How can the Community Think Tank project be scaffolded to be manageable–both for students and instructors–given the constraints of a 15-week semester?

Assisting Dr. Linda Flower in her Fall 2013 course “Leadership, Dialogue, and Change,” I conducted a case-study analysis of how to support students in their own Community Think Tank. The Community Think Tank is a group project wherein students define a shared community problem, conduct critical incident interviews, facilitate live debate, and develop a report of their findings for the community.

In my role as an advisor, I helped students develop their think tank and final report on the issue of mental health for college students. In my role as a researcher, I identified classroom practices to help students develop more effective project management and dialogue facilitation skills. 

Findings from my case study were used to revise later versions of the course.