OK, so here goes: please use the comments section to give feedback on the presentations that you have seen to date, starting with the first group. In particular:
How effectively did they share the knowledge that they have created?
What did you learn the most from their presentation?
How might the next group further improve on their presentation?
I think the group today did a fine job in sharing their projects with us, managing to tie in a bunch of different ideas under a single theme.
Their presentation showed us, just like what we've seen in class, is that there are a lot of tensions in these issues we face, cultural vs. technical, short term vs. long term, needs of the local vs. needs of the broader community.
In terms of further improvement, maybe the next group can take their presentations in a direction that we have not seen in class yet. We've done the presentations, we've done the sharing in circles, we've done the offering of ideas...can we move beyond that? I think the upcoming groups should find ways to take their issue in a completely different direction. What that direction is right now, I'm not sure. Perhaps it could involve a way that forces the class to incorporate the readings into a discussion. I think that if we're really trying to push the boundaries of this class in terms of learning and such, we need to devise a different way to do this, as we are still following the guidelines of traditional learning.
nbhave, 590 - days ago
As a member of this week's group, I do feel pretty content with the presentation portion, but I do have to admit that I've been a part of more fruitful discussions. Obviously we assigned readings that were pertinent to the discussion, but I would suggest assigning a worksheet where the class would have written answers to spur discussion. On this worksheet one could ask follow up questions to the general themes. For example: 1. Question a. Which reading pertains to this issue the best? b. What are your personal visceral reactions to this issue? c. Are there and specific passages which speak to the question?
Having a written worksheet would really be a vehicle just to record our own thoughts so that we remember to evoke them in discussion. As Nick suggested, I think we can come up with some new interesting formats as well.
cprens4, 590 - days ago
The group presentations today were definitely good and definitely, as nick mentioned, vanilla. Today's presentation did a great job of tying different projects together, yet one thing we NEED to avoid is trying to formulate a single theory or recommendation for different projects. As Nickil rightly pointed out, even microfinance needs to have a different theory depending on whether it is designed for urban or rural.
I think the first day presentations were quite valuable however, in that they gave the class a more in depth look at each of our topics. I think it is important for class dynamics to fully understand what each of us are trying to tackle.
emily, 590 - days ago
This is a tricky assignment. If we're expecting our classmates to be in a position to formulate thoughtful, well-informed responses to questions that the presenters pose, then obviously the students who are responsible for presenting must lay a strong framework of providing adequate background on their project topics. As one of the presenters for this first round, I felt a tension between wanting to convey in appropriate depth the complexities of ARV distribution while also hoping to elicit feedback from the class.
One suggestion is to devote Thursday entirely to a class-oriented exercise and to cut out the formal group presentation piece. That was the original intention for my group, but as you could see, we ran short on time during Tuesday's class. The upswing to this is that from here on out, most of the individual projects will have stronger connections and aren't quite as disparate as ours were. This means that ya'll can combine your presentations of Tuesday more fluidly, if for example, you're all researching clean energy solutions or education.
Ditto on the previous comments about incorporating the readings. Perhaps in the future, it'd be best to pick readings that are more provocative for discussion, that even take a divisive stance, as opposed to the more traditional readings that only cover the barebones of our project. As a final suggestion, it'd be fun to do a simulation of splitting up the class, for example, between officials at the World Bank, representatives of a NGO, and local community members who are facing whichever problem that the presenters are covering that day. How do the different forces interact (or not), and what are the challenges/self-interests that each host?
abard, 590 - days ago
I believe that this group’s presentation was extremely informative and also engaging. Even though there may not have been a tremendous amount of discussion surrounding the issues, I do believe that the topics and “problems” were presented in a way that made me want to hear more. I felt like the speakers were very involved and passionate about there topics and I think that made the presentations very informative if not entertaining as well.
Each speaker was very composed and very prepared with the research that they presented. I think that their power points highlighted the most important topics and that it was easy to take things away from their power points in addition to taking things away from what they added through their actual “speeches”.
I felt that the Elahi reading was very helpful because it provided a great deal of information about microfinance as well as a case study in a very succinct and comprehensive way. Even though it was short, I learned a lot from that reading and really began to actually understand the idea of microfinance and lending for the first time.
In the future it may be helpful to have a bit more discussion about the topics because I felt that there was a lot I wanted to hash out but we did not really have time to talk about things as thoroughly as I would have liked.
Overall, great job and good luck with your projects.
margmd, 590 - days ago
• How effectively did they share the knowledge that they have created?
• What did you learn the most from their presentation?
• How might the next group further improve on their presentation?
I think that the good did a good job of sharing their knowledge with the rest of the class, the powerpoints were well thought out and the delivery of the information was great. I would say that it was somewhat difficult to retain all of the information because it was one presentation after another. I think that if there was time for questions/discussion in between each presentation the material would have been absorbed a bit more.
The thing that stuck with me from the presentation was the importance of developing strong connections between all parties involved and open lines of communication. We saw examples of the importance of strong networks in all of the case studies – micro finance, AIDS treatment, and indigenous land rights.
The next group could further improve on their presentation by allowing more time for discussion about the content of the reading and the content of the presentation.
sbryan3712, 588 - days ago
All four did a good job explaining the background of their projects and the areas they were focusing on. The PowerPoints kept things on track, and let us sit back and focus on what each presenter was trying to get across. I learned a lot of information the first day, but didn't feel as if we had adequate time on Thursday to discuss the topics. Splitting up the class is beneficial because it increases your changes of getting to throw your own ideas out - maybe splitting the class into even smaller groups would be better.
One thing I really liked about my groups' discussion on Thursday was that Lizzie asked us our opinion on an organization she seemed to want to create/explore for her project. I think discussing the specifics of her project gave her the most constructive feedback, and allowed us to really see what type of approach she was looking into. I think discussing our potential solutions with the class, instead of just presenting the issue should be a focus for future groups.
Overall, they did an excellent job at finding how their projects overlapped and asking questions that pertain to all four of the issues.
shanespinell, 588 - days ago
The presentations by group 1 on Tuesday and Thursday were very informative and well put together. They did a great job of spearheading this process.
I learned most about ideas that work, have worked, and ones that have failed. They all provide a great basis for the need of these programs and why it is imperative that steps be taken to spark change. On the surface, solutions seem to be ‘easily’ obtained though thought, but as we chatted in groups together we all could see the problems that quickly surface.
For the groups coming in the following weeks, I would suggest that we follow a similar set up to what group 1 did, with a few changes. On Tuesday, the leading group members should have make their presentations on their topics, but limit them to 10-15 minutes per person. This should be followed by immediate small group (3-5 people) discussion. This way, the ideas, problems and potential solutions are fresh in all of our heads. For the second class, a quick summation by the leaders should be discussed followed by some more quick leadership by them on their topic. This would progress into small group talks and finish up with a closing synopsis on the topic and progress that has been made. I think with an approach similar to this, participation will be provided by all and it will be a beneficial experience for not only the leading group and their projects, but the rest of us in the class.
cmackugl, 587 - days ago
They all shared their created knowledge well, there was a lot of background information that was incorporated into the power points which might not have been necessary.
The most interesting thing I found in their presentations is the problem between native culture and foreign intervention. Nick made a great point that Americans would vehemently ignore any foreign nation who was trying to change us, so why would Africa be any different? This led to the problem of pace and scale, do we continue to administer the ARV's which will eventually run out, or do we take the hit for one generation and reallocate the ARV funds to education and prevention?
The next group can take more from the 1st groups second day, the division into the smaller groups definitely sparked a lot of good conversation and (at least it seemed) that the groups were able to think up some ideas that the presenters hadn't thought of before. Thinking back on the different presentations that we have had in class to date, I think that the later groups should try to copy the classroom dynamic and presentation style of Will and the Step it up guys more so than Woolcock. good stuf.
abairos, 584 - days ago
I think everyone touched on some important areas of improvement for the remaining groups. Kudos to the first group, though, as I thought they did a great job with their presentations. I would agree with the general consensus of trying to use the assigned readings more effectively to tie into the classroom discussion. Cameron mentioned a good point that perhaps simplicity is the way to go. Looking back on presentations earlier in the semester, I found the guys from Step It Up to be more effective than the powerpoint format of Woolcock. Now I understand there is some information that must be explained (where a powerpoint would be useful), but in order to make some progress in our projects, we should dedicate a significant amount of time to brainstorming. The ideas we threw back and forth with the Step It Up guys seemed to be an effective way to stimulate ideas and possible steps towards a solution.
