All students registered in groups teach lessons on AS topics. AS topic lessons last 30 minutes in the Module 3 seminar and 60 minutes in the Module 6 seminar and deal with issues of your choice on education, political life, minorities and immigration, religion, environment, the media, social issues, leisure time activities and sports, food, the arts, or other aspects dealing with American and British life and people. Lessons in the Anglo-American Cultural Studies seminar (Module 6) include concepts of identity, power, gender, new media, and culture.  At the end of the student-taught lessons, I may ask the student-teachers to elaborate on some of the issues raised. Time permitting, we could also begin our analysis of the research paper.

Consultation sessions:
In preparation for their lessons, students usually meet with me for at least two consultation sessions or three if needed and reserve the dates and times via the OLAT calendar tool. Details here. Consultations take place in my office.

Please come to the first session with answers to the questions:

• What did you find particularly interesting or surprising about your topic? 
• What information did you find exactly in the course material (books and DVDs)? 
• What other sources did you use and why?
• What do you consider to be especially important or relevant for German university students about your topic? 
• How could you imagine using what you found out in your near future (this AS course and other courses) or later (in your further studies, in your career)?
• Give one example of the content that you've learned with Anglo-American Studies relevance (links to other seminar classes and lectures both past and future) 
• Give one example with audience relevance (content chosen based on what you expect your audience either is familiar with or would want to know more about).
  
• For students taking the Module 6 seminar: How are the concepts of identity, power, gender, new media, and culture included in your topic?
  

The following rules apply to all group consultation sessions for students teaching AS lessons:

• All group members should be present for all consultation sessions. 
• At most one session per group per week.
• Usually a total of two consultation sessions are required in preparation for your topics lesson if you come to the first one well prepared.
  
• Please come to the first session with answers to all the specific questions as given above.
• At first I am always concerned with how much content you know about your chosen topic. We don't usually discuss which aspects of the topic you wish to include in your lesson or methods of presentation until the last consultation session.
  
• The last session must take place at the latest in the week before the planned topics lesson.
• If your topics lesson doesn't succeed because of your attending fewer than the required number of consultation sessions, then we'll have to discuss alternative substitute work for the course.
• Students may not schedule consultation sessions during their regular English courses!

Content of topics lessons:
You must use the course materials as your primary sources at first ideally combined with knowledge and insights you've gained in Britain and the US. Other sources (including material and selected websites of your choice) are only possible AFTER you've consulted ALL course material. Remember to keep your audience in mind and try to choose content that will reinforce what we've learned in previous AS lessons or what we'll be discussed in upcoming lessons. Of course, you must cite all sources used in your research paper and also include an annotated bibliography. Link to detailed information about research papers.

Teaching AS topics is an important requirement for Anglo-American Studies courses. The responsibility for fulfilling this requirement lies with the group. Of course the group may decide to divide up the necessary research work or to appoint certain students to do certain parts of the lesson.

Please note the following information about group work: Teamwork is an important soft skill to develop and is one important reason why I've organized the Anglo-American Studies courses with group work playing a major role. But sometimes teamwork is not possible no matter how cooperative or patient people are. Please always let me know whenever there are any sort of problems within the group, and I'll do my best to work things out so that no one feels unfairly treated or is anywhere near a breakdown. A "re-grouping" might be possible if group members discover that they can't work as well with one another as they had hoped or the student(s) who is / are asked to leave the group can continue the course without a group, or they can start their own group in the following semester.

Results of topic lessons:
You'll have the chance to meet with me to discuss your lesson immediately afterwards. I'll be uploading my evaluation of your lessons (evaluation template for the lesson) within three weeks.

Impressum / Disclaimer
31.III.2012