seriously by the teaching team
as the students will note if improvements are made or not. Again, this goes back to the principle of
modeling and practicing what we are teaching – not simply talking about it. If we want students to
genuinely reflect on the progress of their projects on a weekly basis and to make improvements, we
must do the same in our work, which includes the teaching of the weekly sections.
Commitments



At the end of section, ask students to say out loud and write on sticky notes the
commitment they’re making to the section for the next week. Their commitment might
reflect a key take-away or adjustment to their project they now realize is necessary. Push
students to make these commitments as specific as possible. Keep the sticky notes so that
you can return to them at the start of the next section.
Evaluation is one of the most critical parts of section, and consists of three questions:
What did we learn today? What did we do well today? What could we do better? Record
these answers on to flip chart paper.
****SAVE YOUR EVALUATION SHEETS****for the teaching team meeting following
section, and then continue to save these sheets throughout the semester for the final
evaluation meeting. Alternately, you may want to type up your key learning and
evaluation sheets in one document and print those for the final evaluation at the end of
the semester as well as share them with your students throughout the semester. In
addition, save all charts that you have made for that section.
These posters are typically put up in section:
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SUMMARY: ELEMENTS OF LEADING SECTION
Prepare Materials






Agenda for section
Charts, tape, and markers
Pre-formed evaluation sheet with key learning, plusses, deltas
Grade tracker
Handouts
Timekeeping signs
Understand Your Role as TF







53
Lead a learning community
Coach individual students in how to learn as individuals
Coach group in how to learn as group
Connect the concrete and the analytic - the mind and heart - reflection and action individual with the group - person with the world
Listen - really hear what students are saying, provide mindful perspective on it
Facilitate – don’t lecture – draw the key learning points out of others rather than stating
them yourself
Engage students - ask questions, offer support, pose problems
Create and Maintain Your Authority



Negotiate "authority" role and personality - public and private
Close the door before you begin class
Body language – direct eye contact – locate yourself in front of the room – stand rather than
sit
Address latecomers as they enter the room, and mention “tardiness” as a delta during
evaluation

Manage Time


Start on time; End on time
Observe strict time limits for each agenda item and components of the activity and
discussion
Facilitate Discussion



Ask questions to clarify basic concepts if needed
Prepare questions to “pick up the ball”
Sense the "mood" of the group - invest the energy needed to engage the group in the
discussion
Frame questions to get your points across, rather than giving lecture
Play soccer, not ping pong - stimulate debate, discussion, synergy
Identify key people associated with key perspectives - learn how to "orchestrate" discussion
- with people, as well as ideas
Look for opportunities to re-emphasize group norms - good questions, not afraid to be
wrong, make mistakes, no stupid questions, etc.
Summarize at conclusion - main points





Facilitate Evaluation



Key Learning Points – ask one student to record this
What worked well - look for opportunities to recognize others for contributions
What need to be improved - look for opportunities to acknowledge what self learned, could
to better next time.
OTHER TIPS
As you lead your section, some principles to keep in mind include:



Create allies among students in section – note who “gets it” by reading reflection papers
ahead of time and use them to help you make your key teaching points
Notice who takes responsibility for moving the group along and call on them as needed
Give the work back to the students – don’t lecture, ask them pointed questions!
54





Strike a balance between structure and discussion – follow the agenda to the best of your
ability, but be willing to extend discussion time slightly if it is quickly getting to a helpful
outcome
Strike a balance between momentum (energy) and focus (the agenda) of discussion come in with key teaching points, but allow the discussion to move in other unexpectedly
fruitful directions!
Develop individual students – ask particular students targeted questions
Using your own experience as a TF to support the students’ work on their projects - walk
the talk (e.g. development of leadership: Marshall to TFs to students to project
participants)
Name or ask others to name the dynamic that is happening in section (Dynamics often
surface suddenly and are hidden as quickly around contentious issues as class, race,
gender, age, ability, religion, and sexual orientation. Other dynamics include low energy,
unbalanced participation, etc.)
Encourage the “silent thoughtful types” to share their insights with the group and the “loud
(sometimes) thoughtless types” to listen well to their peers – don’t feel you have to call on someone
just because s/he has her hand up!
OFFICE HOURS
It is essential that TFs clearly articulate to their students, and to the other members of the teaching
team, how they will handle office hours throughout the course of the semester. Some set regular
office hours and ask students to sign up on a weekly basis. Others do not hold regular office hours
per se, but manage their time by meeting with students upon request and requesting meetings with
students, as needed. The trick is to do what works best for you as a TF and also for the students,
making sure you maintain limits. You are not expected to be available at all hours for all of the
students. Some TFs have managed this by not giving out their phone numbers and only using their
emails. Other TFs prefer the phone to always scheduling face-to-face meetings. Trust your instincts
and your own needs, and set limits on your availability.
55
TEACHING FELLOW WEEKLY MEETINGS
There are three mandatory weekly meetings of the teaching team - all the TFs and the Professor,
Marshall.
Weekly Planning/Preparation and Student Progress Meetings
This meeting, ideally, should take place in the beginning of the week, ideally the day before class
rather than the morning of. It is a time to track student progress and prepare for the week ahead.
This meeting focuses on:




Review the weekly reflective papers and the comments made by TFs and Marshall
Discuss the ongoing development of individual students (each student is covered,
although – oftentimes – different students become the focus different weeks, depending
on what is happening with them), discussing intervention needs and results as needed
Discuss the ongoing development of class and sections, including an overview of the next
day’s lecture and teaching objectives for section
Review plans for any upcoming class-related events for the next 1-2 weeks and debrief
any events from the previous week
This is where individual students, section and class, and the related interconnections are coherently
discussed. Often we have found that an ‘off’ section has an impact on that particular section’s
weekly papers, or an ‘off’ lecture impacts the entire class’s weekly progress. Each component is
critical to understanding the weaving of the collective learning process. This meeting is unique in
that it provides a forum specifically for attending to the ongoing work of the class, the section and
the individual students.
Try to settle any grading disagreements on your section’s reflection papers with Marshall before
this meeting one-on-one. If there are still issues to resolve, do so at the meeting. Be prepared to
make your case as to why you think the paper should be ranked higher or lower.
Because it is experiential, learning in this course tends to be "episodic" rather than "incremental".
You will notice students are likely to have "aha" experiences at critical junctures such as the
Midterm, their class presentations, a crisis in their project, and so forth. This is because what they
are learning is not so much new information as new ways of looking at information. As a
consequence you will find that different students "get it" at very different points in the semester.
TF Section Planning Meetings
Meetings before section are a time for the TFs to work together as a team to prepare for their
section. This is a time when a lot of mentoring and group learning can occur, It is a time to discuss
observations, questions and key learning that arose from the lecture, and work together to
creatively plan your section meetings. Depending on the availability of TFs, this meeting can be
scheduled immediately following the Tuesday’s lecture, but has been found to be most effective
right before Thursday’s section. If members of the Teaching Team prefer to plan farther in advance,
56
Wednesday is a good middle ground. If a third mid-week group meeting is not feasible, teaching
fellows may instead meet in pairs each week to prepare their sections – the teaching team did this
in 2008 but this should be avoided if possible. Regardless of the format, it is important for TFs to
reflect with another member of the teaching team to plan for section. This ensures that everyone
enters section with similar teaching points and a clear plan, even if the details differ. The 2011
Teaching Team thought it’s most efficient to take turns leading the meeting – from reviewing the
teaching points, prepping a sample agenda, compiling the announcements, and facilitating the
meeting. One person’s responsibility is to coordinate who leads the meeting each week.
The general format of these meetings could be to:




Clarify and discuss teaching objectives, including any gaps or potential confusion from
lecture (5-10 min)
Review announcements for the week (less than 5 min)
Review “Weekly Teaching Tools” (5 min)
Share ideas and craft an agenda, discussion prompts and activities for section (30 min)
Section Debrief Weekly Meetings
This meeting, ideally, should take place immediately following section so that the experience is
fresh. Each week one member of the teaching team (including the professor) will be videotaped, on
a rotating basis. That video should be brought to this meeting as the focal point of the feedback
discussion. After a brief check-in, the format of this meeting is that each teaching fellow gives an
overview of their section in 10 minutes, which focuses on what worked well and what could have
gone better in their section through a review of each agenda item, with a focus on the activity and
discussion (especially noting highlights, breakthroughs, challenges, etc.), a discussion of key
learning points and the evaluation results (here is where the careful recording of the learning
points and evaluation on flip chart paper come in handy!). The review of each section and
discussion should yield tips for the whole Teaching Team in facilitating section as well as
adjustments and improvements to Organizing framework. Coaching each other during your
presentations to probe why you did something or how you could have done something different
will maximize the Teaching Team’s learning, After this, portions of the video should be watched and
feedback provided – what are they doing well? How could they do better? The meeting should end
with key learnings, pluses, and deltas. This meeting is typically 90 minutes long.
57
WEEKLY SECTION PLANNING
As a part of your work as TF, it is your responsibility to review the topic of the week in section.
Below you will find a few helpful teaching tools for each week of section. First, there is a brief
overview of the theme of the week. Then, you will find Key Teaching Points. These are the points
that you want your students to have a clear understanding of by the time they walk away from
section. These points should help shape the activity and discussion. Refer also to the questions in
the Organizing Notes. Finally, you will find suggested activities from the 2011 Teaching Team.
There are also additional activities from previous years included below. Some of these activities can
also be done during the large class session, time permitting. The discussion and decision as to
whether and how these suggested activities should be implemented should be held during the
Student Progress Weekly Meeting and the details of the activity hammered out during the Section
Prep Weekly Meeting.
Public Narrative: Story of Self (Week 2)
The first section is of great significance because it helps to set the tone for the remainder of the
semester. In this section your mission is to claim your authority, introduce yourself to your section,
coach their introduction to each other, via telling their story of self, and establish the ground rules
or norms for the semester. Use this section to set the pattern for the rest of the semester in all ways,
but especially time management.
One aspect of tone setting is establishing your authority in the room. Make sure you arrive early to
set up, close the door before you begin, stand in front of the room, and announce the beginning of
section confidently. You will have an opportunity during a teaching team meeting prior to the first
section to practice leading it, and receive feedback.
As section begins, immediately pass around a sign-up sheet for ‘contact’ information on each
student, particularly email, phone number, and school or organization affiliation. This list should
then be copied and distributed to each student in the section by the TF. This information should be
cross-checked with what students already provided in the Student Interest Forms to make sure all
information is accurate. The person in charge of registration should work with Marshall’s assistant
to create the final contact list so that s/he can compile a full class roster that will include the
projects each student has chosen.
**In lecture on the Tuesday before section, we will hand out the Public Narrative worksheet and ask
students to come to section prepared to share their Story of Self in two minutes.
TEACHING OBJECTIVES





Establish the purpose of sections.
Clarify the format that section will follow.
Practice learning how to tell a story of self
Practice coaching
Learn how to set norms
58
10 min




5 min




5 min
WELCOME, INTRODUCTION, AGENDA & REFLECTION
Welcome!
Review section agenda and find a timekeeper (2 min)
Review where we are in the course: Public Narrative I: Story of Self (2 min) – this will frame
the context of the section
TF presents own public narrative, why you called to teach. Also present a reflection: A
poem, picture or quote that is meaningful to TF (communicates own values) and why (6
min)
HOW WE WILL WORK TOGETHER
Name cards (1 min)
Contact sheet (1 min)
Standard format of section (agenda, flow, Marshall stopping by, video) (3 min)
Reflection papers (2 min)
o Marshall will discuss further on Tuesday
o Start next week – email to me by Wednesday at 4 pm
o Tips sheet also posted online
o Technology concerns
NORMS
Generate a list together & decide how we will hold each other accountable


