QUESTION: I have a tough time getting students to discuss in class. What effective classroom discussion strategies would you suggest trying?
ANSWER:
There are many reasons students resist participating in class discussion, and I imagine nearly every faculty member has met with some level of challenge on this topic. The first step towards impacting the effectiveness of classroom discussion is to define what we mean by the word “effective”. We need to identify our learning goals in the discussion activity and know what we consider a successful discussion. To be a useful learning tool, discussion must take students to a higher level of processing information, not just memorizing the text. Students must engage in an activity involving evaluating, applying, or problem solving information for greater understanding to occur. Discussion is a great way to practice what they are attempting to learn (and what we are attempting to teach!).
“Classroom discussion” can incorporate a number of approaches. Discussion can occur between two students or a classroom of 200 and still be effective. Careful planning of the learning process is the key. Facilitating effective discussion in the classroom depends in large part on your course goals, your students, and your comfort level with activities. Consider the following list of ideas:
