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American Idol/Ethical Critiquing Activity
Zachary Frohlich
North Dakota State University
G.I.F.T.S. Presentation
National Communication Association Convention
Boston, MA
November 2005
Goal:
This activity is a good way for students to learn and understand the difference between ethical and unethical critiques.
Rationale:
The information on critiquing can be a little dry for a lecture. One of the best ways for students to learn how to critique is to see the difference between ethical and unethical critiquing.
Directions:
Before class, on note cards, write the following directions for three volunteer critics:
- You are playing the part of Paula Abdul from American Idol. No matter how bad the performance is, you only have good comments for the performer.
- You are playing the part of Simon Cowell from American Idol. You only have negative, nasty comments for the performer. You are unable to point out any good in the performance. And nothing is constructive.
- You are playing the part of Randy Jackson from American Idol. You are an ethical critic. You are able to find some good things in the performance as well as some bad things. You help with constructive criticism, and are not too harsh.
Get three volunteers from the class to sit on the "panel" of critics and give them each a note card with their directions on it. As the instructor you can either choose a volunteer to showcase a hidden talent, or you can do something yourself. After the performance is done, have the three critics get creative and critique the performance in the order listed above.
After the critics are done, have them sit down and synthesize the activity. What was good, what was bad, and why.
Typical results:
If you have a class with outgoing, extroverted students this will typically turn out very well. Students really get into the activity and do great impressions of the celebrity judges. This generally generates a lot of good discussion as far as why the judges were ethical or not with their critiques, and I think really solidifies the concepts involved in ethical critiquing.