55 min



5 min
59
Possible norms:
o Respecting class time- starting and ending on time
o Commitment to student presentation schedules and weekly prep
o Commitment to turning in assignments on time
o Group Process - everyone should participate
o Confidentiality - what does this mean?
Remember to create a norm correction also
STORY OF SELF - Why am I called to take this class on organizing?
The “why” of organizing—briefly build on concepts from lecture and story structure (3 min)
Have students share two minute stories of self – speakers should share choice points in
their own experience that illuminates for others the values that moved the speaker to act.
The question they are answering is: why am I called to confront the challenge I want to
confront? Students should be given 1 min of feedback right after each story.
Any remaining time should be spent on debriefing all the stories told: What was effective?
EVALUATION – Key learning and pluses + deltas
POSTERS:
Today’s agenda
Norms brainstorming sheet
Intro questions
Evaluation blank sheet
HANDOUTS:
(15) section contact sheet
(15) Reflection paper tips
(1) office hours
Bring markers, tape, extra flipchart paper
Organizing Projects (Week 3)
This week we coach students in the fundamental concepts of organizing by clarifying their
organizing project. Students will identify the actors who play a role in their organizing project, their
interests and their resources. Focus your students on the three key questions: who are they
organizing (constituency) to do what (goal) by creating what kind of capacity (power).
Key Teaching Objectives:
-
Identify what makes a good organizing project: constituency, goal, and power.
Determine how to structure time in an organizing project as a campaign.
Key Teaching Points:
-
-
Constituency = your people; need to organize, can contribute leadership, commit their
resources, and can become a new source of power. They are not clients.
Power = ability to achieve purpose. Organizing is fundamentally about creating power
within a constituency (relational, interdependence) to make a change and/or getting power
over an institution or individual to make a change (unilateral/domination).
Goal = measurable outcome your campaign will achieve, rooted in your motivating vision
Campaign = strategic structuring of time and resources to achieve a specific goal
Suggested Activity:
-
Map of Actors: using the table below, have students brainstorm actors and each of their
interests and resources in three columns (see below). Provide each of them with butcher
paper to draw out the map of actors chart, and with sticky notes to write out each actor’s
name. Students will then place the sticky notes on the chart to classify their actors as
constituency, leadership, opposition, competition, supporters, and ?. Debrief the 2-3 best
examples. Focus on building a leadership drawn from the constituency and don’t let them
forget to place themselves in the map of actors. ***Make sure students save their map of
actors so that they can revisit them during a later section.
Columns for brainstorming actors:
Actor Name
Interests
Resources
60
-
Organizing Sentence: ask each student to write out an organizing sentence and facilitate a
quick coaching session after each one to improve/critique the sentence. Focus on whether
it’s actually organizing and how to get it more specific.
Useful Coaching Questions:
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




Who are the actors in your project? What are the specific names of the people you are
organizing?
o Who is on your leadership team?
o Who is a member of your constituency?
o Who is your competitor? (individuals and organizations)
o Who is your opposition? (individuals and organizations)
o Who is your support? (individuals and organizations)
How do you discern the interests of your constituency?
How do you balance your interests with others’ interests?
How can you create unity when there are similar values but different interests?
How are you identifying resources and skills among the members of your leadership team
and constituency?
How are you approaching power in your project?
How are you exercising power as a leader? Within your leadership team?
Other potential activities:


Do a round in which each person states his or her constituency, the primary interests of that
constituency, and its resources.
Have students split up into groups of two or three and do a power analysis for one or more
of the projects within their small groups. Then the groups could report back and discussion
could grow out of their presentations.
Note: For next week’s section on relationships, students should come prepared to report back on
the 1:1s they’ve had. This will encourage students to jump in earlier, always a difficulty.
Relationships (Week 4)
The class is entitled, "Organizing: People, Power, and Change,” not "Organizing: Issues, Power, and
Change." People are the essential resource in organizing. This week we consider how to build
relationships strategically, creating commitment from exchanges of interests and resources - the
source of social capital. We learn the value of 1:1 meetings as well as making strategic choices
about with whom to hold them.
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Key Teaching Objectives:
-
Understand the role and importance of relationships in organizing
Practice 1:1s
Coach on 1:1’s in their projects.
Key Teaching Points:
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
Relationships are intentional and for a purpose –
EXCHANGES (interests and resources)
COMMITMENTS (implies a future)
ROLES (expectations)
NARRATIVES (journey)
Public vs. private relationships
Strong vs. weak ties
Building relationships is what leaders do
Suggested Activity:
-
-
-
-
Fishbowl a 1:1 as a model in front of the class to start: ask your two strongest students
to volunteer and choose one to be the organizer and the other to be the organizee. Give
them at least 8-10 minutes for their conversation, and hit pause throughout and de-brief
afterward to analyze the conversation and draw out lessons learned about 1:1s and
relationship building
Break students up into pairs for two 1:1s: Have one student play the organizer and the
other organizee for 6-8 minutes and then give them 2 minutes to de-brief on their own
for the organizee to coach the organizer. They should then switch roles and have
another 1:1 conversation so that the organizer is now the organizee and vice versa.
They should treat this as a real 1:1 and explore their mutual interests and try to get to
some commitment with respect to each of their projects. After both 1:1s, bring the
group back together for a de-brief.
Around the horn/discussion: This could be a good, quick, check-in exercise at the very
beginning of section or a stand-alone discussion after the role-play. Ask people to share
their experiences so far with 1:1s. How many have they had? One word to describe
them. Ask whether people have been able to recruit people to join a leadership team yet
and how they’re using their 1:1s to do so. Depending on the responses, facilitate a
discussion about the common challenges and how to address them – lifting up the
people who think they’re being successful. Push people on what a “successful” 1:1 looks
and feels like.
For commitments at the end of section, how many 1:1s will they commit to doing before
section next week.
Discussion Questions:
62

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


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
What keeps us from building relationships?
How can you be strategic and intentional while staying open enough to explore the other
person’s interests?
How do you stay sincere while being your “public self?” (private/public)
Do these kinds of relationships entail “using people”?
What do you have to do before you get a commitment?
How are you getting commitment to the future of a relationship?
How do you balance time to develop relationships and time to get things done?
Section discussions begin this week. As a TF, key factors to consider are:
How to work with problem students – have a conversation with them outside of class – moment
of truth. Either put up or shut up, because it’s affecting the rest of the class and I can see it’s
frustrating to you to. In a respectful, direct way. They don’t feel good about it, because that’s why
they are acting out.
How to exercise authority: Practice. We can practice with each other. Have to just be willing to do
it in the moment How to cut people off
I am authorized to do this. The group has authorized me to do this. Trying to protect the group’s
time and space. Group sees the person interfering with their learning.
Prompts:
“Hang on.” “There’s a lot here.” “We have to move a lot on.”
Structuring Teams (Week 5)
Structuring interdependent leadership teams is the core of a
successful organizing effort. Well designed teams can achieve
results, build capacity, and develop leadership. To do this they must
be bounded, stable, and diverse. And their participants must
establish a shared purpose, clear norms, and interdependent roles.
Key Teaching Objectives:


Learn how to establish a shared purpose, interdependent
roles, and clear norms in a leadership team
Develop agenda for a first leadership team meeting
Key Teaching Points:





63
Shared purpose, norms and roles
Leadership (earned, followers) vs. authority
Leadership cycle: identify, recruit, develop leadership
Leadership rich vs. leadership poor (use Hoberman
sphere toy)
Responsibility vs. tasks

Delegation
Suggested Activities

Leadership Team Meeting Prep: Break students into groups to discuss what the goals of a
first leadership team meeting should be and to come up with a draft agenda. The report
back could be the presentation of the agenda or a mock two-minute welcome. For the TFs’
reference, here’s a sample agenda:
Welcome
- Introductions (asking people to share story
of self – why at meeting and interest in
leadership)
- Shared purpose (creating a story of us)
- Norms and norm corrections
- Commitments
- Evaluation
For the de-brief, consider focusing on how to elicit
participation and particularly people’s stories, where
the outrage and hope is, and what prep is needed before
and follow-up afterward.

Norms Role Play: This can be done in
conjunction with the leadership team meeting
prep if you have enough groups to split up. Ask each group to come up with an approach to
introducing the concept of norms and facilitating a discussion about norms with a
leadership team. The report back could be a role-play within the group to demonstrate how
to set norms or a summary of how they’d approach setting norms.
Other Potential Activities


Round: “Describe your leadership team structure. Are you leadership strong or weak, rich
or poor? Explain how you know and why it is that way.”
Peer Learning Team Structure: Break students up into their peer learning teams and have
them determine or revisit their structure.
Discussion Questions:



What is your leadership team’s (1) shared purpose, (2) group norms, and (3)
interdependent roles?
Is your leadership team stable and bounded? Diverse?
Has your leadership established explicit norms (as well as ways to hold each other
accountable to honor those norms)? If so, how has it helped? If not, what has it done to
your team?
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Who are leaders? How do you know?
Who is responsible for the whole?
How can you as the organizer earn leadership rather than be seen only as an authority
figure?
How can you use the “Drum Major Instinct” to your advantage?
How do you lead without imposing your views on people?
How do you challenge people’s understanding of leadership?
As a leader, how do you deal with someone who has “dropped the ball” on his/her
responsibility?
How can structure help make accountability possible?
How do you balance exerting your leadership with developing the leadership of others?
What is the difference between delegating tasks (telling) and responsibilities
(engagement)?
How do you turn tasks into leadership development opportunities?
Now that we have a leadership team, we can begin to tell our story of us. Learning to articulate our
values in relationship with others can help us tap sources of hope, confidence, anger, urgency and
solidarity that enable us to act. We begin to construct a story of us, or the story of the project or
organization, as well as a story of now, or a call to commit to hopeful action.
Strategy (Week 6)
This week we focus on strategizing. Strategy is turning resources
that we have into the power we need to get the outcome we
want. It is motivational, intentional, creative, collaborative and a
verb. This week we consider our goals, outcomes, theory of
change, targeting, tactics, and timing as the means by which we
mobilize and deploy our resources. Although we make every
effort to make choices with awareness of their consequences, we
encourage students to nurture their "strategic capacity" to deal
mindfully with unexpected obstacles and opportunities. Learning
to "articulate" one's strategy is a critical first step. Learning to
deliberate with others is a critical skill.
Key Teaching Objectives:
-
65
Finding the anger and hope in a story of us and now
Developing a theory of change to determine a strategic goal
Sequencing a campaign timeline
Key Teaching Points:





2 ways of knowing – strategy and narrative (and
the relationship between them)
Strategy vs. Strategizing (through dynamic
opportunities and constraints)
Strategy consists of a goal, tactics, and their timing
Meetings are strategic – who is at table, what is
process, who decides (3 faces of power)
Campaigns are a strategic organization of time

Campaigns integrate the building blocks of the
course (always present, just emphasize different
one at different times in the campaign):


Beginning (foundation) is more on relationships
Middle (peaks) is more on interpretation /
understanding (narrative and strategy)
End is more on action / change (you have an outcome—succeed or fail)
Parts of a campaign
o Foundation (laying the groundwork)
o Kick-off (getting started)
o Peaks (developing the program)
o The Peak
o Resolution (winning/losing, celebrate, evaluation)
o Different rhythms and how they interact with one another


Suggested Activities:



Have students use the Strategy worksheet to figure out their theory of change and strategic
goal and to brainstorm tactics. There is a sample worksheet in the appendix.
Have students practice telling their story of now, focusing on the nightmare and the dream
(they might not yet know the choice to end on). Break students up into pairs and take turns
telling their stories and coaching each other. Pick the 2-3 strongest people to present and
de-brief them as a group.
Have students use the Strategy worksheet to draw out a campaign timeline. This could also
be done in the next week on Action. Have students present their campaign timeline,
working backward from the highest peak. Hang the timelines up around the room.
Other Activities

Ask students to write down the belief barriers holding them back. How will you overcome
it?
66


Have a chart with the belief barriers and ask each student to put a sticky note on where they
are with their story of us and where they are with their story of now.
Brainstorm the different kinds of rhythms you’re trying to synchronize (school schedules,
liturgical cycles, seasons…)
Discussion Questions:

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Story of Now: What urgent challenge do you face? What hopeful vision do you imagine?
What specific commitment can you ask people to take to join you in action?
Analyze stories:
o Plot: Does it engage the listener through the use of vivid images?
o Character: Does the listener identify emotionally?
o Moral: What does it teach the listener about your community’s values?
o What does the story move you to do based on how it makes you feel?
How can you motivate people to take action and overcome belief barriers?
Why should we motivate people to become angry at injustice?
How do you know what to include in a story and what to leave out?
How do you invite people into a story?
To what extent has your project been a campaign?
How would it have been strengthened had it been structured as a campaign?
How can (or what parts of) campaigns be…
o Relational?
o Motivational?
o Strategic? (targeting, timing, tactics)
Powerful action (transformational, learning, linking the first 3 things)
How does your campaign weave together story and strategy?
How are you managing time in your campaign?
Reacting to changing circumstances
Preventing drop-offs, not peaking too early or late
How do campaigns integrate narrative and strategy? (What parts do this?)
How do you manage the rhythm of a campaign when you have to continually react to
changing circumstances?
How do you prevent drop offs?
How do you use the structure of campaign to build relationships? Create urgency?
How do you control the peaks?
Action (Week 7)
67
Narratives, relationships, teams and strategies only become
a source of power if they are turned into action. In
organizing, action grows out of people's commitment of
their resources (time, money, energy, etc.) to achieving
organizational goals and outcomes. An effective action
program is one in which many people can contribute their
resources to achieving a common objective through
motivational task design.
Key Teaching Objectives


Practicing asking for and securing commitments
Learning how to design tasks
Key Teaching Points







Action as mobilizing and deploying resources in
ways that are strategic & motivational
Commitment is the link
Does the “figure 8” expand or shrink? (Are you gaining or
losing capacity?)
How are you asking for commitments? How are you holding
people accountable for their commitments?
Do you have an action plan that chunks out into manageable
pieces for which real people are accountable?
o What is your time-line?
o Who is taking responsibility for each part?
o What are the measurable outcomes that will result?
Evaluating Action Plans (Hackman)
o Does it solve the problem?
o Does it strengthen the organization?
o Does it promote individual growth and development?
Motivational Task Design
o Task identity
o Task significance
o Skill variety
o Autonomy
o Feedback
Suggested Activities:


Use the Motivational Task Design Diagnostic (in appendix) and discuss the results
One student pair models asking for a commitment; then break everyone into pairs to
practice asking for a commitments.
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Guidelines:
 specifics (dates, times, #s)
 do follow-up
 persistence
 strong relationships make the asks easier
 remind people of their passion
 smaller requests so people can prove themselves
o When you explain the activity, first ask students to define:
 overall goal
 what outcomes you need to achieve that goal
 what commitments will be necessary toward that goal
Round: Have each student answer the three evaluative questions for his/her project.
Choose an action. Evaluate its motivational quality as it is (task identity, task significance,
skill variety, autonomy and feedback). Redesign it and improve its motivational qualities.
Round-up and asked for students what was one that was the highest and ne that was the
lowest and then rank and take a look at what they did.
o



Discussion Questions:





Why is it difficult to ask other people for commitments? How can you overcome this
challenge?
How do you get an individual and/or group to commit to taking action?
How do you create an action plan that helps your constituency see that they bring the
resources to the project, not you?
How do you make your action program gain momentum as it proceeds?
How can you redesign a task to be motivational? Evaluate and redesign an action’s task
identity, task significance, skill variety, autonomy, and feedback.
Catching our breath (Week 8)
The next two weeks we’ll spend catching our breath with our students to evaluate their projects
and correct course, with the help of case studies in lecture. Several students, but not all students,
will have achieved a breakthrough in their midterm so it’s important to lift those up as examples in
section as much as possible. Since they’ll be coming back from spring break and most likely a week
away from their projects and will only have a few weeks of the semester, focus students on what
they can actually get done in that timeframe. You’ll also want to spend time in this section
reviewing the grades from the midterm and results of the survey, and discussing any changes to
section.
69
Posters
Key Teaching Objectives:
-
Section sufficiently corrected based on student survey and midterm teaching team
meeting.
Students update campaign timelines.
Students coach each other to overcome common challenges.
Suggested Activities
1) Animal game
“If your leadership team were an animal, what would it be now?
What would you like it to be in the future?” “How will you help to
get it there?” Ask the students to draw two images. Do the students
describe flocks or loners? This helps students characterize the team
as a whole unit, examine it in a new light, and think creatively about
leadership “as it is” and leadership “as it could be” in their
organization.
2) Campaign Timeline Update
-
-
Purpose:
o focus in on what you’re going to accomplish in the next five weeks
o practice coaching each other
Instructions
o 12 minutes total: break students up into
pairs (ideally stars and strugglers). Each
student has three minutes to share
his/her timeline and receive coaching for
70
-
another three minutes. Students should start with their goal and work backward
to specify their remaining peak(s) and how they’re integrating the five practices.
o 2 minutes: each student shares and gets coached, give them two minutes to
adjust/re-draw their timeline.
o Report back: give each student 1 minute to report back and take 30 seconds or a
minute to point out a strength or
gap. Focus coaching on:
Is there a story for why this matters?
Is there a concrete, measurable, feasible
goal?
Do the peaks lead to the goal? Will this
shift or create power?
Build capacity? Develop leadership?
Are the peaks actually peaks? Do they
build on each other?
How are resources being mobilized and deployed, mobilized and deployed?
3) Discussion on what’s working to overcome common challenges
From the midterm papers, you’ll have a sense of the concepts and practices people are most
struggling with. This discussion is one way to help identify those challenges and provide practical
solutions to overcome them.
-
-
Ask each student to share one challenge or question they’re struggling with. Have your
scribe record them on butcher paper that’s categorized by the five different practices of
organizing so it’s easier to sort them through.
Depending on time, then take the 3-4 most common challenges ask students who have
been effectively dealing with them to share what’s worked in their projects to address
them.
Organizing projects (Weeks 9 & 10)
In the next two sections, your students will turn into a team organizing the final celebration of the
class. They’ll be presenting their ideas to the entire class in a competition for best celebration idea.
A committee of volunteers from across the class will then use that idea to organize the celebration.
The purpose of the exercise is to help students practice what they’ve learned in a reflective and fun
way. There won’t be enough time to finish the meeting in one section and debrief it properly, so the
exercise is split up over two weeks. The outcome of the exercise should be a 2 minute presentation
that your section will present to lecture the following Tuesday in a competition for the best
celebration idea.
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In this section, we talked about coaching and the importance of practicing coaching in sections.
Week 1 posters
Week two posters
Prep: Before section, write out an agenda and think through how to pair students. In section, after
students read through the instructions (attached in the appendix) and have a chance to ask
questions, give them 10 minutes to prep their agenda item. Suggest they work backward from the
purpose of that agenda item and how to structure time in a way that maximizes participation
efficiently. The trick is it might be hard to predict what will happen in the previous agenda items, so
they’ll need to think on their feet a bit too.
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Here’s a sample agenda with the initial time each pair will have to facilitate their agenda item of the
meeting and extra time for you to facilitate a de-brief/coaching session.






Welcome: Mike P, Rich (3 min + 2 min)
Why we’re here: Anand, Kunal (8 min + 5 min)
How we’ll work together: Kye, Mike T. (8 min + 5 min)
Strategizing: Emily, Geta (12 min + 8 min)
Action plan: James, Stephen (12 min + 10 min)
Wrap-up: Anna (5 min + 3 min)
** Work with the TF team to figure out how many agenda items you’ll all try to get through the first
week so that you end on roughly the same page in each section. If most of the first section is
devoted to this, you can probably get through Strategizing.
Your Role + Coaching/Helpful Prompts: During the meeting, you can role-play a student and
participate in the meeting, which would enable you to intervene to be problematic. Your primary
role, though, is to facilitate the evaluation and coaching discussion after each agenda item and to
make sure that the meeting moves along quickly and effectively if they’re really stalled –
particularly in the transitions from one agenda item to the next. To make sure the competition is
fair, it’s important that the TFs aren’t overly involved in the brainstorming and planning of the
celebration of the idea. The trick is when and how to intervene so that you don’t end up managing
the meeting. In your section prep meeting before the second section meeting to finish up the
meeting, determine whether your students will likely have time to debrief that week or whether
they’ll need the whole section time to finalize their idea and presentation.
In the appendix, you’ll find thoughts on what to look for in each agenda item, the broader keys to
the concept in organizing, and how to facilitate a de-brief. The simplest way to do this is to ask
people what worked well or what the presenters could have done better (AND WHY), not forgetting
to ask the presenters too for their evaluation of themselves.
Teaching Team Prep for the Presentations/Voting in Lecture
Each section will have two minutes to present their idea for the final celebration to the whole class
and then the whole class will vote. Here’s a sample of responsibilities that the teaching team should
divvy up beforehand.
-
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Mel - Introducing the competition and explaining how voting will work. So that students
aren’t just voting for their own section, allow students to vote twice but only twice.
Duncan – Putting the names of each section leader in a hat and having students pick out the
order they’ll present while they settle down before class starts
Voop - Rope off the back row
Jesse - Figure out the applause-o-meter situation
-
-
Mel - In charge of asking for commitments to join the party-planning committee. You’ll want
at least one volunteer from each section but the section that came up with the idea is likely
to be more involved
Voop - Take notes about who is joining the party-planning committee
Uyen - Buying Kazoos
Josh – Setting up music - “We are the champions”
Being a Good Organizer (Week 11)
In this final week of Section, we return to the individual focus. We began each presentation by
describing our journey to this point in time. Now we begin to reflect on what we have learned about
who we are on our journey - and how that can help us discern a vocation for organizing. Ideally,
there are no presenters in this last week of section. The time is spent divided into three parts: (1) in
reflection on what it takes to be a good organizer, (2) evaluation of the section, and (3) celebration.
74
Useful posters
Suggested Activities:

75
Draw a picture of yourself and pick a word that describes your journey as an organizer this
semester (no word can be used twice!). Then during the celebration, have the person to
your right write a plus for you on your poster and the person to your left write a delta for
you on your poster.

Rounds of questions: What does it take to be a good organizer? What lessons about yourself
have you learned while organizing? What were the key learning points throughout the
semester? What are the plusses and deltas of section, looking back over the semester? What
would you like to share with the class as we part?
TFs should point out the differences people have made this semester by listing the groups of people
each organizer has affected.
Return the term goals taken during the first or second section during this final section.
Other ideas for celebration activity:

Yarn Game: Stand in a circle and one person starts with a ball of yarn, says
pluses and deltas for another person in the circle and throws the yarn to
him/her while holding on to the end; by the end, everyone is connected

Writing on People’s Backs: Everyone has a piece of paper on his/her back and
everyone else writes pluses and deltas on the paper

Each person draws a poster of him/herself; then everyone writes pluses and
deltas for each other using cut out pluses and deltas and puts them on each
others’ posters

Envelopes: Each person has an envelope; everyone puts pluses and deltas in
each others’ envelopes

Section quilt: Each person draws a patch for the quilt reflecting on pluses and
deltas of each other

Starbursts Game: Each person takes several Starbursts (or M&Ms) from a bag
and says certain things based on the color (pluses, deltas, key takeaways, etc.)
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CONCLUSION
FINAL WEEK OF CLASS
During the final week of classes, there are no sections. This is the time we bring together all of the
students, and the collective learning of the group. Our focus is on recognizing and acknowledging
the completion of our semester-long journey.
Tuesday class:
Big Picture: This class is the opportunity to take the project-specific learning over the course of the
semester and re-engage and connect it with the larger world beyond MLD 377. Where do we go
from here? What is the role of organizing in the larger picture of public life?
Thursday class:
Evaluation/Final Class Session: Marshall leads the class in a round robin where each student has 1
minute to:
 describe their project announcing how many people they organized, to do what, and
whether they reached their outcome
 say what they most valued about the class (+)
 say what they would change about the class (∆)
A TF should record all of the report-backs in real time on a spreadsheet that everybody can see on
the projector. Be ready – each TF will also have time to do plusses and deltas about the class.
The results are then used by the teaching team to develop recommended improvements for the
next time the class is taught. This manual came out of the final evaluation meeting of the teaching
team of the Spring Class of 2000.
TF EVALUATION
To receive individual feedback, you may also want to create a “TF Evaluation” for students to fill
out. In 2008, we did a brief Survey Monkey survey, which asked the following questions:






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Who was your Teaching Fellow (TF) for MLD-377?
What was the most helpful way the TF facilitated your learning of the course material?
What could the TF have done differently to better facilitate your own learning in this
course?
What would you consider to be strengths of your TF?
What are areas of improvement for your TF?
Do you have other comments or suggestions for the section or TF?
CELEBRATION
After a semester-long campaign, we continue practicing what we are teaching, by celebrating our
campaign of relationship building, understanding, and action, known as "Organizing: People, Power,
and Change." This class celebration has often been creative and showed sides of the students and
teaching team that is not evident during the course itself. In 2011, the teaching team had each
section generate and present an idea for a celebration and then the class voted on which one to
execute with a group of students who volunteer to make it happen.
The teaching team can organize a Celebration Committee of students in the class to organize a final
class celebration. Choose students who care about the quality of the celebration and be prepared to
offer support as teaching team to ensure the success of the celebration itself. Make sure the date
works with Marshall’s schedule before getting to far into it. Above all, make it fun (and not overorganized)!!
In 2006, the class held a several hour long celebration at a nearby church. There was a large potluck buffet, mostly Mexican and other South American foods. Everyone sat in a circle and went
around in a round in which each student reflected on his/her learning in the class, shared his/her
story, and shared a reflection.
In 2007, the class held their celebration at the Masters Resident Suite at Quincy House. At this
beautiful setting after eating a mostly pot-luck dessert and wine style snack, each section created a
story of us “skit”. After each section had performed, everyone went around the circle first saying
who they organized and then again to say what they organized. Then we finished with a rhythm
circle in which each student added a sound or rhythm.
In 2008, the class celebration was held outdoors in the Chronkite Residence Hall Courtyard. After a
dessert and snack-type buffet, the group broke into sections where they painted posters with
depictions of their campaigns. The posters were then brought together into a large mural and
students offered reflections.
In 2011, the class organized “The Marshalls,” an award ceremony with MCs, several award
categories, performances during “intermission” that celebrated different constituencies and
projects, and actual awards with Marshall’s face on them. Students also hung up posters from their
projects and from section and organized a potluck.
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GRADING
Discuss grading students early in the class. It is the responsibility of the teaching team to track and
grade students in all of the following areas:





