3 Fostering discussion
Why this works
This set of activities encourages students to talk to their peers and/or with you, the instructor. Discussion is a fundamental method through which learners connect material and build meaning. Engaged in discussion, students practice articulating and combining concepts, explain using metaphors, and call up previous knowledge to defend their claims, to name just a few of the mnemonic mechanisms at play.
This set of activities encourages students to talk to their peers and/or with you, the instructor. Discussion is a fundamental method through which learners connect material and build meaning. Engaged in discussion, students practice articulating and combining concepts, explain using metaphors, and call up previous knowledge to defend their claims, to name just a few of the mnemonic mechanisms at play.
Group Formation
Break students into novel groups based on their responses to a question.
- Create a multiple-choice question that is opinion-based but somewhat related to course content, e.g., “What continent would you most like to travel to?” for a political science, geography, or geology class.
- Display the results, and ask students to move into different areas of the classroom based on their responses to work on whatever tasks you’ll be assigning.
Grading
none
Truly Anonymous Participation
Facilitate anonymous interactions with students. When student responses are set to be anonymous, they cannot be de-anonymized.
- Create a Discussion question: “What was one thing that you did not understand from [today’s class, the reading homework, etc.]?”
- Under Response Options select “Participants are anonymous to” Everyone.
- Suggest students also upvote (thumbs up) questions that they think are most important.
- Address the questions…
- immediately if you asked at the beginning of class, or
- at the beginning of the next class if you asked at the end of class.
Grading
Ungraded. Anonymous Discussions cannot be assigned points.
Ongoing Q&A
Provide a mechanism for students to ask questions throughout the class session.
- Create a Discussion question at the beginning of your presentation.
- If you allow students to see each others’ responses, they can upvote questions others have posted.
- Decide if student questions will be anonymous.
- Start the Discussion at the beginning of class and leave it open for responses throughout.
- Revisit the Discussion at selected points in class to check for common questions and address them.
Grading
Ungraded due to elective nature.