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INSTRUCTIONAL DISCUSSION

One of the most difficult skills faculty and TAs must develop is the ability to guide students through class discussion. A learning activity that encourages students to voice their opinions and to ask questions of their classmates and teachers, discussion can be a highly effective learning tool. Both focused discussion and open discussion provide a forum in which students can vocalize their concerns about issues raised in reading material, films, lectures, demonstrations, and other academic situations. Most importantly, discussion encourages students to internalize concepts--to find their own ways to explain principles--and to listen critically to the views of others. By allowing students to help plan class discussions, teachers emphasize their commitment to interactive rather than passive learning. To ensure that everyone will participate in discussions, teachers can require students to bring to class journal entries, a series of questions, or short responses to the material on which the discussion will focus. Students who are nervous about responding spontaneously during a discussion will be more likely to talk when they can refer to their written comments. Assigning activities to prepare students for discussion can make teachers feel more comfortable about calling on a wide variety of students rather than waiting for volunteers.

Theoretical Framework

Recent theories of learning place less emphasis on cognitive development at the individual level than on socially shared cognition. Theories of socially situated cognition claim that normal social interaction has a substantial role on cognitive development. Cooperative learning is based on the belief that knowledge is constructed by the community. Particpants in a collaborative learning environment are more active as learners and more interactive and humane as individuals.

In the active learning environment of social interaction knowledge is not passed on by transfusion from teacher to student or from student to student; knowledge is constructed by the learner as s/he integrates new information into existing conceptual frameworks in his/her cognitive structure. Group discussions, in particular, bring to the forefront the essentially social nature of learning.

Practical Benefits of Group Discussion

Preparation

The success of your discussion sessions will largely depend on how carefully you prepare yourself, your students, and the classroom setting. General preparation questions should begin as early in the teerm as possible. Each discussion will require additional, specific preparation. The following list includes some aspects to take into account for you discussion preparation, both genereal and specific:

General Preparation: Setting the Mood for and Establishing Expectations. If you are planning to have discussions, you should create the appropriate conditions from the beginning of the semester:

Specific Preparation: Getting Ready for Each Discussion.Merely instructing your class to "be ready to discuss these texts" or to "think about those concepts" is neither a precise nor a stimulating way to get them adequately prepared. As for yourself, your familiarity with the subject does not guarantee that you are ready for a class discussion. Here are some ideas that will help you to acheive an effective preparation:

Plan the Discussion Together

DEFINE LEARNING GOALS CONCRETELY AND CLEARLY. Decide what students should know by the end of the course or a given class meeting. Frequently communicate these goals to students.

ELICIT STUDENTS' INTERESTS and difficulties at the start of the course and/or sessions and work out a joint agenda.

You might have your students complete a questionnaire in which they communicate their expectations for the course. Ask them to identify stereotypes or myths that exist about the course (e.g., "Some students call Geology for non-science majors ‘rocks for jocks’." "They say in finite math you have to attend class only on test days").
DISCUSS WITH THE CLASS WHAT KIND OF FORMAT or formats are appropriate. Pick one or several with which they are comfortable and that are compatible with class goals.
You would want to change formats fairly often to capture student interest.
Focused Discussion SET VERY SPECIFIC LEARNING GOALS and organize them in a clear sequence or agenda.
  When possible, express your goals in terms of student behavior (e.g., in an education class, the behavioral objective might be: Students will identify the reasons why active learning motivates students).


SUGGEST APPROPRIATE TIME SCHEDULES. Sometimes it is necessary to limit discussion to a certain time frame.
 

You can ask one of your students to remind people of the time remaining in the class period (e.g., "Let's try to conclude here because we have 10 minutes left").


PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND RESOURCES. Before a discussion begins, students might have questions that involve factual information. For example, students who are reading Look Homeward Angel might have questions about Thomas Wolfe's life.
 

You can reserve discussion for the most crucial issues if you anticipate the types of questions students might ask and address questions involving background information before the actual discussion begins. You might spend 5 to 10 minutes providing resource material (a bibliography of critical essays about Wolfe, a list of primary works by Wolfe, etc.) and allot 40 to 45 minutes for discussion of issues such as his use of metaphor, his treatment of women in the novel, and his influence on other writers.