Attendance
Participation
Reflection papers
Midterm paper
Final Paper
It is the responsibility of the TF in charge of “grading” to ensure that tools are in place for the
teaching team to do so objectively and consistently within and across sections throughout the
semester, at the midpoint, and at the end of the course. The excel grading grid used in previous
years has been saved in a Google Doc and should be used as a template to create the new one.
ATTENDANCE
Before you go into the first class session – after the final class roster has been determined, be sure
you have a Google document Tracking Grid ready to use! It is essential that all TFs track attendance
and participation in the Google document consistently throughout the semester and use the same
methodology and reasoning for the marks they make. It will make the final grading process much
simpler and ensure that the system is both fair and accurate.
The daily tracker will look something like this:
MLD355M:
Attend.
Clas
s
PN 9/1
W 8
Clas
s
9/2
0
Clas
s
9/2
5
Sec
t(S
elf)
9/2
7
Studen
t1
x
X
Abs
√
Studen
t2
x
x
L
X
√+
X
Clas
s
10/
2
Sect.
(Us)
10/
4
√
√ +
ab
s
Tot
Part.
L
√
7 1
1
9
√
3 1
0
A
5
B
+
Etc…..
Student Attendance: The following codes should be used to record student attendance:
79
Y
L
AB
EAB
Student was present and on time (or late with an acceptable excuse)
Student was present but arrived late without an excuse
Student was not present, and did not notify TF with an excuse
Student was not present, but did notify TF with an acceptable excuse
Students should be marked late if they arrive after the class or section begins (no grace period).
The matter of whether or not to excuse an absence or lateness is left up to the discretion of each
individual TF, but is subject to group discussion.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION
Discuss among the teaching team what constitutes a check and a check + at the August retreat. It is
important for consistency here: if a student participates in section (beyond simply asking a
reiterative question or comment), a check is given. If the student makes a substantive contribution
that actually influences, shifts or alters the quality and/or focus of discussion then a check plus
should be given. If the student contributes more than once in a section, evaluate all of the comments
given and record a single participation grade for that day – either a check for multiple “check
comments,” or a check plus for at least one “check plus comment.” If a student does not contribute,
they get no participation credit for that day.
You will have difficulty assigning final grades if you are not consistent in the way you assign these
grades to lecture participation, section participation, presentations and reflection papers. Check in
at midterm to see if the TFs are assigning a similar number of check+s.
It is important for consistency here: if a student participates in class (beyond simply asking a
reiterative question or comment), a check is given. If the student makes a substantive contribution
that positively influences, shifts or alters the quality and/or focus of discussion then a check plus
should be given. If the student contributes more than once in a class, evaluate all of the comments
given and record a single participation grade for that day – either a check for multiple “check
comments,” or a check plus for at least one “check plus comment.” It is important to be clear with
students that their participation grade reflects not simply their own personal engagement with the
material, but rather their ability to actively move discussion forward in a way that contributes to
the overall learning in the class. The teaching team should be clear that participation is only being
tracked in section.
WEEKLY REFLECTION PAPERS
The mandatory weekly reflection papers are graded with one of three marks: a check plus, a check,
or a check minus. These do not correspond to any grading system, e.g. a check is not necessarily a
‘C’. They mostly correspond to excellent work, expected level of work, and not of sufficient quality.
Also be sure to note if the papers are late by noting an “L” next to the grade. These grades are
supplemented and explicated by the comments written by Marshall and the TFs.
Grading and Commenting on Weekly Reflection Papers:
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In the grading of the weekly reflection papers, transparency is key. Be clear and explicit as to why
you are making the comments you make; be transparent regarding your expectations behind the
comments. Use your evaluation as a teaching opportunity - to support positive points, to question
points which are unclear, to challenge points which are off the track. Use comments like “This
would be a check plus if…”
1.
Skim the paper all the way through before commenting - try to get the main idea.
2.
Go back through the paper, using “checks” or brief comments in the margins to emphasize
what appear to be the key points in the piece. Students really appreciate and learn from these
comments. Also be sure to include comments of encouragement and questions as you read.
3.
are.
In your end comments, briefly restate what you think the main point or points of the paper
4.
Then, comment positively on points which are well done - especially look for clarity, good
use of the concrete to illustrate the general, good use of the general to bring out the significance of
the concrete, personal insight applied to abstract concepts that brings the weekly topic to life, good
questions and dilemmas raised, and creativity.
5.
Finally, raise questions about points that are unclear or off the track. Such as, “have you
thought about why....” or “why do you think that...” or “it may be helpful to think about such and
such as....”
6.
Occasionally it may be necessary to do some real conceptual work in your comments, but do
as much as you can through questions, avoiding going back over the lecture.
7.
Note certain themes that will begin to emerge with certain people. This will help you
understand where they are coming from more quickly and address them more appropriately.
8.
Note certain themes that cut across all the papers. This will help identify problem areas we
may need to address with the entire class.
9. You will note that some papers tend consistently to be better than others are, some more
problematic. Note which these are so you can target the problematic ones for special attention and
take advantage of the very good ones for teaching (e.g., using them as examples in class). Also
decide whether you are more motivated by reading the best ones first or last.
10. Read your comments over again to be sure you feel comfortable with them.
11. Order the papers from strong to weak and save them in the Dropbox with the number rank and
name to make it easy for you and Marshall to complete the grading.
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12. By the pre-determined deadline, send Marshall an email when you’re done grading your papers
with any overarching observations, questions, concerns, etc.
MIDTERM
Midterm is a time for breakthroughs – both for students and new TFs. Themes of the week all come
together for the first time. It is also a time when we take a step back in order to see a bigger picture.
Don’t be surprised if it takes your students until this point in the semester to really “get it.”
Midterm Evaluation
The Teaching Team should distribute a midterm evaluation in the last section before spring break
to get feedback on lecture, section, the professor, and the TFs. See the Appendix for the evaluation
handed out in 2011. The TF responsible for coordinating this should make any necessary
adjustments to the survey, start a Google document so that TFs can input the info from their
students’ questionnaires, and compile summary statistics for each section and the whole class. At
the midterm evaluation meeting, the summary results should be presented and each TF and
Marshall should reflect on the pluses and deltas. The discussion, together with the review of the
midterm papers, should inform course correction.
Grading Midterm Papers
Purpose of Grading at Midterm



To recognize, affirm, encourage those students who are doing well, focusing their attention
on why they are doing well.
To focus students who are having difficulty on what they are having difficulty with, how to
address it, and create the motivation to address it.
To develop a strategy for the section as a whole – as well as individual students – as to how
to move everyone’s learning forward and not overlooking the ‘middle students’. (This might
involve hooking people up to be coached.)
What You are Looking For
General






Are they making an argument: a claim supported by evidence drawn from their project. My
project is/is not working)
Are there specifics about who did what and how?
Are they evaluating what is working, what isn’t, and why or why not? How do they know?
Do they address their own learning? ?
Is there an I/We balance?
Is there anything that seems to be holding them back?
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Topics







Actors, Values, Interests – Who are they organizing to do what? Are their interests present?
Power and Resources – Do they talk about this?
Leadership – What are the names of people on their leadership teams? What is the strategy
to identify, recruit and develop leaders? Is the project task or responsibility oriented?
Relationships – What are their relational strategies? Who has relationships with whom (self
to leaders to constituents)?
Strategy – Are they strategizing?
Action – Are they in action with a real team yet? How intentionally?
Motivation – Which belief barriers are present? Are they creating new experiences to help
people overcome them? Are they doing “meaning making?”
End Comments









Reiterate your understanding of the argument the student has made, giving them feedback
on how what they said came across and indicating you read it to understand it.
Clarify whether or not the student makes a persuasive argument, and explain why or why
not.
Clarify misunderstandings re: concepts
Comment on how well the paper is tied to the framework of the class
Comment on how well the student uses evidence to support their claims
Highlight strong reflective analysis and missing aspects
Challenge (as needed) to reflect more, act more, define role better, etc.
Push them to think about the rest of the semester – learning goals, project goals, next steps
Include questions like – “Where are YOU in this paper?” “Why are you holding back?”
First Reading



Read the paper all the way through, making comments in the margins.
Write your end-comments (preferably on the computer)
Assign a grade in pencil or on a post-it – note Harvard scale: big gap between A- and B+.
Evaluation


Look at your section as a whole and the grade distribution – are you being too tough, too easy?
How does the distribution of the grades match with your view of your section?
Look at the records of individual students – response papers, class participation, presentations
– and see how their papers conform to their overall pattern of performance.
Second Reading
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

Read back through your comments – and check any key points you want to go back to – keeping
in mind the purposes of grading midterm listed under Section I.
Check your grade and see if you still agree with yourself.
Final Grading





