Promoting Rich Discussion
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How do rich discussions improve learning?
- Discussions provide opportunities for active learning, for students to engage with the concepts they are learning. This increases retention of information and ideas.
- When students articulate ideas and provide examples, they are clarifying and refining their own thinking.
- Discussion can promote engagement with multiple perspectives.
- Participants can engage with the topic at a more personal level.
- Participants can ask questions and get feedback.
- Faculty member can see where students have gaps in understanding or application.
- Students can collaboratively participate in intellectual exploration.
What can you do to design and manage discussions so they're effective?
Consider these factors when designing/managing a discussion:
Designing the prompt(s)
1. Discussion must have a purpose
- Related to learning goals
2. Meaningful questions must be asked
- Provides opportunity for critical thinking
- Open-ended
Designing the process / environment
3. Students must have something to say
4. Students must feel comfortable participating
- A certain level of trust is necessary; be aware that participating often feels risky.
Examples of rich discussion techniques shared by WSU faculty and CTLT in workshop, February and March, 2006
Build trust:
- help participants get acquainted, through introductory activities and practices
- flesh out assumptions and expectations about participation, establish guidelines for positive communication (face-to-face or on-line Netiquette)
- offer opportunities for participation in a low-stakes environment (use think-pair-share, or other kinds of small group discussions; provide discussion prompts in advance; involve students in creating discussion prompts; use on-line environment for discussion)
- All students start with an A in participation, and the instructor only notes serious negatives if someone doesn't participate at all or if their comments are off topic -- they aren't reading and contributing in a meaningful way. If a student gets 3 days in a row like that, instructor talks to the student to find out what the problem is. Among other things, this approach recognizes that quiet or reflective students may be participating attentively, thoughtfully, and it doesn't penalize them.
Use open questions rather than closed questions, design prompts that don't have one right answer, that encourage application of concepts. Encourage students to look at the concepts and the thinking when problem-solving, rather than just the final answer; try using "convince your neighbor" to focus on concepts
Scaffold questions, to help participants warm-up, and to build trust and schema for the more difficult topics
Help students have something to say
- For homework, have students write double-entry journals responding to a reading (for example, choosing 2-4 quotations which the student puts on the left-hand side of the page, responding to them on the right- hand side); the student brings in two copies, one to turn into the instructor, and one to swap with a classmate, to warm up for discussion. Alternatively, do a read-around -- in triads, students read what classmates wrote, then can discuss topics and ideas.
- see Discussion as a way of teaching for many more practical suggestions for low stakes participation techniques (listed in references below), including: sentence completion, generate truth statements, respond to a strong statement, choose a quotation, draw from a hatful of quotes and respond, circular response, share a memorable experience
Try using on-line environments:
- Provide a series of discussion prompts for students to respond to on-line (both an original response and responses to peers). WebCT can record whether students are doing them.
- Similarly, have Ss write discussion posts or respond in webct / pbj to a number of discussion prompts over the semester (as prep for in-class discussion); each student chooses their best 2 to print out and turn in with their final exam for a grade.
- Ask students to self-evaluate; one way is to write a reflective piece regarding the on-line discussions.
- in problem-solving course, faculty can post a problem and two different answers in webct. On-line, Ss discuss which answer is correct and why.
What are common problems/concerns with discussions?
- Non-participants
- Discussion dominators
- Answers (right or wrong) that shut down discussion
- Difficult topics, sensitive issues
- In small groups, discussions can get off track, or stay superficial
- Whole class vs small group discussions
- Assessing ... how to give a grade for participation
- When students haven't done the reading / homework, so they can't discuss
Assumptions and Concerns
- Takes too much time
- Less Content Coverage
- Difficult to assess learning
- Learning is a solitary practice
Resources
- Strategic Action in Hot Moments in Teaching Inclusively: Resources for Course, Department & Institutional Change in Higher Education Lee Warren. New Forums Press.
- Discussion as a way of teaching, Stephen Brookfield and Stephen Preskill (2005), second ed. A great resource, with practical strategies and examples. Chapter 3 (Preparing for discussion -- see especially pp 52-62) and Chapter 4 (Getting discussion started) for many different ways to begin discussions in low stakes context and maximize participation.
- Any Questions? by Richard Felder [[1]]. How to frame questions for deeper thinking.
- Navigating the Bumpy Road to Student-centered Instruction, by Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent
[[2]]. Common problems students and faculty face regarding group work and practical strategies to address them.
- Suggestions for Leading Small-group Discussions, by Lee Haugen, Iowa State University Center for Teaching Excellence [[3]]
- Facilitating Effective Classroom Discussions Barton, Heilker, and Ruthkowski; Virginia Tech [[4]]
- Guidelines for Conducting Classroom Discussions CDTL Brief: February 2004, Vol. 7, No. 2 [[5]] Print version: [[6]]
- Obstacles to open discussion and critical thinking: The Grinnell College study” Carol Trosset, Change, September/October, 1998.[[7]] (Change, September/October, 1998). Trosset makes a distinction between discussions to "advocate" one's own view, and discussions to "explore" multiple views; that might be a useful distinction to make explicit to students as you clarify together the purpose of a particular class discussion.
- How to Manage Emotionally-Laden Classroom Discussions [[8]]
- Controlled fission: teaching supercharged subjects David Pace. College Teaching. Washington: Spring 2003, Vol 51, Iss. 2; p 42 [[9]] Those who teach subjects that explore controversial issues often find that students have difficulty think about and responding productively to them. Faculty have leeway in structuring learning to maximize the possibility of productive cirtical thinking. Pace suggests specific ways to shape classroom experiences before highly controversial matieral is encountered, to increase the likelihood that students will maintin higher mental functioning whene examining emotionallly charged topics. The article presents ten useful strategies for course design to facilitate quality discussion and thoughtful debate.
- Understanding and developing controversial issues in college courses [[10]] Brian K Payne, Randy R Gainey. College Teaching Washington:Spring 2003. Vol. 51, Iss. 2, p. 52 Discussing controversial issues in the classroom is one way college instructors can enhance students' abilities to think critically about the world around them. The authors discuss common controversial issues in different disciplines, such as the death penalty and drug legalization. They also suggest useful methods for encouraging enlightening discussions, such as verbal and physical cues, student-centered activities, and text selection.
- Guidelines for facilitating topical discussions, i.e. diversity, affermative action, katrina [[11]]
- Teach me, but don't disagree with me by Fisler and Foubert. Trying to create a respectful environment where students feel their perspectives will be heard, given current polarized politics and black-and-white thinking that prevails among traditional-age college students. [[12]] About Campus, Nov-Dec 2006.
- Specific Strategies to Extend and Refine Discussions From: http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/science/instr/scistratdiscuss.htm
Specifically for online discussions
Support specific skills for online groups:
- Help students identify and develop skills for good Netiquette. These include re-reading posts before sending them, since they don’t have the writer's smile or voice to make the tone clear. Set clear expectations, and/or provide guidelines such as Basic Netiquette for On-line classes by Deanna Molinari [[13]] and Netiquette, Guidelines for On-line Course Work by Molinari, Allen, Gass and Spuck[[14]]
Theoretical Underpinnings of Discussion
Social constructivism