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It’s important to remember that effective classroom discussions are rarely a matter of serendipity or happenstance. Yes, there are those occasions when the reading assignment aligns with a hot issue of the day and things that students are concerned about, but more often effective discussions happen because you, as the faculty member, prepare and structure your course in such a way to facilitate that effective discussion happening.
A second thing to remember is that we tend to think of discussion as a group of 15 students and a faculty member sitting around a conference table and talking about the reading assignment. And that’s a wonderful format for discussion and it’s a real privilege if you can do that, but it’s not the only way in which discussion occurs in the college classroom.
Discussion can be in a dyad, two students talking to each other. Discussion can be small groups of students interacting. And discussion can be a entire class discussion with the faculty member sort of orchestrating the conversation among all the students in the class at the same time.
Research has demonstrated that students who are actively engaged in the classroom learn more and develop better critical thinking skills than students who remain relatively passive in the classroom. Discussion is the pedagogical strategy most favoured by educators to actively engage students in their learning. But we can fall into the trap of thinking that effective discussion is a matter of serendipity or happenstance, when rarely this is the case. Effective discussion occurs when instructors plan and structure their courses to facilitate student engagement in discussion and strategies to overcome associated challenges.
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Understand the key research findings that underpin effective classroom discussion;
- Identify challenges associated with using discussion as a pedagogical tool;
- Make use of three strategies for overcoming those challenges.
Discussions
Why do you use discussion in your teaching? What specific role do you think it plays in contributing to the learning and development of your students?
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.