Look at your section as a whole and the grade distribution – are you being too tough, too
easy? How does the distribution of grades match with your view of your section and of class
as a whole?
Look at the records of individual students – response papers, class participation,
presentations – and see how their papers conform to their overall pattern of performance.
Assign final grades in pencil
Create a single page document listing your students in the order of strongest to weakest
papers, with a grade beside each name.
Hand in papers, comments, and summary sheet at pre-determined time.
Grading Parameters
A
Excellent paper, it combines evidence and analysis. It makes a specific argument and
demonstrates self-awareness (reflective practice) while supporting that analysis with evidence.
ADoes everything an A paper does, but not as well, or leaves something out but is otherwise
an excellent paper. (Good, but flawed.)
B+
A good paper, but doesn’t make an argument, leaves something out (concrete or analytic),
or is too general or too concrete (e.g. a chronological re-telling of a project). (Flawed, but has good
points.)
B
A so-so paper, covers most of the bases but falls short.
B-
A lousy paper.
C+
A terrible paper.
Mid-Course Interventions
For students:
Based on their midterm performance, it will be evident that several students in each section require
- and most likely will be open to - a 'mid course intervention.’ Typically this means the student is
experiencing the ‘snare of preparation,’ or, the fear of action in such a way that does not allow the
student to evaluate the usefulness of theory by testing it in action. These midcourse interventions
are essential to the progress of students in the course – and must take place immediately (within a
day or two preferably) after the return of the midterm papers while the grade is ‘fresh’ in the
students’ experience. In some particularly problematic cases, it may be appropriate for the student,
84
TF and Marshall to meet together to discuss the grade. In other cases, depending on the nature of
the relationship between the TF and the student, it may be more appropriate/effective for the
student to meet with Marshall directly (this is a rare case scenario, typically reserved when a
student is actively resisting the support/advice of the TF).
For teaching team:
The teaching team also needs to allow for midcourse correction. We distribute a one page mid
course evaluation paper to all students while in section. Anonymity is assured. Evaluations are
compiled and segregated by section so each TF can share section-specific results with students.
Then Marshall goes over an aggregate evaluation for the class as a whole in the next lecture-based
class. Reviewing the evaluation with the students is the same in both the whole class and in section:
the teaching team shares the results (beginning with the positive) and honestly acknowledges areas
of needed improvement (without offering defensive explanations). Some discussion may take place
on how to implement needed improvements as a midcourse correction. It is usually helpful to make
explicit that we (as teaching team) are experiencing the same thing as the students – that is, the
need for mid course corrections – once again, we are honoring the process of mutual evaluation.
Be sure to allow enough time in the class agenda for students to fill out this form. If they are
rushed, the information is brief and not terribly useful.
Midterm Meetings
Grading Meeting: There is at least one half-day meeting with all Teaching Team present to discuss
the midterm grades of each individual student. During this meeting, the midcourse corrections that
the teaching team needs to make are also discussed, determined and implemented (or, at least, a
plan of action for implementation developed). Come to this meeting able to talk about why you
assigned the grade that you did, what your students’ trajectories have been over the course of the
semester (i.e. map the “campaign” of that student’s progress), where each student needs help, and
what you need to do to bring particular students to where they could be. This is an important time
for the teaching team to make sure they’re using the grading sheet correctly and similarly. Use the
Midterm Grade Summary Sheet to help you prepare for this meeting, adding notes where necessary.
Suggest as a midterm check that each student read at least one other reflection paper on the list
serve, and incorporate student reflection papers into the discussion.
FINAL PAPERS
The purpose of the final paper is to synthesize the learning that has taken place over the course of
the entire semester. Writing the final paper is a tremendous learning opportunity for each student;
this final assignment often results in a learning breakthrough that you have been waiting for a
student to have all year. Take the time before finals to go over requirements and questions with
your section as a whole, and make time for individual coaching sessions as well. Students are free
to submit a draft of their paper for your quick perusal and feedback.
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See Midterm Paper Grading Outline. The actual grading process of the final papers is identical to the
midterms, the critical difference being the purpose of the grading:
Acknowledge, for each student, what he/she did do well during the course. Also, recognize, affirm,
and encourage those students who did well, focusing their attention on why they did well.
For each student, point out the difficult spots/practices he/she has and provide feedback and how
he/she might address those challenges in the future. Also, focus students who have had difficulty
on what they struggle with, how to address it, and create the motivation to address it.
Comment on the overall course of student progress throughout the semester, noting key learning
(AHA!) moments, key turning points and key areas for improvement. None of this information
should be a radical surprise for the student as there should be an ongoing dialogue (via 1:1
meetings and comments on weekly papers, and in-class interactions) regarding these points.
Provide some thoughtful – and honest - words regarding the future for each student as well.
Honesty and respect are the keys to effective comment writing, especially on the final paper.
Final Paper Grading Criteria
Paper will be graded using the following criteria:
strong papers
papers needing the most
improvement
grading
self-reflection related to the
project and action
“spectator” papers
(A)—excellent paper, combines
evidence and analysis. It
makes a specific argument and
demonstrates self-awareness
(reflective practice) while
supporting that analysis with
evidence
connect theory and practice
both conceptual and specific
address barriers encountered
in the course and
breakthroughs if they
happened
creative
writer is an observer,
not an actor
lone rangers
writer is the only person there,
no leadership team,
not working with other leaders
too general
no claims or evidence
(A-)—Does everything and A
paper does, but not as well, or
leaves something out but is
otherwise an excellent paper
(Good, but flawed)
(B+)—A good paper, but
doesn’t make a compelling
argument, leaves something
out (concrete or analytic), or is
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too specific
descriptive rather than analytic
too general or too concrete (for
example a chronological retelling of a project) (Flawed,
but has good points)
(B)—A so-so paper, covers
most of the bases, but falls
short
(B-)—A lousy paper
(C+)—A terrible paper
FINAL GRADING & EVALUATION MEETING
The class is officially over and done. What is left to be done beyond the final paper grading already
discussed?
Final Paper Grading/Final Grades Meeting
Using the final grading – grade crafting – process discussed in the following pages, each TF should
be able to attend a final grading meeting (usually ½ to a full day) prepared to discuss each students’
final paper, final grade and overall course progress with the teaching team.
Final Evaluation Meeting
The final evaluation by the teaching team marks the resolution of the campaign, "Organizing:
People, Power, and Change." Set aside at least half a day (or two half days) for a final evaluation of
the course. From pre-class preparation to post-class celebration, the story of the course is reviewed
and evaluated. The quality of this conversation is improved when the teaching team does their own
written evaluation and reflection ahead of time. The evaluation involves reflection on week-byweek consideration of what worked well and what could be improved (in readings, lectures, section
meetings, mid-terms, final papers, and grading) an overall evaluation of the teaching team,
individually and as a group. This is also an opportunity to highlight innovations discovered in
teaching techniques and tips for future offerings of the course. Finally, it is a time to recommend
changes/additions for the TF Manual and pass them on to the TF responsible for revisions. Here’s
the agenda from the 2011 final meeting as one example. Grading took about four hours instead of
2.5 hours.
Here is the agenda from our final meeting in Spring 2011:
Agenda review and choose timekeeper, note-taker, and any
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5 min
9:30-9:35
other roles
Check-in
Grading
- Any outstanding issues, reading of papers with
discrepancies
- Update final grades given any revisions
- Review section grade distribution and total class grad
distribution and check against the curve
- Finalize grades
- Submit HDS grades
- Determine process for submitting other grades
Break to get lunch settled
10 min
2.5 hours
15 min
9:35-9:45
9:45-12:15
12:1512:30
12:30–2:00
Curriculum Evaluation – Week by Week
*7 minutes max for each week – 13 weeks
- Teaching Objectives
- Readings
- Lecture
- Organizing notes & paper prompt
- Section
Curriculum Evaluation
- Revisiting section (15 min)
- Midterm & Final Papers (10 min)
o Prompts
o Grading
- Clinics/Workshops (20 min)
 Full-day intro workshop
 Relationship clinic
 Coaching clinic
- Other elements of the course (15 min)
o Community Fellows
o Local host organizations
Break
90 min
Team Evaluation
o Pre-class
 Prep meeting
 Enrollment & sectioning
o Division of responsibilities
o Our meetings
Individual Evaluation
1 hour
2:00-3:00
10 min
3:00-3:10
30 min
3:10-3:40
35 min
3:40-4:50
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For each person – 5 minutes total
1. Answer for yourself: +’s/deltas, key learnings (5 min)
2. Feedback from others (5 min)
Review of Next Steps
o Revisions to syllabus
o Revisions to manual
o Other follow-up
Evaluation of this meeting
Dinner!
Celebration!
5 min
4:50-5:10
5 min
5:10-5:15
Be sure to make time for a dinner or time in which the teaching team appreciates each other and
celebrates the work you have accomplished over the semester. Congrats on making it this far!
Components of the Final Grade
The Student Tracking/Grading grid described in an earlier section of this manual will, if maintained
properly throughout the semester, have the necessary attendance, weekly reflection paper,
midterm and final paper grades.
There is a separate MS Excel grid, complete with formulas, for compiling the final grades for the
course. The grid includes:
Participation Grade (25%):
The participation grade is based on two primary criteria: the student’s timely attendance to class
and the quality of their participation in class itself. Two more columns are to be added after the
“Raw Score” column: one for “Penalty points” and one for “Adjusted Points.”
Attendance:
Unexcused Absence: For every unexcused absence after the first one, his or her “raw score” will be
docked 3 points per unexcused absence. (Thus, taking 3 “penalty points” from the “raw score”
would produce the “adjusted points.”)
Excused Absence: Excused absences do not adversely affect a student’s grade (for example a serious
illness, religious holidays, confinement by sit-in) as long as they are discussed in advance or
approved by the TF following the absence.
Late: A student is marked Late to class or section if they arrive after the class or section has
begun. If a student has notified the TF that they will be traveling from another class, or that an
exceptional circumstance will prevent him/her from being there on time, the TF may choose to
mark the student excused for the lateness (EL). If a student is late more than four times (without an
excuse) during the semester, his or her “raw score” will be docked one point per lateness.
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In-Class Participation:
The formula for calculating participation is based on the (number of checks) + (number of check
pluses X 2). The presentation rating (1-5) and Skills Session attendance should also be taken into
consideration and given weight.
Depending on the actual number of classes, the total number from the formula above (taking into
consideration absences and the class presentation) is turned into a grade by locating it within a
range. In the past this scale has been something similar to: A=25+, A-=17-24, B+=11-16, B=10-6,
and B-=<5.
Reflection Paper Grade (25%):
Each student is allowed to skip two papers per semester. If he or she skips skip 2 or fewer papers,
there is no impact on the grade. If he or she skips skip more than 2 papers, his/her grade goes down
one partial grade for every paper skipped.
The actual grade has to be agreed upon by the TF's – in Spring of 2006, it was based on the number
of classes we had, and on the distribution of check pluses, checks and check minuses. We
determined that any student who had three or more check pluses received an A on this section. Any
student with 1-2 check plus papers received an A-. If a student had zero check plus papers and 2 or
less skips, they would receive a B+. Students were not penalized for check minus papers.
At the mid-term progress meeting, TF's should compare the number of check, check + and checkthey have assigned for reflection papers, presentations and participation.
Midterm Paper Grade: (20%)
Final Paper Grade: (30%)
The Art of Crafting the Final Grade
The letter grade in each section (Participation, Reflection Paper, Midterm and Final papers) is
assigned a value according to the Harvard system, which is as follows:
A = 15
A- = 14
B+ = 12
B = 11
B- = 10
C+ =8
C =7
C- =6
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The scores from each section are then calculated, by a formula, which takes into consideration their
weighted value, and a final grade is assigned. For example, a student may have an A- in
participation (=14x30%), an A- in reflection paper grades (=14x20%), a B+ midterm (=12x20%),
and a B final paper (=11x30%) which, when calculated, results in a final grade of 12.7, e.g. B+.
At the final grade crafting meeting, the teaching team will discuss each student’s grades and,
especially if they have borderline grades, consider any unique characteristics, events, or learning
process that would warrant the student being pushed one way or another. Also, Marshall has a
policy that if a student receives a higher grade on the final paper than the midterm, their final grade
replaces their midterm grade. This grading practice should be made clear to students in class. It is
helpful to have the spreadsheet all filled in before coming to the meeting and have grades you
question highlighted for ease in discussion. If you haven’t yet graded the final papers before this
meeting, leave them blank and remember to adjust the midterm scores accordingly after final
papers have been graded. Then review each student to make sure the grade makes sense and
confirm the final grade with Marshall. After this is done, email a list of the students and their grades
along with the spreadsheet to Marshall’s Assistant and Marshall. Email your students their grade
for participation, reflection papers, midterm, and final along with their final grade.
Using the Excel Sheet for Calculating Grades
Note: There are two excel sheets for grading. One allows TFs to track participation and reflection
paper grades throughout the semester. The second is for tabulating final grades. These
instructions are for the latter sheet, which will compile all the grades and information you have
been tracking throughout the semester.
PARTICIPATION
Column C: Skills Session Attendance --- give a "1" if present
Column D: Unexcused Late Attendance --- give a "1" for every late attendance you noted you
marked (note, students only penalized if > 3). If you did not keep exact records, but know that
someone was chronically or disruptively late, mark a “3.”
Column E: Unexcused Absences - give a "1" for each unexcused absence from class or section
Column F: Total number of "√" given for class and section participation combined
Column G: Total number of "√+" given for class and section participation combined
Column H: Presentation Grade (1-5)
The formula in Column I will tabulate a "raw score"
=SUM(C5)-(1/3*D5)-(E5)+(F5)+(G5)+(H5)
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TFs should work to this point before the grading meeting.
Column J: We will then assign a grade based on the breakdown of raw scores across the class. This
breakdown might look like:
Raw Score
≥ 22
20-21
17-19
14-16
≤ 13
Grade
A
AB+
B
B-
Column K: Finally, those letter grades get converted to the 1-15 HKS scale.
REFLECTION PAPERS
Column L: Total # of late reflection papers
Column M: Total # of skipped reflection papers (including the two that were allowed)
Column N: Total number of "√+" papers
Column O: Total number of "√" papers
Column P: Total number of "√-" papers
TFs should work to this point before the grading meeting.
Column Q: Based on class-wide distribution, teaching team decides what constitutes an “A.” Based
on 2008, this is probably 3 or more "√+" papers.
MIDTERM PAPERS
Column T: Input grade for Mid-term paper (note: these are subject to change if final grades
improve).
FINAL PAPERS
Column V: Input TF grade for Final paper
Column W: Input Marshall grade for Final paper
Column X: Input agreed upon final grade for Final paper
Column Y: Final letter grade converted to HKS scale
FINAL GRADE!
Column Z: Formula will calculate:
(.3)*Class Participation Grade + (.2) Reflection Paper Grade + (.2)*Midterm Grade + (.3)*Final Paper
= Final Grade
Column AA: Final letter grade!
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WORKSHEETS & HANDOUTS
Contents
Worksheets & Handouts ........................................................................ 93
Community Fellows Nomination Form ...............................................................................94
Community Fellow Interview Form .....................................................................................95
Learning agreement.............................................................................................................96
Student Interest Form ..........................................................................................................97
Section Presentation Pointers ............................................................................................98
Tips for Selecting a Project .................................................................................................99
Project report form ............................................................................................................100
Weekly Reflection Paper Assignment ..............................................................................101
Instructions for Community Night Student Panelists .....................................................102
Public narrative worksheet ...............................................................................................103
Coaching Tips ....................................................................................................................110
Strategy worksheet ............................................................................................................112
Epic Exercise Explanation ................................................................................................114
Points to include in a meeting agenda .............................................................................115
Week 11 Section Reflection Exercise ...............................................................................118
MLD-377 Mid-Term Evaluation ..........................................................................................120
Midterm Paper Assignment...............................................................................................122
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Final Paper Assignment ....................................................................................................123
COMMUNITY FELLOWS NOMINATION FORM
Your name: __________________________
Name of your organization: __________________________
E-mail: __________________________
Telephone: __________________________
Name of nominee (if different than above): __________________________
Name of organization: __________________________
E-mail: __________________________
Telephone__________________________
Why do you believe that this person would benefit from being a community fellow?
What experiences does this person bring that would add to the class?
Is there anything else that you would like us to know about this nominee?
If you have suggestions for other organizations to contact, please list their names below:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please return this form no later than Friday, January 7th to Gerta Dhamo at
Gerta_Dhamo@harvard.edu
Call or email questions/comments to Gerta Dhamo,Gerta_Dhamo@harvard.edu, 617-384-9637
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COMMUNITY FELLOW INTERVIEW FORM
Applicant Name: _____________________
Topic
Personal story – family,
economic situation, how
came to organizing
Specific goal(s) for the
class
Readiness to learn
Ability / Time – reading /
writing skills, ability to
balance with work
responsibilities, supervisor
approval
Project – thought &
planning, commitment,
feasibility
Other
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Comments
TF Interviewer: ______________________
LEARNING AGREEMENT
Learning Agreement
This Learning Agreement explains the commitment of full participation we expect of auditors in
MLD 377. We welcome you as an auditor. Because students work together in this class, however,
inconsistent participation is unfair to others.
Signing and returning this agreement to us indicates your understanding and acceptance of this
commitment.
Please provide a copy of your completed and signed Learning Agreement, to section on
February 10th.
•••
LEARNING GOALS: Indicate the overall expectations for your learning experience in this
course.
Schedule and coursework: Below is the outline of the course schedule. Fellows/auditors are
expected to attend all class sessions, meet all course tasks/deadlines, and complete coursework.