ASK PLENTY OF QUESTIONS THAT FOCUS ON THE DAY'S TOPIC. Avoid open-ended questions which may lead the discussion in other areas.
 

If your students become interested in a particular digression, try to respond to that interest in the next class meeting. Write such topics on the board under the heading "For future discussion" to show you are serious about dealing with them.

 

EMPHASIZE KEY POINTS in the material frequently.

Remind your students that you want them to pay special attention to certain aspects of the material you are covering.


RESTATE STUDENT COMMENTS TO FOCUS THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS. (e.g., "I take you to be saying you disagree with the interpretation in the text?" or "Am I right that your claim supports the remark Jane made earlier?"). Ask for further clarification if students seem uncomfortable with your rephrasing of their views.

IF A COMMENT OR QUESTION IS SOMEWHAT OFF THE TRACK, RESPOND SELECTIVELY to that aspect of it which most fulfills the goals of the discussion.

 
For example, you might say, "This part of your comment really addresses today's topic."


GIVE STUDENTS TIME TO THINK. After you ask a question, allow students time to reflect on the question and formulate an answer. Don't be afraid of the few seconds of silence that may follow a question. Giving students a few moments to develop an observation on their own demonstrates to them that you care about their opinion, and you expect them to voice it.

You might consider silently counting to 10 after you have asked a question, so that you can allow students enough time to think.

SUMMARIZE BOTH YOUR OWN POINTS AND THE THEMES OF THE DISCUSSION periodically--especially at the end of a meeting. Keep track of student ideas by writing their claims briefly on the board. This will help you to connect and summarize them as well as allow you to return to overlooked points.
 

At regular intervals, ask your students to reiterate the points people have made so far (e.g., "Can someone state what issues we have discussed today?"). Emphasize the continuity of topics with your initial class goal. (E.g., "This discussion on how to assess your audience will prepare us for next week's topic, how to choose a tone that suits your audience.").

 

GIVE STUDENTS FEEDBACK. Feedback is an important element of communication in the classroom. If your student has made a good point, then praise her, if he has misunderstood the concept then you need to let him know, gently. Avoid responding with only "U-huh" or "OK" all of the time because such vague signals prevent students from judging whether their answers were wrong or right. Without proper cues student don't know whether they are performing well, poorly, or if they need to improve.


HOLD ONE-TO-ONE EXCHANGES WITH STUDENTS IN CLASS.

Avoid letting more than two or three students speak in a row without your commenting. This heightens your visibility as a model for how the discussion should proceed. (E.g., "When John said this, I saw you shaking your head in disagreement, Mary. Can you tell us why you disagree with John's assessment of the situation?"). You can model for your students how to make a network between comments.
  HAVE STUDENTS FORMALLY RESPOND TO COMMENTS CLASSMATES MAKE DURING DISCUSSION.
  Place your students in pairs and ask them to write a 1 to 2 page response to their partners' comments during class discussion. During the next class meeting, have them share their responses as a way to reiterate the previous discussion.
  ASSIGN ROLES FOR STUDENTS according to their interests.
  For example, you might appoint a moderator, a discussion leader, a recorder, and a time-keeper. Open Discussion ASK MANY DIVERGENT QUESTIONS, with many valid answers that can take the discussion in several directions, depending on how students react. Be sure to have students support their answers with reasons. (E.g., "What counseling theory would you use to treat this client? Why?").

ASK STUDENTS TO MAKE GUESSES OR ESTIMATES in answering some questions. (This technique, suggested by a math professor, applies even to "right/wrong" disciplines.) This encourages discussions aimed at validating the answers given and backing them up with reasoning.

ASK QUESTIONS YOU EXPECT WILL STIMULATE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION among students. Have students defend their views to their opponents.

DEFINE A BROAD THEME AROUND WHICH TO ORGANIZE THE DISCUSSION, a "ball-park" in which students can roam fairly freely (e.g., "How do you think artistic vision has shaped our everyday lives?").

USE THE BOARD, FLIP CHART, OVERHEAD PROJECTOR, etc. to record student discussion.
 

Your students can glance at the notes you make and get a sense of where the discussion is leading. Visual learners in particular will appreciate your notes.


USE THE BRAINSTORMING METHOD in which you elicit a number of answers or ideas while suspending evaluative comments (either your own or your students') until a later point in order to encourage the free flow of input.

