POSHAI MAXWELL 2013/474

PERSONALNOTES
DISCUSSIONS AS A TEACHING METHOD

When I was interning, a teacher whom I respected said that discussions were a pooling of
ignorance. If students know nothing (or very little) about a topic, why would we ask them to
discuss this topic? A better question, though, is: why (even if students know about a topic)
would we have students discuss? Keep these questions top most in your mind whenever you
plan a lesson which involves student participation.

What do I mean by discussion? To me, a discussion involves the written or oral expression
of different points of view. If I ask you to discuss on an exam, I want you to represent
different points of view, and then come to a conclusion which you have justified. If you say
you will “discuss” in your teaching of a class, then I expect that the students will be
representing different points of view in that class time.

What kinds of objectives would you have your students discuss? A discussion could be
used for any objective which involves justifying an opinion from defining what is a living
organism to whether we should label genetically modified organisms. Note that for the first,
your students are likely to have sufficient background knowledge to discuss the answer. For
the second, you had better ensure your students have learned the different kinds of genetically
modified organisms; otherwise you will have the worst of “pooling of ignorance”.

Why would you have students discuss?

 Even if your students have little formal background in a topic, a discussion can be a
good start for a unit. This is because you will learn whether your students have
opinions, and what those opinions are. If you are teaching consistent with
constructivist learning theory, you need to know what students are thinking before
you begin the unit, so that you know where you need to target your teaching.
 Further, a discussion from a point of ignorance can get students interested in the topic.
They will have expressed their opinion on the topic, and will more actively search for
information to support their opinion. Thus, a discussion can be a good motivator at the
beginning of a unit.
 A discussion in the middle of a unit can be a way to assess student understanding of
the topic. Who participated? What did those students say? Did their comments
express understanding of the topic? What concepts need to be re-taught or addressed
in a different way to ensure students construct the appropriate information?
1
POSHAI MAXWELL 2013/474
PERSONALNOTES
 Another reason for having students get involved in a discussion is that students
remember information that came out in a discussion. They are much more likely to
remember than if they watched a video of “informed” people having a discussion, and
much more likely to remember than if they had just read the information.

Why would you not have students discuss?

 People (not just student’s we find this with scientists as well) who state their opinions
in a public space are less likely to change their opinions later. If you want your
students to come up with a particular idea, a particular opinion, then you are better not
to start with a discussion. After all, according to constructivist learning theory,
learning means changing. And, also according to constructivist learning theory,
changing is hard emotionally and psychologically.

How to teach using discussions:

 Select a question which is focused enough that students can make a start to answer it.
The question should be an upper level kind of question (Bloom’s taxonomy), and
should be divergent have more than one answer possible.
 Create an atmosphere (by modeling, by teaching, by enforcing) which is friendly,
where different opinions are expected, but respectfully presented. This takes time.
 Students are more likely to engage in discussion when they have some background in
the topic.
 Have regular discussions so students learn how to get involved.
 Be clear about the rules for involvement. How does a new person get to speak? You
might suggest that a new speaker should start to interrupt, then back off; the person
who is speaking should then wind up what s/he is saying, so the interrupted can talk.
At faculty meetings, we raise our hands, and the chair of the meeting takes us in turn.
Some discussions involve passing the feather, and the person holding the feather may
talk. Some discussions involve the next speaker standing up, and staying up until s/he
has finished speaking.
 Ensure that your students have sufficient background knowledge on the topic to get
involved.

2
POSHAI MAXWELL 2013/474
PERSONALNOTES
 Be the moderator of the first few discussions as your students learn proper protocol.
Then teach your students how to moderate a discussion, and have different students
take turns being moderators.
 Decide on what your role will be. Are you going to get involved? To what degree? If
you decide to be involved as much as the students, play by the same rules. Do not
dominate!
 Invite students to get involved. In the first discussion, I make a cross, then an X so
that I am getting students from different geographical locations in the classroom. I
also invite students of different genders and cultural groups. Students who are invited
to speak might not speak when they are first invited, but they are much more likely to
get involved later.
 If you notice that girls are talking and no boys are, invite your most outspoken boy to
get involved. If he declines, tell him you will come back in a few minutes and ask him
the same question. If you notice that no aboriginal students are involved, assess the
situation just as you did above. Choose your most outspoken aboriginal student and
invite that person. A better method is to have the students work in small groups first,
and have each group prepare an answer / opinion to the discussion question, and the
group should delegate one of their members to present. If you break your groups up
into gender or cultural groups, you will have students of different genders and cultures
speaking.

 To summarize or assess student learning:

 On topical issues, I sometimes have students write a letter to the editor, giving their
opinion, then justifying it
 If you have had the discussion at the beginning of the unit, you could have students
list some topics they need more information on to make a proper decision. Then you
can set up lessons or assignments incorporating their suggestions.
 You could have two or three students summarize the discussion results, each one
summarizing a different point of view. Ideally, you would assign a student who had
expressed a different point of view during the discuss.