I think both presentations have been awesome and extremely informative. Good work! and good luck to the other groups!
I think the group today did a fine job in sharing their projects with us, managing to tie in a bunch of different ideas under a single theme.
Their presentation showed us, just like what we've seen in class, is that there are a lot of tensions in these issues we face, cultural vs. technical, short term vs. long term, needs of the local vs. needs of the broader community.
In terms of further improvement, maybe the next group can take their presentations in a direction that we have not seen in class yet. We've done the presentations, we've done the sharing in circles, we've done the offering of ideas...can we move beyond that? I think the upcoming groups should find ways to take their issue in a completely different direction. What that direction is right now, I'm not sure. Perhaps it could involve a way that forces the class to incorporate the readings into a discussion. I think that if we're really trying to push the boundaries of this class in terms of learning and such, we need to devise a different way to do this, as we are still following the guidelines of traditional learning.
As a member of this week's group, I do feel pretty content with the presentation portion, but I do have to admit that I've been a part of more fruitful discussions. Obviously we assigned readings that were pertinent to the discussion, but I would suggest assigning a worksheet where the class would have written answers to spur discussion. On this worksheet one could ask follow up questions to the general themes. For example:
1. Question
a. Which reading pertains to this issue the best?
b. What are your personal visceral reactions to this issue?
c. Are there and specific passages which speak to the question?
Having a written worksheet would really be a vehicle just to record our own thoughts so that we remember to evoke them in discussion. As Nick suggested, I think we can come up with some new interesting formats as well.
The group presentations today were definitely good and definitely, as nick mentioned, vanilla. Today's presentation did a great job of tying different projects together, yet one thing we NEED to avoid is trying to formulate a single theory or recommendation for different projects. As Nickil rightly pointed out, even microfinance needs to have a different theory depending on whether it is designed for urban or rural.
I think the first day presentations were quite valuable however, in that they gave the class a more in depth look at each of our topics. I think it is important for class dynamics to fully understand what each of us are trying to tackle.
This is a tricky assignment. If we're expecting our classmates to be in a position to formulate thoughtful, well-informed responses to questions that the presenters pose, then obviously the students who are responsible for presenting must lay a strong framework of providing adequate background on their project topics. As one of the presenters for this first round, I felt a tension between wanting to convey in appropriate depth the complexities of ARV distribution while also hoping to elicit feedback from the class.
One suggestion is to devote Thursday entirely to a class-oriented exercise and to cut out the formal group presentation piece. That was the original intention for my group, but as you could see, we ran short on time during Tuesday's class. The upswing to this is that from here on out, most of the individual projects will have stronger connections and aren't quite as disparate as ours were. This means that ya'll can combine your presentations of Tuesday more fluidly, if for example, you're all researching clean energy solutions or education.
Ditto on the previous comments about incorporating the readings. Perhaps in the future, it'd be best to pick readings that are more provocative for discussion, that even take a divisive stance, as opposed to the more traditional readings that only cover the barebones of our project. As a final suggestion, it'd be fun to do a simulation of splitting up the class, for example, between officials at the World Bank, representatives of a NGO, and local community members who are facing whichever problem that the presenters are covering that day. How do the different forces interact (or not), and what are the challenges/self-interests that each host?
I believe that this group’s presentation was extremely informative and also engaging. Even though there may not have been a tremendous amount of discussion surrounding the issues, I do believe that the topics and “problems” were presented in a way that made me want to hear more. I felt like the speakers were very involved and passionate about there topics and I think that made the presentations very informative if not entertaining as well.
Each speaker was very composed and very prepared with the research that they presented. I think that their power points highlighted the most important topics and that it was easy to take things away from their power points in addition to taking things away from what they added through their actual “speeches”.
I felt that the Elahi reading was very helpful because it provided a great deal of information about microfinance as well as a case study in a very succinct and comprehensive way. Even though it was short, I learned a lot from that reading and really began to actually understand the idea of microfinance and lending for the first time.
In the future it may be helpful to have a bit more discussion about the topics because I felt that there was a lot I wanted to hash out but we did not really have time to talk about things as thoroughly as I would have liked.
