TEAM COMMUNITY

RESEARCH PROJECT

MPA Capstone Seminar (PS 540)

Professor Bob Swansbrough

Spring 2006

Students will be divided into two teams for the development, writing and oral presentation of two community-based case studies. Team Alpha will focus on how Hamilton County and Chattanooga have sought to use Enterprise South to attract a major manufacturer to the area and Team Bravo will examine the question of environmental justice concerning such low income areas as the Chickamauga Creek superfund site. I will set up a web Discussion Forum (password access) through UTC's Blackboard software. The latter should be utilized for substantive sharing of information and ideas. You can also post early drafts for comments and proofreading. Team Alpha will include: Steinmetz, Lowe, Richardson, Coates, Anderson, Reese and Steinman. Team Bravo will consist of: Jones, Kent, Roberts, Roberson, Spruill, Saieed, Clark and Varnell..

Team members will assume the roles of consultants, hired to apply their MPA expertise to this project. Research must include a solid background investigation of newspaper articles and documents; primary source interviews with key participants; and analysis of data. Each team's 30 minute (total) oral report with supporting visuals will be followed by questions from the elected city leaders (MPA faculty) who hired your consulting firm. The consultant team's oral presentations will occur after spring break on March 21.

Teams must provide knowledgeable, cogent and balanced recommendations. Although individual team members might be assigned responsibility for drafting particular sections, there must be a consistency of style throughout the case study. The team should produce a written research report (15-20 typed, double-spaced pages maximum, excluding appendix documents and endnotes. The written team research report on your assigned project is due April 11, 2006.

The following suggestions are taken from Lumsden and Lumsden, Communicating in Groups and Teams, l996.

Team Participation

• The team needs to plan for each member's presentation in the oral report. Draw on the expertise of individual team members. Look for complementary presentation styles.
• Develop a work plan which specifies who will do what. Rehearse the team presentation after members have prepared and practiced their individual presentations. Make sure you don't exceed the allotted time, so that the audience can become involved through questions.

Notes

• Put major ideas and key facts on note cards. DO NOT read from a manuscript.
• Use key words in notes, not full phrases or sentences.
• Use large print.
• Practice until the notes only serve as a safety net while you talk.

Visuals

• Determine what facts or information should be highlighted with the visuals (charts, pictures, maps, Power Point or Persuasion graphics)
• Don't overload your visuals with information. Double check spelling. Use large font.
• Visuals should supplement speaker, not supplant the person.
• Talk to the audience, not the visual.
• When visual is not relevant to presentation, turn it off so it doesn't distract audience.
• Turn in a copy of Powerpoint visuals (print 6 up) and/or handout to instructor.
  

Questions and Answers

• Anticipate and prepare for questions.
• Team members should ask possible questions for each presenter to practice responses.
• Assume questions are well intended. Don't set up an adversarial relationship.
• Listen intently to the question, restate it so all can hear it (and give yourself more time to develop an answer) and answer in a friendly, concise and knowledgeable manner.
• As a team, you may have the most informed person on that topic answer the question.
• If you don't have an answer, admit it, but tell them you'll get back to them with an answer. And do it.

Rehearsal

• Rehearse by yourself before the team rehearsal.
• Rehearse out loud until you become less dependent upon your note cards.
• Rehearse using your visuals.
• Rehearse with an audio or VCR recorder and play back.
• Rehearse with your spouse or a friend.

Presentation

• The more you have prepared and practiced, the more relaxed you will be--honest!
• Emphasize to yourself the importance of the information you will present to your adudience.
• Smile and be friendly.
• Speak to one person at a time, moving around the room to include everyone.

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Last updated: January 17, 2006. UTC Home PageTop of PageSwansbrough Home PageCapstone Home Page

Please e-mail comments to: Bob Swansbrough. Mail address: Dr. Bob Swansbrough, Department of Political Science, 417 Fletcher Hall, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403. Tel: (423) 755-4635 or 755-4240. Copyright © 1997 The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. All rights reserved. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is an EEO/AA/Title VI/TitleIX/Section 504/ADA institution.