Rubric: Paper Presentation and Discussion Leading

100 points total. Late slide submission: 5 points deducted per day, maximum 20.

1. Presentation of the paper (30 points)

Accuracy and clarity in conveying the paper’s question, method, and findings; time allocated by importance; level calibrated to a mixed audience.

Level	Points	Description
Exemplary	27–30	Question, method, and findings conveyed accurately and clearly. The method receives enough time and detail for the room to evaluate the results independently. Nothing glossed that the audience needed; nothing belabored that they already had. Time allocated by importance rather than section length.
Proficient	23–26	Question, method, and findings accurate. Some sections receive more time than they warrant, or the method is correct but too fast for parts of the audience. Minor gaps do not prevent engagement with the paper.
Developing	18–22	Largely accurate, but the room is left without something it needed, usually a working understanding of the method. Time allocated by section length. Level miscalibrated in either direction.
Inadequate	0–17	The paper is misrepresented, the central claim is not conveyed, or the presentation does not go beyond restating section headings.

Analysis of the paper’s contribution and limitations; a defended position on whether the evidence supports the claim.

Level	Points	Description
Exemplary	18–20	Identifies the real contribution and the real limitations, separating serious problems from cosmetic ones. Takes a defensible position on whether the evidence supports the claim and argues for it. Criticism is specific and framed in terms of what the design can and cannot support.
Proficient	15–17	Identifies genuine strengths and limitations and takes a position, but stays close to what the authors already acknowledged. Position stated but lightly defended.
Developing	12–14	Strengths and limitations listed rather than analyzed, or the critique is generic enough to apply to any paper. No clear position, or a position asserted without reasoning.
Inadequate	0–11	Reports the authors’ claims without evaluation, or the critique is inaccurate.

Structure, design, and fit to the fifteen-minute format.

Level	Points	Description
Exemplary	14–15	Slide count fits fifteen minutes. Built around the paper’s figures with minimal text. Structure easy to follow. Both closing slides present.
Proficient	11–13	Clear and appropriately structured with minor problems: text-heavy, slightly over or under length, or one closing slide missing.
Developing	8–10	Dense with text, poorly organized, or substantially mismatched to the time available. Figures absent or unreadable.
Inadequate	0–7	Unusable as a presentation aid, or not submitted.

Completion and timing.

Points	Description
5	All six steps run, transitions announced, activity completed within ten minutes, cards collected with names.
3	Activity runs and produces usable cards, but runs materially over or under time, or one step is skipped.
0	Activity not run, or produces no usable cards.

Preparation, structural control of the conversation, and facilitation.

Level	Points	Description
Exemplary	27–30	Arrives with four prepared questions, each admitting more than one defensible answer and grounded in the paper, and deploys them where they fit rather than in sequence. Establishes a clear structure and keeps the conversation inside it, redirecting when a thread stalls and moving on when a question is not working. Follows up on what people say rather than advancing to the next item. Brings in participants who have not spoken. Frames disagreement so that positions are challenged rather than people. Sustains the full twenty-five minutes.
Proficient	24–26	Questions are open and grounded in the paper. Some structure is evident and the conversation moves. Occasionally advances through prepared questions without building on what was said, or allows one or two participants to dominate. Uses most of the allotted time.
Developing	20–23	Some questions admit only one answer or are too vague to gain traction. Fills silences by answering their own questions. Acts as a guard rather than a facilitator, constraining the conversation toward a predetermined conclusion rather than opening it up. Ends well short of the allotted time.
Inadequate	0–19	Fewer than four questions prepared. The presenter lectures through the slot, or the room is left in silence without intervention.