Lectures and section meetings: 2:30pm-4pm Tuesdays and Thursdays
Presentation: preparation of a 10 minute presentation to section
Organizing project: average of 6 hours/week
Reading: approximately 8-10 hours/week
Reflection papers: weekly 2 page papers (six total)
Midterm: 4 page paper
Final: 7 page paper
Signature
_________________________________________________
Name
Date
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STUDENT INTEREST FORM
This form is now completed online. The link to the form is here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGJzc29mc2J1OWhNUEdObX
JfRmpoQUE6MQ#gid=0
If that link does not work, the questions asked are below:
 What is your reason for choosing this course?
 First Name
 Last Name
 Affiliation
 Program or Concentration
 Year of Graduation
 Race/Ethnicity
 Nationality
 Email Address
 Are you likely to take this class?
 How did you register for the course?
 Phone number
 Scheduling or other concerns about enrolling
in the course?
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SECTION PRESENTATION POINTERS
1.
Section Presentations are 10 minutes long. Practice ahead of time, since 10 minutes is
never as long as you think when you’re sitting at home on a comfortable couch.
2.
The general format is:
a) 1-2 minutes Introduction of Self: Builds on what you’ve already told the class, and
apply if possible to the topic of your presentation
b) 1-2 minutes Introduction of Project: You are mobilizing WHO to do WHAT BY…? What
is the context of the organization you are working within? What are your goals by the
end of the semester? What is your role?
c) 6-8 minutes: Address the topic of the session—use charts or other visual models.
d) 1 minute: Questions: Raise 2-3 questions about what you continue to struggle with in
relation to your project and the theme for the week. The other members of the section
will be able to build off these questions in relation to their own projects as a focus of the
20-minute discussion that follows.
3.
You are expected to meet with your TF before your presentation to plan and practice your
presentation. You should consider meeting with your co-presenter ahead of time, as your
presentations can be stronger by complementing each other and building off of each others’ points.
4.
Frame your presentation and discussion for group learning as opposed to problem solving
in your project. Concluding your presentation with a few key questions you are struggling with
provokes discussion about how these issues are being handled (or not!) in other people’s projects.
For example, “I am struggling with………in my project, and am wondering how you are dealing with
this challenge in your projects?”
5.
Similarly, think through a few key points you really want people to be aware of that they
wouldn’t have realized without your project presentation.
6.
USE CHARTS! (Your TF can provide flip chart paper upon request.) This really brings your
project alive, and helps make the charts useful for the whole group. Do not simply copy the chart
from Marshall’s notes--make it your own by showing the explicit elements that relate to your
project.
7.
Draw from the readings and class discussion where it is helpful and appropriate for your
presentation.
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TIPS FOR SELECTING A PROJECT
Your project will be a central part of your experience in this course. A good project will be one that
is both motivating to you personally and fits well with the course's model of organizing and action.
Remember that you will be putting at least 60 hours of work into your project (6 hours per week
for at least 10 weeks)!
Organizing projects achieve a measurable outcome through mobilizing people.
A successful organizing project has three qualities:
4. It is rooted in your own values and concerns
5. It achieves a specific outcome by the end of the semester
6. It includes mobilizing others to achieve that outcome
You should be able to answer “whom, what, and how,” by completing the following sentence:
I am organizing ____(whom)______ to ______(do what)_________ by ______(how)________.
Should I do a project with an established organization or create my own?
 Working with an established organization will likely involve you in a larger campaign with
communities outside of Harvard that you might not otherwise come into contact. Working with
experienced organizers provides the potential for considerable support and guidance.
 A project of your own will allow you to tailor your work to your specific interests.
What contributes to success on projects within established organizations?
 Choose a project where you will be able to earn real responsibility as part of a larger effort (not
just doing tasks for someone else).
 Nest your project within a larger one – create a shorter campaign within a larger one. You
should have a clear goal that is achievable in one semester.
 Schedule an initial meeting and check-ins with your supervisor to define clear goals,
responsibilities, and expectations and WHY you are committed to this project.
 Link your conversations with your supervisor and team members to the course topics and
share your reflection papers, midterm and final with them. Hold each other accountable –
feedback is important.
What contributes to success in initiating my own project?
 Focus your energy on organizing goals as well as substantive goals. Examples of organizing
goals are: building or expanding an organization, holding a mass meeting, or anything that
brings individuals together to work on common concerns. Examples of substantive goals
include winning a concession from the administration or passing a new state law.
 Develop or expand leadership in others—empower people to set and achieve their own goals
rather than simply implement the goals of the organizer.
 Choose a constituency that has direct interests at stake. (In particular, students working on
projects that focused on recruiting Harvard students to volunteer have had only mixed success
in the past).
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PROJECT REPORT FORM
General
Name:
Phone:
Email:
The Organization (if applicable)
Organization name:
Location:
Email:
Phone:
Leadership of Organization: (governing board, director/president, or project director)
Have you contacted this organization to indicate your interest? When?
Describe the purpose and activities of this organization:
What outcome are you specifically responsible for achieving?
The Organizing Project (please note if student initiated)
Name of Project:
Description of Project:
Project Goals: “I am organizing WHO to do WHAT by HOW”
Who are you mobilizing: constituency?
What outcome will you achieve by the end of the semester?
How will you create the power you need to achieve this outcome?
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WEEKLY REFLECTION PAPER ASSIGNMENT
At the class meeting prior to section: Hand-Out Instructions for Writing Reflection Papers
The purpose of writing weekly reflection papers is to help you think about how this week's
readings relate to your community organizing project and your own development as an organizer
and learner. Begin by reviewing the “Questions” that follow Marshall’s organizing notes each week.
Be as specific as possible and provide examples from your project. The following general questions
may also be helpful in writing your reflection paper:



What insights do you have about yourself as a learner and organizer?
How have the readings and organizing model helped you better understand your project?
Is your project a good illustration of the model and readings or does it point to issues that
perhaps were not addressed?
Papers are graded on a check, check-plus, and check-minus scale. Your paper should address one
or more questions provided at the end of each section in the organizing notes. You are encouraged
to point out new ideas, dilemmas or insights within the readings or your project. Particularly
exceptional papers balance and weave together specific project examples, personal insight and
abstract concepts in a way that brings the weekly topic to life.
Weekly reflection papers should be emailed to your TF by 4:00 pm each Wednesday. You
should both attach your paper as a document, and copy the text into the body of your
posting.
Reflection papers should be approximately 2 pages double-spaced.
Papers turned in late but received Friday before 5pm will be dropped down one notch on the check,
check plus, check minus scale. Papers over two pages double-spaced will also be dropped down one
notch on the grading scale. (Images do not count in the page limit.)
You are required to submit the first two (DATE and DATE) and the last (DATE) reflection papers.
You may skip any two of the remaining five reflection papers during the course of the semester.
You are encouraged to read and respond to other students' papers. Feel free to communicate with
questions, constructive comments or suggestions. You may also refer to other students' papers in
your own paper if you notice important similarities or differences.
Please feel free to ask the teaching team if you have any questions about this assignment.
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMMUNITY NIGHT STUDENT PANELISTS
We are delighted that you will join us at Community Night on DATE. We’ll be meeting from 7-9 pm
on the fifth floor of Taubman A/B/C at the Kennedy School.
Since you will be speaking at 7 pm, please arrive at 6:45 pm. At this time, we will introduce
panelists to each other; be sure that everyone made it to the right place; and check-in about panel
expectations.
To begin the panel, I will introduce you. If you could, please send me 4-5 sentences that provide a
brief introduction of who you are, where you're from, any formal titles you hold, what you currently
do, and what your organizing project was in the course.
Please be prepared to spend 5 minutes speaking in the panel.
To help focus your contributions, please consider the following:



Tell your story
 Based on your previous life experiences, can you briefly explain how you came to enroll in
MLD-377?
 What was your organizing project? (“I organized who to do what by how….”)
 Who was a part of your constituency? What were their interests/resources? How did you
build relationships? How did you develop leadership? How did you form a democratic
campaign? What were your collective actions? What were the outcomes?
 What challenges did you face and/or overcome as an organizer?
Give an analysis
 How did MLD-377 contribute to the success of your project?
 How did MLD-377 help you learn to be an organizer?
 What advice would you give future MLD-377 students in terms of strategically formulating a
project for the semester?
 Can you suggest any pitfalls to avoid when formulating an organizing project?
 Can you suggest any strategies to combine organizing work with class work?
Answer questions
As you might remember, while the student panel is going on in one room, Marshall will be
discussing expectations with representatives from local organizations in another room.
At 8 pm, we will “mix” students with organizational representatives. At this point, organizational
representatives will brief students about ways to participate in local projects. You are invited to
attend and answer any lingering student questions to follow.
Thank you for the contribution of your time and energy to this panel. Please be in touch if you have
any questions, and to send your introductory statement. We look forward to seeing you on
Wednesday!
Warm regards from the 2012 MLD-377 Teaching Team
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PUBLIC NARRATIVE WORKSHEET
PUBLIC NARRATIVE WORKSHEET
In this worksheet you
will focus primarily on your story of self. But public narrative is not primarily a form of selfexpression. It is a way to exercise leadership by motivating others to join you in action on behalf of
a shared purpose. Although this worksheet focuses on your “story of self”, the goal is to identify
sources of your own calling to the purpose for which you will call upon others (story of us) to join
you in action (story of now). Public narrative is learning a process, not writing a script. It can be
learned only by telling, listening, reflecting, and telling again – over, over and over. This is to get
you started.
Use this worksheet to prepare for your first section meeting, Thursday, February 3 rd.
1. A story of now: What urgent challenge do you hope to inspire others to take action on?
What is your vision of successful action? What choice will you call on members of your
constituency to make if they are to meet this challenge successfully? How can they act
together to achieve this outcome? And how can they begin now, at this moment? Describe
this “now” in two or three sentences.
2. A story of us: To what values, experiences, or aspirations of your constituency will you
appeal when you call upon them to join you in action? What stories do you share that can
express these values? Describe this “us” in two or three sentences.
3. A story of self: Why are you called to motivate others to join you in this action? What
stories can you share that will enable others to “get you.” How can you enable others to
experience the values that move you not only to act, but to lead? Focus on this section,
trying to identify key choice points that set you on your path.
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telling your public narrative
WHY STORIES?
Stories are how we learn to make choices. Stories are how we learn to access the moral and
intellectual resources we need to face the uncertain, the unknown, and the unexpected. Because
stories speak the language of emotion, the language of the heart, they teach us not only how we
“ought to” act, but can in inspire us with the “courage to” act. And because the sources of emotion
on which they draw are in our values, our stories can help us translate our values into action.
A plot begins when a protagonist moving toward a desired goal runs into an unexpected event,
creating a crisis that engages our curiosity, choices he or she makes in response, and an outcome.
Our ability to empathetically identify with a protagonist allows us to enter into the story, feel what
s/he feels, see things through his or her eyes. The moral, revealed through the resolution, brings
understanding of the head and of the heart. Stories teach us how to access moral resources to face
difficult choices, unfamiliar situations, and uncertain outcomes. Each of us is the protagonist in our
own life story; we face everyday challenges, we author our own choices, and we learn from the
outcomes – the narrative of which constitutes who we are, our identity
By telling personal stories of challenges we have faced, choices we have made, and what we learned
from the outcomes, we become more mindful of our own moral resources and, at the same time,
share our wisdom so as to inspire others. Because stories enable us to communicate our values not
as abstract principles, but as lived experience, they have the power to move others.
Stories are specific – and visual - they evoke a very particular time, place, setting, mood, color,
sound, texture, taste. The more you can communicate this visual specificity, the more power your
story will have to engage others. This may seem like a paradox, but like a poem or a painting or a
piece of music, it is the specificity of the experience that can give us access to the universal
sentiment or insight they contain.
You may think that your story doesn’t matter, that people aren’t interested, that you shouldn’t be
talking about yourself. But when you do public work, you have a responsibility to offer a public
account of who you are, why you do what you do, and where you hope to lead. If you don’t author
your public story, others will, and they may not tell it in the way that you like.
A good story public story is drawn from the series of choice points that have structured the “plot” of
your life – the challenges you faced, choices you made, and outcomes you experienced.
Challenge: Why did you feel it was a challenge? What was so challenging about it? Why was
it your challenge?
Choice: Why did you make the choice you did? Where did you get the courage – or not?
Where did you get the hope – or not? How did it feel?
Outcome: How did the outcome feel? Why did it feel that way? What did it teach you? What
do you want to teach us? How do you want us to feel?
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The story you tell of why you have chosen the path you have allows others emotional and
intellectual insight into your values, why you have chosen to act on them in this way, what they can
expect from you, and what they can learn from you.
story of now
WHAT URGENT “CHALLENGE” MIGHT YOU CALL ON OTHERS TO FACE?
WHAT VISION COULD THEY ACHIEVE IF THEY ACT?
WHAT “ACTION” MIGHT YOU CALL UPON THEM TO JOIN YOU IN TAKING?
PLEASE RESPOND WITH NO MORE THAN 2-3 SENTENCES.
A “story of now” is urgent, an urgency based on threat, or, equally, on opportunity; it is meant to
inspire others to drop other things and pay attention; it is rooted in the values you celebrate in your
story of self and us, but poses a challenge to those values. It contrasts a vision of the world as it will
be if we fail to act, the world as it could be if we do act, and calls on us to act.

