How do I get students to participate in discussion?
One key to leading an effective discussion (no matter the class size) is to focus student attention on... Click for more
One key to leading an effective discussion (no matter the class size) is to focus student attention on a concrete task or activity, from which a discussion can emerge. Until students trust you, questions directed straight to them will intimidate all but the most extroverted of your students. Similarly, open questions thrown to the whole class will probably elicit responses only from these same bold students. Instead of a frontal attack, try a more subtle approach. For example: start by asking students to look at (depending on your discipline) a short scenario, paragraph, case, word problem, or document related to the targeted material and topic. In a history course, for example, you might ask students to look at a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to his generals, and ask students to consider how the letter's details confirm/conflict with what students already understand about this phase of the Civil War. In a chemistry course, show the students the set-up for a new experiment, and ask them to predict/guess at the outcome (ask them to draw the graph of the data that will be collected), and explain why. In these two examples the instructor has removed the focus from himself and turned it toward the question at hand. In general, students will be much more likely to participate in a discussion about something immediate and concrete, than about something that relies on pure recall from their reading. Once students are engaged with the task at hand, it will be much easier for them to recall the content of their reading assignments (because there is now a context), which can lead to deeper exploration of the issues. This technique can be enhanced by having students turn to a neighbor or group of neighbors and develop their answers together before participating in the public discussion. The chance to rehearse one's thinking with peers will greatly reduce the intimidation factor for students when the time comes to join the public discussion. For running a focused discussion in a small seminar, have a look at the video of Mike Salemi's "Interpretive Questioning" technique in the link below. It shows how to get students to process what they have read, by means of a structured sequence of questions. Click for less
