The groups for Reading Circles are formed during our first contact session, and will stay the same during the entire course. The Case Studies are done in these same groups.


What are preparatory Reading Circles?

Preparatory Reading Circles consist of four phases: 

  1. Reading the given material independently, 
  2. Discussing the material with your group in actual Reading Circle, 
  3. Preparing a Reading Circle Brief from your discussions, and
  4. Participating in related Contact Session.

Reading Circles thus enable you to learn some aspects of a given topic already before the Contact Session, preparing you for the Contact Session and its discussions. In this way the preparatory Reading Circles combine flipped learning with peer learning, and aim to enhance interaction as well as your learning. 

To prepare for the Reading Circle, you must read independently the Reading Material available in these pages before the Reading Circle. The Reading Material + related Guiding Questions will be available under each Contact Session around one week before. Remember also the check the possible .pdf file for more detailed instructions!

After, you will meet with your group in a preparatory Reading Circle that must take place before the related Contact Session: recommended time and place is in Lecture Hall 286/287 just before Contact Session i.e. usually on Tuesdays at 9am. Each Reading Circle has a rotating Chair and Secretary (see below).

The aim of the Reading Circle is to provide you an opportunity to discuss and debate the given Reading Material and related Guiding Questions with your peers. Your group has a unique set of expertise, and we recommend you to make a good use of that during the Reading Circles. Hence, while you should use the Reading Material as a basis for your discussion, you are encouraged to extend it based on your own interests and expertise. You are also encouraged to find Additional Reading Material, and share those through the Discussion Forum in MyCourses.


Chair & Secretary

During a preparatory Reading Circle, your group discusses the Reading Material that everyone has read beforehand. Use the related Guiding Questions to focus your discussion. 

The Reading Circle meeting is led by a Chair and documented by a Secretary: both positions rotate and each group member thus acts both as a Chair and as a Secretary. The group takes care of the rotation.

The Chair chairs the meeting and is responsible for agreeing the time and location for the meeting. The Chair provides a short (5 min) introduction to the theme and reading material. S/he ensures that the discussion follows (at least loosely) the Guiding Questions and that all group members have their say and no-one dominates the discussion.  

To facilitate the discussion, Chair should use open-ended questions such as: 

  • What were the most important findings from the Reading Material for you? Why? 
  • Are there some arguments in the material that you don't agree with? What and why?
  • Are there some parts or themes you didn't understand? 
  • Based on the Reading Material, what would be your answer to the Guiding Questions? 

The Secretary documents the discussion, with an emphasis on the discussion and debates (rather than list of things and themes discussed). The Secretary is also responsible for the submission of the Reading Circle Brief after it has been accepted by the entire group.  


Reading Circle Brief

The Reading Circle Brief summarises the discussion that took place during your Reading Circle: it must therefore cover all given compulsory Reading Material and answer to the Guiding Questions. 

The idea of your Reading Circle and related Brief is, however, not only to synthesise what was written in the Reading Material, but also to put the Reading Material into the broader context (incl. link to your Case Study if applicable) and reflect it against your own experiences and views. You are also encouraged to bring forward critical views towards the Reading Material and its key messages .

The length of the Reading Circle Brief should be 400-500 words, and it must be submitted to MyCourses' Discussion Forum. You are encouraged to include figures and diagrams into your Brief, in case you used and/or created those during your discussion. Write to your brief also

  • time and location of your Reading Circle,  
  • who were present and who were absent from your group
  • names of Chair and Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for the submission of the Reading Circle Brief. Yet, as the Briefs are used to assess your work, the entire group has to agree with the Brief before its submission. The deadline for the submission of Reading Circle Brief is one week after the related Contact Session.

The Reading Circle Brief will be assessed, and their average grade forms 1/3 of the total grade given by the teachers (with 2/3 of that grade coming from Case Study). The Brief is assessed based on following criteria: 

  1. Structured and concise synthesis of the given Reading Material and stating your views on Guiding Questions (45%)
  2. Providing broader context: own reflection and differing views towards the given material (45%)
  3. Clarity of the Brief (10%)


Last modified: Tuesday, 15 January 2019, 2:06 PM