Do you value honoring those who sacrifice for their country? Does the care
returning veterans receive meet this standard? If not, what are you going
to do about it?
 Do you value passing on a livable world to the next generation? Do the
measures being taken to deal with climate change meet this standard? If
not, what are you going to do about it?
 Do you value a society in which all take primary responsibility for
themselves and their families. Is this value being undermined by public
policies, interest groups and others? What are you going to do about it?
 Do you value the principal that powerful institutions, especially If they
benefit from public support, have moral responsibilities to the public in
how they use their power? Which one’s? How? What are you going to do
about it?
 Do you value marriage as legitimate only between a man and a woman, a
value placed at risk as a result of recent court decisions? What are you
going to do about it?
 Do you value equal treatment under the law for all racial, religious, and
cultural groups? Is that the case? If not, what are you going to do about it?
Organizers who only describe a problem, but fail to inspire us to act together to try to solve the
problem, aren’t good organizers. Running through a list of “100 things you can do to make the
world better” is a “cop-out.” It trivializes each action. Suggesting that everyone work at it in their
own way, ignores the significance of strategic focus in overcoming resistance to change. If you are
called to face a real challenge, a challenge so urgent that we are motivated to face it as well, you
have a responsibility to invite us to join you in plausible action. A ‘story of now” is not simply a call
to be for or against something – that’s “exhortation” – it is a call to take “hopeful” action. This means
clarity as to what will happen if we don’t act, what could happen if we do, and action each of us
could commit to take that could start us in a clear direction right here, now, in this place.
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If you ask me to “change a light bulb,” for example, to deal with climate change, do you really think
it will happen? Especially if it’s among 100 other things I might – or might not – do? But if you ask
me to join you in persuading the Kennedy School to change all of its light bulbs by signing a student
petition, joining you in a delegation to the dean, and, adding my name to a public list of KSG
students who have committed to changing the light bulbs where they live, what do you think the
odds are of success?
A “story of now” works if people join you in action.
story of us
WHO IS THE “US” YOU WILL CALL UPON TO JOIN YOU?
WHAT MOTIVATING VALUES DO THEY SHARE?
WHAT EXPERIENCES HAVE YOU SHARED?
PLEASE DESCRIBE IT IN 2-3 SENTENCES.
We are all part of multiple “us’s” – families, faiths, cultures, communities, organizations, and nations
in which we participate with others. What community, organization, movement, culture, nation, or
other constituency do you consider yourself to be part of, connected with? With whom do you share
a common past? With whom do you share a common future? Do you participate in this community
as a result of “fate”, “choice” or both? How like or unlike the experience of others do you believe
your own experience to be? One way we establish an “us” – a shared identity – is through telling of
shared stories, stories through which we can articulate the values we share, as well as the
particularities that make us an “us.”
Your challenge in this course is to inspire an “us” among your constituents whom you will call
upon to join you in action motivated by shared values, which you bring alive through story telling.
There are many “us’s” in any community. People may think of themselves as an “us” based on
enrolling in a class, sharing a similar experience; sharing aspirations, backgrounds (work
experience, religion, generation, ethnicity, culture, nationality, family status, etc.), values
commitments, career aspirations, career dilemmas, etc. Your challenge is to think through the “us”
whom you can move to join you in action on behalf of a shared purpose.
Some of the “us’s” you could invite others to join are larger “us’s” in which you may already
participate. You may be active in the environmental movement, for example, and may find others
among your classmates who are as well. You may be active in a faith community, a human rights
organization, a political campaign, a support organization, an immigrant association, a labor union,
and alumni group, etc. Some “us’s” have been around for literally thousands of years such as faith
traditions – some only for a few days. Most “us’s” that have been around tell stories about their
founding, the challenges founders faced, how they overcame them, who joined with them, and what
this teaches us about the values of the organization.
A story of us works if people identify with each other on behalf of values that inspire them to act.
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story of self
WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF YOUR OWN CALLING?
WHAT CRITICAL CHOICES POINTS CAN YOU RECALL?
WHAT STORIES CAN YOU TELL ABOUT THESE CHOICE POINTS?
Now reflect on the sources of your motivation, your call to leadership, the values that move you to
act. Grab a notebook, a recorder, or a friend who will listen, and describe the milestones and
experiences that have brought you to this moment. Go back as far as you can remember.
You might start with your parents. What made them the people they became? How did their choices
influence your own? Do you remember “family stories,” perhaps told so often you may have gotten
tired of hearing them. Why did they tell these stories and not others? What was the moral of these
stories? What did they teach? How did they make you feel?
In your own life, consider the purpose for which you are telling your story, focus on challenges you
had to face, the choices you made about how to deal with them, and the satisfactions – or
frustrations – you experienced. What did you learn from the outcomes and how you feel about them
today? What did they teach you about yourself, about your family, about your peers, about your
community, about your nation, about the world around you, about people - about what really
matters to you? What about these stories was so intriguing? Which elements offered real
perspective into your own life?
If you’re having trouble, here are some questions to help you begin. This is NOT a questionnaire
They are NOT to be answered individually. They are to help you get your memory gears rolling so
that you can reflect on your public story and tell it with brevity and intentionality. Don’t expect to
include the answers to all these questions each time you tell your story. They are the building
blocks of many potential stories, and the object right now is to lay them out in a row and see what
inspires you.
What memories do you have as a child that link to the people, places, events that you
value? What are your favorite memories?
What images, sounds or smells in
particular come up for you when you recall these memories?
List every job or project that you have ever been involved with that are connected
with these values (or not). Be expansive; include things like camping in the wild,
serving in a youth group, going to a political rally, organizing a cultural club,
experiencing a moment of transcendence. List classes you have taken, projects you
have led, and work that you have done that connects with your values. Name the last
five books or articles that you have read (by choice) or movies or plays that you have
seen. What do you see as a connection or theme that you can see in all of the
selections? What did you enjoy about these articles? What does your reading say
about you?
Some of the moments you recall may be painful as well as hopeful. Most people who
want to make the world a better place have stories of pain, which taught them that
the world needs changing, and stories of hope, which persuaded them of the
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possibility. You may have felt excluded, put down or powerless, as well as
courageous, recognized, and inspired. Be sure to attend to the moments of
“challenge” as well as to the moments of “hope” – and to learn to be able to
articulate these moments in ways that can enable others to understand who you are.
It is the combination of “criticality” and “hopefulness” that creates the energy for
change.
What was the last time you spent a day doing what you love doing? What in
particular made you want to use that day in that way? What was memorable about
the day? Is there a specific sight, sound or smell that you think of when you recall
this day?
What factors were behind your decision to pursue a career in public work? Was
there pressure to make different choices? How did you deal with conflicting
influences?
Who in your life was the person who introduced you to your “calling” or who
encouraged you to become active? Why do you think that they did this? What did
your parents model? What was the role, if any, of a community of faith? Whom did
you admire?
Whom do you credit the most with your involvement now in work for your cause?
What about their involvement in your life made a difference? Why do you think it
was important to them to do so?
linking
In the end you will be asked to link your story of self, story of us, and story of now into a single
public narrative.
As you will see, however, this is an iterative – and non-linear – process. Each time you tell your
story, you will adapt it – to make yourself clearer, to adjust to a different audience, to locate
yourself in a different context. As you develop a story of us, you may find you want to alter your
story of self, especially as you begin to see the relationship between the two more clearly. Similarly,
as you develop a story of now, you may find it affects what went before. And, as you go back to
reconsider what went before, you may find it alters your story of now.
You will not leave this class with a final “script” of your public narrative but you will learn a process
by which you can generate that narrative over and over and over again when, where, and how you
need to.
© Marshall Ganz, Kennedy School of Government, 2011
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COACHING TIPS
One of the main responsibilities as an organizer is “coaching” team members. This requires learning
how to ask questions, how to listen (with both the head and the heart), how to support, and how to
challenge. Coaching is not about praising people for their strengths, criticizing them for their
weaknesses, or telling them what to do. Good coaching requires learning how to identify a person’s
strengths as well as their weaknesses in order to ally with - or mobilize - the strengths to overcome
the weaknesses. People often know what they “should” do, but may need encouragement to do it.
On the other hand, coaching can not “make” anyone do anything they don’t want to do.
I. Coaching Approaches
Corrective: Some coaching is aimed at helping improve poor performance (i.e., the coachee is
overall not doing the leadership practice well and needs help getting up to a basic level)
Developmental: Some coaching is aimed at helping the individual achieve mastery (i.e., the
coachee does the leadership practice well and is ready to become expert)
The basic elements of coaching are the same for both kinds (i.e., motivational, strategic, and
educational), but coaching strategies may differ (e.g., consult by asking reflective questions to
develop mastery vs. consult by providing expert feedback to illustrate errors in how they are
thinking about the task)
II. How Coaching Works – the 5 Step Process
 1. Observe: Begin by listening very carefully, observing body language, and asking very
focused probing questions until you satisfy yourself that you “get” the problem. It may take
a fair amount of time to get the facts straight. If you don’t get the problem, you can’t begin to
solve it. Don’t be shy about asking very, very specific “stubborn” questions. This process can
help the coachee articulate just what the problem is in a way they may not have before. So
it’s not only “getting information.”
 2. Diagnose
o Motivational (effort)
 Is the individual struggling because s/he is not putting forth enough effort?
Is she not trying hard enough because she’s embarrassed? Is he quitting too
soon because of frustration or fear?
o Strategic (performance strategy)
 Is the individual struggling because of not thinking about or approaching the
task appropriately? Does she understand the principles underlying that
leadership practice (e.g. why a reason for hope is a key part of a story of
self)? Is he forgetting or misinterpreting key elements of the task? Where
might that misinterpretation come from, given your knowledge of the
individual?
o Educational (knowledge and skills)
 Is the individual struggling because of not being able to muster the
behavioral skill to execute effectively? Does he not have the skill in his
repertoire? Is he getting interference from other habits and behaviors (e.g.,
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


