A seminar is a class in which students have prepared themselves by reading and thinking about a certain topic; and are ready to discuss it with others. This solitary preparation should include marking the text for interesting passages (for example by using highlighters, yellow post-its, etc.), reviewing those sections, organizing one’s thoughts on paper, making summary notes, and producing significant questions that need to be explored.

In the seminar the whole class (including me as the teacher) is responsible for exploring the text and responding to the additional ideas people have brought from their individual reading of the text. It is a time to ask good questions. Not questions of fact that could easily be answered by reading the text or a quick google search, but rather deeper questions inspired by the reading. It is a time to "mine" the text, to work it over as a group, to think out loud about it, and to test some ideas against the group. For example, the following might be overheard in a seminar: "I don’t know if this is valid but it seems that the author is saying...." Or: "Here on page l5 at the bottom of the page the author says [read from text]. This seems to be his most important point. What I think the author is saying is...

A seminar is not an arena for performance to show you’ve read the text or a reporting session to read your papers. It’s more than a class discussion and it definitely is not a time for a one-way lecture from anyone trying to tell the group anything. There may be places for those activities but not in seminar. Seminar is a special time for a unique intellectual activity. The exchange of ideas is to be both open but also focused on the source (which is the reading and topic for the class).

A good way to keep focused on the text at hand is to respond to the following three questions:

• l. WHAT IS THE AUTHOR SAYING? –Point to the exact page and paragraph so everyone can read along.

• 2. WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR MEAN? – Explain the passage in your own words.

• 3. WHY IS THIS POINT IMPORTANT?--Agree or disagree, or compare it to other ideas.

Make sure you keep these three questions distinct, because each question forces the group to discuss the text in different ways. The first one asks for the facts. The second searches for concepts behind the exact words, or inferences between the lines. The third seeks a synthesis – your own interpretation, reaction, or insight.

Sometimes the seminar will be focused and free-flowing. Sometimes it will be searching, questioning, going deeper to understand ideas from a reading, from others or from within yourself. Sometimes the group will come to some conclusions. Sometimes it will seem like a series of disconnected activities, like a pop corn popper, with ideas jumping around the table without clear connections. In either case, the seminar is a place to discover new ideas, to re-look at old ideas, or to develop insightful connections among ideas.

My role in this seminar process is, at best, to be a model of an experienced learner. I will have already picked out the reading for the seminar, introduced the main topic to the class, and given it some context. I am not to be the focus of attention, or the authority who will tell you what you should learn. In fact, I encourage you to NOT let me give you a lecture during the seminar! Everyone must take responsibility for co-leading and sharing ideas.

Sometimes, we will have guest speakers who will act as leaders in the seminar. Other times, a few students will be assigned the role of leader in this seminar process. All students must be active participants and this includes not only actively listening to each other but also speaking openly to the whole group. Everyone must be sensitive to the needs of all members of the group. The natural talkers must be disciplined in order to learn how to listen better. The quiet people must learn to be more assertive. They must resolve to share their insights, even if they are not comfortable doing that. Shyness is neither a virtue nor is it an excuse to withhold your thoughts from the group. Everyone should speak during each seminar.

There will be a few basic rules, intended to encourage fairness. Speak in turn and allow others to finish their thoughts. Do not interrupt one another. Silent periods are OK. Silence gives time to process thoughts, so try to become comfortable with it. Address an idea or argument by connecting it to what someone else has said. Summarize the point you are responding to, then provide your own idea.

Finally if things are not going well, it is a shared responsibility between all of us (individually and collectively) to put things right. Keep taking the pulse of the group and make adjustments so that everyone can have the opportunity to have a meaningful intellectual experience in seminar. The best question to ask is not "how am I doing," but rather "how is our seminar going?"

Leaving a seminar class with more questions than you came with, or being somewhat confused and overwhelmed with new ideas, is a sign our seminar process is going well. Life can be confusing. Life can be overwhelming. To pretend otherwise is not being honest. We will deal with difficult topics, for which there are no simple answers. This is not math class. Do not bother asking, "...so what is the RIGHT answer?"

You will come to realize in seminar that a great reading or topic is not something you read once and then feel satisfied you have learned all you can learn from it. Rather, a great reading is one which stimulates continuing intellectual curiosity, and which demands from you a re-reading and a continuing discussion of it – maybe for the rest of your life.

Some students will be new to the seminar process. This will require some adaptation. There are several behaviors should be followed as noted above. These include:

• coming to the session prepared.

• staying "on text", on the topic. Put limits on the extent to which the class veers off in other areas.

• Use citations. Quote from the reading, refer to pages and specific passages and or to the comments to which you are replying.

• Participate - ask questions and respond. Be an active learner.

• Additionally, you will have be aware of "ettiquette". Speak openly and from the heart, but do not offend others personally.