RELATE STUDENT REMARKS TO THE DISCIPLINE. Where possible, connect their contributions to the terms, concepts, and key figures of the field of study (e.g., "Piaget calls what you describe equilibration;" or "Plato had view similar to yours. I'll be interested to hear what you think when we read the Republic").

TAKE NOTES ON STUDENT DISCUSSION.
 

During the next class meeting, remind students of what issues you raised. (E.g., "Yesterday we seemed to have reached a consensus about this aspect, but we were unable to agree on that aspect."). Quoting directly from students will tell them that you value their comments.

ARRANGE THE SEATING APPROPRIATELY. Make sure students can see you and each other. Do not allow students to disappear in the back of the room. Circles or Semicircles are the best seating arrangements for discussion. Try to vary where you sit or stand in discussions, since students sitting closest to you are apt to feel the most involved in the class.

Proposed Ground Rules for Discussion

In order to create an atmosphere in which we all feel free to participate, we will determine ground rules for our discussion.  We will adapt the following guidelines to fit this group.  Please read and let me know whether there are changes you would like to suggest.

  1. We will create a safe atmosphere for open discussion.  Thus, members of the group may wish to make comments that they do not want repeated outside the room.  If so, the person will preface his or her remarks with a request and the group will agree not to repeat the remarks.
  2. We will assume that people (both the groups we discuss and the members of this group) always do the best they can.
  3. Acknowledge that oppression (i.e., racism, classism, sexism, etc.) exists.
  4. Acknowledge that one of the mechanisms of oppression (i.e., racism, classism, sexism, etc.) is that we are all systematically taught misinformation about our own group and about members of devalued groups (this is true for both dominant and other group members).
  5. We cannot be blamed for the misinformation we have learned, but we will be held responsible for repeating misinformation after we have learned otherwise.
  6. Targeted groups are not to be blamed for their oppression.
  7. We will actively pursue information about our own groups and those of others
  8. We will share information about our groups with other members of this group and we will never demean, devalue, or in any way "put down" people for their experiences.
  9. We each have an obligation to actively combat the myths and stereotypes about our own groups and other groups so that we can break down the walls which prohibit group cooperation and group gai

Integrating Writing into the Discussion Section.

A discussion should not rely solely on oral interaction. Writing can be used as an affective tool at any time during the session. Writing helps everybody get engaged. It offers quiet or shy students the opportunity to actively participate, and it helps to keep excessive talkers under control. Besides, writing often allows for deeper, more elaborate reflection. The follwoing are some activities involving writing that can be incorporated in to the discussion section itself.:

Notetaking and Class Secretaries. Taking notes during the discussion can provide a means of focusing on and organizing key concepts, data and opinions. However, some students feel that notetaking may interefere with their concentration on the discussion. A good idea then is to select a class secretary, who will record the discussion and provide a summary ot the rest of the class. Two or three secretaries may be used instead of one; at the end of the session they will copare their notes and produce a single version. You can have every student serve as class secretary on a rotation basis.

Free Writing. Have students write for a few minutes to gather thier thoughts together, or to come up with new ideas. They might examine a passage in a text, reflect on a given question, or articulate an opinion. Free writing is especially useful right before starting discussion on a new topic; when a new idea is introduced that requires particular consideration.

The One-Minute Paper. If the discussion seems to be declining or the students look confused on a particular topic, pause and give them one minute to write down their comments, reorganize their ideas or respond to a specific question. This strategy can also be used if the discussion is becoming too intense, or if too many ideas are being brought up at the same time. The one-minute paper will provide a sort of "time-out" ; it will relax the pace of the discussion and will help to ease the pressure on the students.

Reflection Papers. Have students write brief summaries and commentaries of the session that has taken place. Ask them to evaluate their own role in the discussion, or to write down one thing they have learned from it. These comments should then be shared with the class.

Student Questions. At any time during the discussion, pause and have the class write down one or two questions for you or anybody else. Many students might have been willing to ask something for a while, but perhaps they were too busy trying to catch up with the flow of the discussion; by giving them a couple of minutes to write, you will allow them to define and articulate their questions.

 


-Several suggestion come from Xenia Young and Marty Taylor, Cornell Unversity, 1997.

 

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