someone well-versed in marketing speak may not know how to tell an
authentic story)? certain thing just need more practice?
3. Intervene: Once you figure out what you think the problem is don’t simply tell the
student what you think s/he should do! Find out what s/he thinks s/he should do? Ask
questions. Be sure you get the student’s views out on the table. Ask about the pros and cons.
o Motivational
 Encouragement and exhortation—you can do it!
 Kick in the pants (offered with love)
 Helping the individual understand and confront fear, embarrassment, or
other emotions that get in the way of the willingness to try harder or persist
in the face of setback
 Rewarding and praising courage
 Modeling courage and emotional maturity in your own behavior, confessing
fear and explaining how you move toward it rather than away
o Strategic
 Asking good questions about how the individual is thinking about the key
leadership practice (“Say more about why you included that in your story?”)
 Offering your assertions about what you are observing and how you think
the individual might fruitfully think about the practice differently (“When
you stop at that angry point in the story, I think you may be forgetting that
your listeners need a reason to hope in order to be called to action.”)
 Offer the opportunity for silent reflection and self-diagnosis (“Why don’t you
take a moment to think through what you believe is working and not
working and let’s talk about that?).
o Educational
 Model the behavior and invite the coachee to imitate you to get the “feel” of
the activity
 Break it down into small parts and invite the individual to try one at a time
 Offer three or four different practice exercises and observe which ones
“take” for that person
4. Step back: Come to a clear understanding with them about how they will proceed – even
if it’s only to meet later that day and make a decision.
5. Check back: Find out from the coachee how their situation has changed. Assess whether
the diagnosis and intervention was successful. Celebrate their success!
Notes Page:
Motivational
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Strategic
Educational
STRATEGY WORKSHEET
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MOTIVATIONAL TASK DESIGN DIAGNOSTIC
Identify one task in your project and describe its design along the five criteria for motivational task
design. Evaluate your design on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is not at all motivational and 5 is highly
motivational. Then consider how you would redesign the task to move up the motivational ladder
along each of the criteria and develop leadership.
Current Design
Rank Improved Design 
Rank
(1-5) Leadership Development
(1-5)
Task Identity
In what ways are you
designing this task to be
a "whole" and
identifiable piece of
work?
Task Significance
How will volunteers
know that this task
actually impact people
in the real world?
Skill Variety
How will a volunteer be
using a variety of skills
and talents (including
both hands and brain)?
Autonomy
How will a volunteer be
acting independently?
Feedback
How will a volunteer
know when he/she has
fallen short?
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EPIC EXERCISE EXPLANATION
Instructions
What’s the purpose
To practice facilitating a meeting and applying the five practices of organizing and their integration
in order to improve your effectiveness as organizers in your projects.
How are we going to do it?
- Through a real-life simulation! (Acknowledge this is an experiment so look forward to their
feedback about this!)
- We’re now a leadership team organizing the students of MLD377 to hold an end-of-year
celebration by the first week in May.
- Today and next week in section, we are holding a leadership team meeting to come up with
a shared purpose, strategy, and action plan with clear roles and responsibilities.
- Every section will come up with its own plan in a competition and the TFs will pick the best
one to execute with the help of students who volunteer to help.
- So, just as you do in your projects, you’ll have to work together to execute a meeting. I’ve
come up with an agenda to help us structure our time but I won’t be facilitating the meeting.
You will be. What I will be doing is pausing the meeting at different points for us to step
back and evaluate what’s going on and why and how we can do things differently.
- I’ve grouped you into pairs and each pair is responsible for facilitating a section of the
agenda. We’re going to get through as many agenda items as we can today and the rest of
the agenda items next week.
- Pairs will have 10 minutes to prep now and then we’re going to come back together and
start the meeting.
- For example, the team introducing/starting the meeting will spend 10 minutes figuring out
what makes for a good welcome and how they’re going to facilitate it with the group literally - what are you going to say, ask, and do to open the meeting.
- Keep in mind the time constraint and that your role is to facilitate people’s participation.
- If you’re not facilitating a section of the meeting, you’re participating as a member of the
leadership team - you’re listening, you’re sharing your ideas and your opinions, etc. This is a
real meeting!
- Questions?
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POINTS TO INCLUDE IN A MEETING AGENDA
1. WELCOME (INTRODUCTION, CONTEXT) (3 min for agenda item, 2 minute debrief)
a. Keys— room set-up, the facilitator actually saying who they are and why they’re there, have
participant open, content of introductions, clear on purpose, creating environment for
people to welcome, excited, and needed; roles for timekeeper, notes, etc.
b. Prompts:
i. Do you know what the meeting is about?
ii. Do you feel welcome?
iii. Who is keeping time?
iv. Other ways to do this differently?
2. WHY WE’RE HERE: shared values and stories; connect why “I” am here to the
challenge/opportunity of why “we” need to be here to work together  story of us and now (8
Minute for agenda item and 5 minute debrief)
a. Here you’re looking for everybody’s voice to be heard and for a shared purpose to come
together (what matters in a celebration, for example)
b. Keys—participants talk and share from own experience and values  connected to overall
purpose and challenge; don’t let one person rule; draw out details; how does this build
relationships
c. Problem participants—unwilling to share, interrupt to monopolize meeting, disruptive, offtopic story not connected to challenge
d. Prompts:
i. Do you get why people are here (what do they want out of a celebration)?
ii. Do you know why this team exists?
iii. Is there a sense that the works matters?
iv. Is everyone talking?
v. Other ways to do this differently?
3. HOW WE’LL WORK TOGETHER (NORMS) (8 min for agenda item, 7 min to de-brief)
a. Here students will come up with rules for the meeting and for the presentation of their idea
in lecture.
b. Keys— the team has to be bounded, stable, diverse IN ORDER TO HAVE NORMS on - time,
commitment, and decision-making, roles, purpose - TO ACHIEVE capacity, learning, goal
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c. The role of the facilitator is to provide a framework for the group to come up with its own
norms, engage everyone's ideas, ensuring agreement on the list of norms and how they'll be
enforced outline decision making process; get agreement, ownership, and COMMITMENT
(how demonstrate this)
d. Problem participants—refusal to take responsibility; no need to do norms; asking organizer
to take lead
e. Prompts
i.
Do you get what the expectations are for being on the team (Commitment)
ii. Is there a clear process for dealing with accountability: what happens when
someone does not uphold a commitment? How will group deal with it so that there
is no lone policeman/woman?
iii. Are the expectations clear around starting and ending on time (time)
iv. Do you know how the team is going to make decisions (Decisionmaking)?
v. How did doing the values work upfront help the group set norms?
4. STRATEGIZING: strategic goal & tactics based on a theory of change (12 min for agenda item; 8
min de-brief)
a. This is the time for them to brainstorm ideas and decide on one using criteria. They might
already have this criteria identified or they might need to do that here.
b. Keys—organizers must present a theory; discussion and engagement; credible “ladder” of
change, what are the resources of my constituents
c. Strategy includes motivating vision, theory of change, strategic outcome, tactics that are fun
and use constituency's resources to build leadership, capacity, and build toward outcome
d. ** the role of the facilitator involves providing a framework for the group to decide how
they'll strategize, engaging everyone's ideas, enabling the group to self-enforce the norms
they've set for brainstorming and decision-making, and ensuring a clear outcome of the
discussion
e. Problem participants—don’t agree with strategy, futility that it can be done
f.
Prompts:
i. is there a measurable goal?
ii. does it relate to motivating vision?
iii. Do the tactics sound fun?
iv. will they build leadership, capacity, outcome
v. What's the theory of change
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vi. (How) are you utilizing the constituency's resources
vii. Have you thought about possible constraints and opportunities?
viii. Does the strategy reflect the group's values?
ix. Did the group follow the norms?
5. ACTION: responsibilities, roles, plan (what, where, why, who, how) (12 min for agenda item + 10
min de-brief)
a. Here’s where they can both detail out the idea and come up with a way to present the idea
to the whole class. They should get into the nitty gritty as much as time allows. The class
will be voting on the best idea so creativity and participation count! It’s OK if the
presentation isn’t all hammered out in section – they might need to just figure that out on
their own before section.
b. Keys—everyone has input; way to track actions and connect them to strategic goal; tasks
give responsibility, have meaning, and have public report back; pre-empting/managing
contingency
c. Problem participants—suggest radical actions not connected to goal; refusal to agree to
accountability
6. WRAP-UP (SHARING TOOLS, NEXT STEPS, CELEBRATION): giving your leadership team some
initial tools to succeed; recommitment and end on high note with ritual
a. Here’s where commitments are made based on the action plan and ideally where evaluation
takes place. It might also include sharing tools: how to help each other fulfill commitments role play; skills to mobilize larger constituency; recommit.
b. Problem participants—breaking role play; our constituents are different; “I will just send an
email.”
Facilitating a Decision Making Process
Tactics:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
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Categorization
Grouping together
Synthesis
Differentiate
Polling process
WEEK 11 SECTION REFLECTION EXERCISE
How is your Leadership Team Managing the Key Tensions in Membership Associations?
Inclusion vs. Exclusion:
1) Rate how your team is generating commitments and social capital through its shared work?
(1= weak; 3=strong)
_________
How can you improve the degree of your shared commitment?
2) Rate how your team has established trust among its members
What can you do to engender more trust within your team?
_________
3) Rate how the use of explicit norms has contributed to your team’s productivity? What
explicit norms can improve your team’s productivity?
__________
Continuity vs. Change:
1) Rate how you are developing the leadership of your team members?
__________
How can you find new ways to encourage more participation among your team?
2) Rate your team’s level of accountability for their roles in your campaign.
_________
How can you build a better accountability into your leadership team?
3) Rate your team’s efforts in encouraging a broad level of participation and engagement among
your constituents?
__________
How can you encourage a broader participation among your constituents?
Unity vs. Diversity:
1) Rate your team’s ability to encourage a diversity of perspectives in your planning meetings.
__________
What specific mechanisms can you adopt to protect and learn from the diversity of perspectives
among your constituency?
2) Rate your team’s consistency in evaluating your meetings and actions. __________
What can your team gain from improving this consistency?
3) Do you have an explicit norm for how your team will make decisions?
(Score 1 for no, 3 for yes)
__________
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Calculate your score: _________________
23-27 = You could be the next Cesar Chavez. I can’t wait to read your
final paper.
15-22 = You are in the thick of developing a reflective practice as a
leader and organizer of people for power and change. Stay
committed to a reflective practice.
9-14 = Congratulations on your honesty. Share this assessment with
your team over dinner and a few cold beers.
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MLD-377 MID-TERM EVALUATION
Section Leader:
Tuesday Lectures
Please rate the overall effectiveness of the lecture format
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
Explaining key concepts
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
Answering student questions
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
Use of Readings
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
What are the strengths of the lectures? How could the lectures be improved?
Professor
Ability to explain concepts
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Ability to answer questions
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Facilitation of student participation in lecture
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Accessibility outside of class
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Dedication to and concern for how class is proceeding
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Sensitivity toward cultural differences or language barriers
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
What are the strengths of your professor? How could your professor's teaching be improved?
Section
Please rate the overall effectiveness of the section format.
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
Presentations
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
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Discussion of presentations
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
Small group work
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
Key learnings and pluses and deltas
Not helpful - Somewhat helpful - Facilitates some learning – Facilitates a lot of learning
What are the strengths of the section? How could they be improved?
Section Leader
Overall effectiveness of your section leader
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Familiarity with the course material
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Ability to explain concepts
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Ability to answer questions
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Coaching skills
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Facilitation of student participation in section
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Accessibility outside of class
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Dedication to and concern for how section is proceeding
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
Sensitivity toward cultural differences or language barriers
Not effective – Somewhat effective – Effective – Very effective
What are the strengths of your section leader? How could your section leader's teaching be
improved?
Do you have any additional comments or feedback?
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MLD 377
Organizing: People, Power and Change
Spring 2011
MIDTERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
The focus of the midterm paper is your organizing project. In your paper you will relate your
project to what you are learning about the organizing model and yourself as a learner and
organizer.
Your paper should make an argument that is framed around the following statements:
My project is working because
.
My project is not working because
.
Use evidence from your personal experience in working on your project to support the claims you
make.
Your paper should:
 Have a clear, concise thesis statement that makes an argument.
 Use specific and detailed references to your work so far on your project.
 Include insights about new learning in yourself, the people with whom you are working, and
the organization.
 Tie your paper to the learning framework of the class. Draw from course readings, lecture
and class discussion when it is useful to support the thesis of your paper.
 Consider using visual representations (charts, diagrams, models) to convey your ideas.
 Be clear about your role as an actor in the project. Include the roles of other specific actors
as well. (You should not be absent or self-absorbed—strike a balance.)
Papers will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale and represent 20 percent of your grade for
the course. You do not need to reference any readings outside the course.
The paper should be approximately 4 pages, double-spaced with 12 point font and one-inch
margins. Please number your pages.
The paper is due by 6:00 pm on Friday, March 11, 2011 by e-mail to your TF.
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MLD377: Organizing: People, Power and Change
FINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Email to TF by 4:00 pm (Boston Time) on Friday, May 6th
The purpose of the final paper is to give you an opportunity to critically evaluate your experience of
your project, the learning framework used in the course, and what you learned about yourself as a
reflective practitioner.
Organize your paper by choosing one of the following questions: (although one is the primary
lens, reference the other two questions):
1. Your Project: How did using the learning framework help you understand your experience of
your project?
2. The Framework: How did the experience of your project help you evaluate the learning
framework presented in the readings and in class?
3. Yourself: What did you learn about yourself as an organizer and reflective practitioner?
Some ideas:
 Read over your reflection papers and look for common themes or for ideas you would like to
explore further.
 Look over the syllabus, paying particular attention to readings that related to your project,
changed your thinking about your project, made arguments that did or did not seem to be
consistent with your experience.
 Think about what you would do differently if you were to start your project from the beginning
again or to do another, similar project.
The Final Paper DOES:
 Make an argument
 Start with a clear, concise thesis statement
 Use specific and detailed examples of your work this semester on your project
 Employ concepts and arguments (from readings, lecture, section) that support claims
 Have sections (with section headings) that are clearly related to the thesis
The Final Paper IS NOT:
• A sum of your weekly reflection papers
• A simple narrative of your project
• A discussion of what you will do in the future (If you wish to address this, do so
in the conclusion of the paper)
briefly
Papers will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale and represent 30 percent of your grade for
the course. You do not need to reference any readings that were not assigned for the course. The
paper should be 7 pages of text, doubled-spaced with 12-point font and one-inch margins. Please
number your pages. If you go over 7 pages of text, you’ll be penalized. If you include images, you can
go over 7 pages.
By Tuesday, April 26th at 6 pm, email your TF a paragraph with your thesis and which lens you
will use. You are strongly encouraged to request a meeting with your TF as well.
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Final Paper Grading Criteria
Paper will be graded using the following criteria:
Strong papers
Papers needing the most
improvement
self-reflection related to the
project and action
“spectator” papers:
writer is an observer,
not an actor
connect theory and practice
both conceptual and specific
address barriers encountered
in the course and
breakthroughs if they
happened
creative
lone rangers:
writer is the only person there,
no leadership team,
not working with other leaders
too general:
no claims or evidence
too specific:
descriptive rather than analytic
Grading
(A)—excellent paper, combines
evidence and analysis. It
makes a specific argument and
demonstrates self-awareness
(reflective practice) while
supporting that analysis with
evidence
(A-)—Does everything and A
paper does, but not as well, or
leaves something out but is
otherwise an excellent paper
(Good, but flawed)
(B+)—A good paper, but
doesn’t make a compelling
argument, leaves something
out (concrete or analytic), or is
too general or too concrete (for
example a chronological retelling of a project) (Flawed,
but has good points)
(B)—A so-so paper, covers
most of the bases, but falls
short
(B-)—A lousy paper
(C+)—A terrible paper
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