The role of the seminar leader

Organiser

You shall

• Be a clear and organized leader.
• Take care of practical aspects: distribution of assignments, opponent roles, mediate discussions, control use of time. Ensure that the seminar stays on schedule and covers all planned topics within the allotted time. 
• Set objectives and define the expected goals and outcomes of the seminar. Clarify expectations regarding the various roles.
• Explain the reason for the various activities: What is the purpose of the seminar? What will the students learn? Why is this relevant and useful?
• Be flexible and attentive to participants' energy and engagement levels and adjust strategies to the needs and dynamics of the group. Be willing to modify plans as necessary. 

Facilitator

You shall

• Ensure a good learning environment and treat students equally.
• Ensure that the students get to know one another and pave the way for constructive dialogue.
• Ensure that the feedback and discussions are the best possible. Students often have little experience of providing good feedback; they may feel that they do not possess the necessary skills, and they may feel uncomfortable criticising others’ work.
• Be approachable - make yourself available for additional support and guidance if needed.

Scholar

You shall

• Be an encourager of critical thinking - motivate participants to analyze, critique, and evaluate ideas. Foster diverse perspectives by creating an environment where differing viewpoints are respected and considered.
• Provide academic introductions – what academic topics are to be discussed at this seminar?
• Facilitate increased academic insight among the students.
• Point out connections in the syllabus that the students may not have thought of.
• Prepare questions – which may go beyond the topic of the paper. It may be helpful to discuss with other seminar tutors. It is often a good idea to use topical examples (from own experiences, the media, literature).
• Provide a summary of the academic content and discussion towards the end of the seminar.
• Ensure constructive feedback, from both the seminar leader and the students. The feedback ought to be a formative assessment (assessment for learning) rather than a summative assessment (assessment of learning). While summative assessment is an assessment of an end product or outcome (such as a grade), the starting point for a formative assessment is that the text is part of the learning process. The purpose of the feedback is for the student to get an assessment of what they have done and advice on how it could have been done better.

More

• See tasks, rules and routines for seminar leaders (UiO webpage).
• See EILIN's webpage for more resources for seminar leaders (UiO webpage).