Seminars can take many forms, but ours will have the following structure:

1. We will seminar on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
2. We will arrange the classroom into two concentric circles: the inner and the outer.
3. The "inner circle" is for students who are prepared, which means they have listened, viewed, or read the appropriate text and that they have completed a listening, viewing, or reading journal entry. These must be typed. You will not be allowed to speak in seminar without this "ticket."
4. The "outer circle" is for students who are not prepared, or for others who have been asked to sit outside of the circle for a specific reason.

Our text will be various TED talks, which will be available at TED.com And any other information the visting professors assign. Part of the material will be information you find on your own, using the SUU library. We call this the library economy, and we'll explain it more in class.

BEFORE SEMINAR

• Screen or read the text.
• When possible prepare in groups.
• Prepare questions, both factual and open-ended.
• Do a little broad-based library research.
• Make notes.
• Prepare your preliminary response.

DURING FIRST SEMINAR

• Come prepared, with your response and support materials.
• Listen attentively and take notes during the seminar.
• Address the entire seminar, not just the faculty member.
• If you are late, sit in the outer circle until get up to speed.
• Reference specific passages of the text.
• Respond to what has been said before contributing your own thoughts.
• Be mindful of those who are not speaking.
• Try out new and incomplete ideas--see what happens.
• Respect the positions of others, especially those you disagree with.
• Avoid extended arguments. Seminar isn't a debate. If you try to win, you're missing the point.

AFTER FIRST SEMINAR

• Record and flesh out new ideas in your notebook.
• Expand upon new ideas for your own projects and assignments.
• Research new ideas or interesting facts that came up during seminar.
• Type a 1-2 page follow up and place with your notes from First Seminar and your Preliminary Response.
• Save the computer file of the follow up. It will be useful to you later.

DURING SECOND SEMINAR

• Again, come prepared, with your first response, notes, follow up, and library materials.
• Repeat the seminar process as listed above.

Constructive roles in seminar include people who ask questions, people who summarize, people who refer to material, people who clarify. Try out each of these roles. Take advantage of pauses to ask if people who haven't spoken have anything to add. You might not be aware of the force your personality wields in a seminar setting.

Art Blakey once said "jazz is the art of making everybody else sound good." Take personal responsibility for making the seminar a good one. If the seminar is not going well, ask to address the group at the end of one of your meetings to discuss what improvements can be made. If problems persist, talk with me about the situation during my office hours.

We borrowed significant portions of these instructions from Evergreen State College. They are the masters of seminar. Check out their stuff at this link.