Discussion in Class

Preparing for Discussion

Lectures can provide opportunity for teachers to model the forms of democratic dispositions they wish to encourage:

  1. Begin every lecture with one or more questions you’re trying to answer.
  2. End every lecture with a series of questions the lecture has raised or left unanswered.
  3. Deliberately introduce periods of silence (every twenty-minutes) take 3 minutes so that students can write down important points, puzzling assertions, or the question they most want to ask.
  4. Assumption Hunting: Introduce periods where the assumptions of the reading or lecture are considered.
  5. Buzz Groups: 3-4 students discuss a question or issue for a few minutes (once or twice a lecture):
    1. Pose a question or problem.
    2. What’s the most contentious statement you’ve heard in lecture today?
    3. What’s the most important point that’s been made so far?
    4. What question would you most like to have answered regarding the topic of the lecture?
    5. What’s the most unsupported assertion you’ve heard in the lecture?
    6. What is the most ambiguous or obscure idea you’ve heard today?

 

Getting Discussion Started

  1. Mistakes to avoid at the start of discussion: A. Don’t start discussion with mini-lecture; B. Don’t be vague; C. Don’t fear Silence
  2. Frame the discussion around student questions (teachers can assign them as part of pre-reading).  What 3 questions would you like to ask the author about the work?  Students could be prompted by omissions, contradictions, ambiguities, unsupported assumptions, etc.
  3. For visual learners, suggest the class choose a specific image that is actually contained in the text (go around the table and ask each for a specific image-scene-event-moment that stands out in the text
  4. Ask students to complete: What struck me about the text is___?  The question I’d most like to ask the author is___?  The idea I most take issue with is___?  The part of the last lecture that made the most/least sense was___.
  5. Life Experience: Find a way for students to connect reading/lecture with their own life-experience.  When are they most connected to or distanced from the topic?  What do they most struggle with regarding the topic?
  6. Discussion in the Round: Common is circle, and teacher is part of that.  Confidents students love this, hesitant students feel vulnerable.
    1. Circle of voices: 4-5 students form a circle, each gets 2-3 minutes to get thoughts organized, then each has 2-3 minutes to speak uninterruptedly.  Then open discussion to free-flow.  Participants can only speak about others’ ideas.
    2. Circular Response Discussions: works on habit of active listening.  Speakers go in circle, they must first summarize previous speaker, then use this as a springboard for their own (no one may be interrupted, no one out of turn; each begins paraphrasing previous person; only remarks related to previous discussion).  Only when everyone speaks, then the floor is opened for general reactions.  Pro: Everyone must listen.  Con: No need to listen expect to the one prior to oneself

 

Keeping Discussion Going With Questioning, Listening, Responding

  1. Questioning
    1. Questions that ask for more data: how do you know that?  What data is that based on?
    2. Questions for clarification: What’s a good example?  What do you mean by that?
    3. Open Questions: provoke students’ thinking and problem solving abilities such as 1. Linking it to what others have said; 2. Hypothetical questions; 3. Cause and effect questions; and 4. Summary and synthesis questions: What are the one or two most important ideas that emerged from discussion?  What remains unresolved?  What do we need to talk about next time?  Mix it up!
  2. Important to encourage students to receive the text (or other assignment) in its own terms.  Let the voice speak without reaction.

 

Keeping Discussion Going Through Creative Grouping

  1. Varying group size: large groups can inhibit discussion, allowing only most socially confident (or aggressive) students dominate.  They can also be unwieldy and perpetuate inequalities in class.
  2. Relaxed Buzz groups: 4-5 discuss issues from assignment for 10-15 minutes.  Only talk about issues from the assignment (raise questions, highlight difficult or interesting passages, draw out thesis, suggest serious flaws).  These are good ice-breakers, promotes the idea that discussion can stand on its own.  Con: Could be aimless or degenerate into chitchat.
  3. Structured Buzz Groups: 20 minutes answering questions prepared by teacher, record answers.  Pros: Gives agenda; examines important issues.  Cons: Take initiative out of the hands of students.  One could give them questions but also allow them to explore independent theme.
  4. General guidelines for organizing small group
    1. Five is optimal size. 
    2. When they self-select they feel comfortable and more open, but they less deal with contrasting positions
    3. When intentionally mixed by teacher they have different views, but differences can be intimidating.  Teacher should balance between the two.
  1. Jigsaw: Teacher assigns 5 topics students have to study.  Each becomes an expert.  They first discuss this with other experts on the same topic.  Then new groups form with representatives from every expertise and the “expert” teaches the other students.
  2. Critical Debate
    1. Find a contentious issue
    2. As for volunteers to support the motion and those preparing arguments against it
    3. Announce everyone will be assigned to the team opposite the one volunteered for.
    4. Each team chooses representative.  After initial presentations, they reconvene for rebuttal arguments.  A different person presents these.
    5. Debrief: how did it feel to argue against positions you were committed to?  What new ways of thinking?  Etc.
    6. Have students write follow up: What assumptions about the issue were clarified or confirmed?  Which assumptions surprised you?  How could you check out these new assumptions?  What sources of evidence could you consult?  What new perspectives are out there?  Anything that challenged your way of thinking?
    7. Conversational roles:

1.      Theme/problem poser—keeps team on task

2.      Record keeper

3.      Devil’s advocate: listens for emerging consensus and formulates contrary view.  Helps team explore alternative interpretations.

4.      Detective: Listens for unacknowledged, unchecked, and unchallenged biases

5.      Theme spotter: identifies themes that are left unexplored (may form focus for next discussion)

6.      Umpire: challenges group to stay away from dismissive, judgmental, offensive comments.

 

When students don’t speak:

  1. Did they complete the preparatory tasks?
  2. Did the teacher build a case for speaking in discussion?
  3. Did the teacher model public critique of his/her ideas?
  4. Did the teacher set up ground rules?
  5. Is the discussion focused on an open-ended question or sufficient complexity and ambiguity?
  6. Has the teacher avoided implicitly answering the question?
  7. Has there been enough time for silence?
  8. Has the teacher assigned tasks and roles to the group members, especially the rotating role of critical opener?
  9. Has the teacher tried to link the topic to the experience of students?