Overall, great job and good luck with your projects.
• How effectively did they share the knowledge that they have created?
• What did you learn the most from their presentation?
• How might the next group further improve on their presentation?
I think that the good did a good job of sharing their knowledge with the rest of the class, the powerpoints were well thought out and the delivery of the information was great. I would say that it was somewhat difficult to retain all of the information because it was one presentation after another. I think that if there was time for questions/discussion in between each presentation the material would have been absorbed a bit more.
The thing that stuck with me from the presentation was the importance of developing strong connections between all parties involved and open lines of communication. We saw examples of the importance of strong networks in all of the case studies – micro finance, AIDS treatment, and indigenous land rights.
The next group could further improve on their presentation by allowing more time for discussion about the content of the reading and the content of the presentation.
All four did a good job explaining the background of their projects and the areas they were focusing on. The PowerPoints kept things on track, and let us sit back and focus on what each presenter was trying to get across. I learned a lot of information the first day, but didn't feel as if we had adequate time on Thursday to discuss the topics. Splitting up the class is beneficial because it increases your changes of getting to throw your own ideas out - maybe splitting the class into even smaller groups would be better.
One thing I really liked about my groups' discussion on Thursday was that Lizzie asked us our opinion on an organization she seemed to want to create/explore for her project. I think discussing the specifics of her project gave her the most constructive feedback, and allowed us to really see what type of approach she was looking into. I think discussing our potential solutions with the class, instead of just presenting the issue should be a focus for future groups.
Overall, they did an excellent job at finding how their projects overlapped and asking questions that pertain to all four of the issues.
The presentations by group 1 on Tuesday and Thursday were very informative and well put together. They did a great job of spearheading this process.
I learned most about ideas that work, have worked, and ones that have failed. They all provide a great basis for the need of these programs and why it is imperative that steps be taken to spark change. On the surface, solutions seem to be ‘easily’ obtained though thought, but as we chatted in groups together we all could see the problems that quickly surface.
For the groups coming in the following weeks, I would suggest that we follow a similar set up to what group 1 did, with a few changes. On Tuesday, the leading group members should have make their presentations on their topics, but limit them to 10-15 minutes per person. This should be followed by immediate small group (3-5 people) discussion. This way, the ideas, problems and potential solutions are fresh in all of our heads. For the second class, a quick summation by the leaders should be discussed followed by some more quick leadership by them on their topic. This would progress into small group talks and finish up with a closing synopsis on the topic and progress that has been made. I think with an approach similar to this, participation will be provided by all and it will be a beneficial experience for not only the leading group and their projects, but the rest of us in the class.
They all shared their created knowledge well, there was a lot of background information that was incorporated into the power points which might not have been necessary.
The most interesting thing I found in their presentations is the problem between native culture and foreign intervention. Nick made a great point that Americans would vehemently ignore any foreign nation who was trying to change us, so why would Africa be any different? This led to the problem of pace and scale, do we continue to administer the ARV's which will eventually run out, or do we take the hit for one generation and reallocate the ARV funds to education and prevention?
The next group can take more from the 1st groups second day, the division into the smaller groups definitely sparked a lot of good conversation and (at least it seemed) that the groups were able to think up some ideas that the presenters hadn't thought of before. Thinking back on the different presentations that we have had in class to date, I think that the later groups should try to copy the classroom dynamic and presentation style of Will and the Step it up guys more so than Woolcock. good stuf.
I think everyone touched on some important areas of improvement for the remaining groups. Kudos to the first group, though, as I thought they did a great job with their presentations. I would agree with the general consensus of trying to use the assigned readings more effectively to tie into the classroom discussion. Cameron mentioned a good point that perhaps simplicity is the way to go. Looking back on presentations earlier in the semester, I found the guys from Step It Up to be more effective than the powerpoint format of Woolcock. Now I understand there is some information that must be explained (where a powerpoint would be useful), but in order to make some progress in our projects, we should dedicate a significant amount of time to brainstorming. The ideas we threw back and forth with the Step It Up guys seemed to be an effective way to stimulate ideas and possible steps towards a solution.
I think both presentations have been awesome and extremely informative. Good work! and good luck to the other groups!