Miscellaneous Assignment 8: Discussion Diagram

Summary: In this assignment, you will draw visual representations of class discussions.

Learning Goals:

• To consider more carefully the structure of discussions and the kinds of utterences that are made during discussions.
• To encourage you to listen more carefully to classmates.
• To give you experience thinking in a different form (visually, in addition to verbally).

Assignment:

Observe and prepare a diagram that represents the first forty utterences from your assigned class discussion (see below for assignments of students to discussions). The diagram should represent the flow of ideas in the discussion. Your diagram should have the following characteristics:

• Draw a bubble for each non-trivial utterence. That bubble should document the key point of the utterence and the type of utterence. (question, fact, expansion of prior idea, etc.) You should represent the point textually. It is up to you how you represent the type of utterence; you might use shape, color, text, or something else.
• You can choose whether or not to represent utterences from students and from the instructor differently.
• Connect utterences in sequence by a solid line.
• When an utterence does not directly relate to the immediately previous utterence, draw an X through the solid line.
• Connect utterences that build upon earlier utterences by a dotted line.
• When possible, annotate these connections with the relationship between the two points.

Preparation:

On your assigned day, you will act as an observer, rather than as a participant, in discussion. Your goals as observer will be to listen carefully to the discussion, to record the key points of the discussion, and to gather any other information you need to draw the diagram described above.

Turning It In:

Please turn in your diagram on the class day that immediately follows the discussion.

Collaboration:

Each student should draw his or her own diagram. You may not consult with your colleagues about the content of the discussion or about design decisions in the diagram.

Followup:

In class on Tuesday, 25 October 2005, we will post the diagrams on the wall, examine them, and discuss any implications we see in them.

Grading:

• Content [4 points]: Does the diagram accurately reflect the content of the discussion and the speakers?
• Analysis [4 points]: How well does the diagram reflect the variety of kinds of utterences that were made during the discussion? Are appropriate connections represented? Are threads of ideas clear (and correct)?
• Format [2 points]: How well does the diagram use visual cues to represent different kinds of information?

Assignments

• Gene Patenting / Trevor (Tuesday, 11 October 2005): Ali, Sam, Christine
• BitTorrent / Ted (Tuesday, 11 October 2005): Anthony, Azul, Hak
• Film Piracy in China / Sam (Thursday, 13 October 2005): Scott, Emmanuel, Trevor
• International Trademark Conflicts / Hak (Thursday, 13 October 2005): Siddarth, Ted, Matthew, Becca