Into the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Starting Student Teaching

Chapter 11: Discussions and Interactive Teaching

Chapter 11 Discussions and Interactive Teaching Students arrive in the classroom with a wide variety of life experiences that can enrich your class. You can structure these experiences into your lessons through discussions in which students provide the real-life interpretation of concepts you present. These discussions can take a variety of forms. Large-group discussions involve the whole class; small-group discussions involve two to six students. Discussions can be teacher led, student led, or interactive. Choose the form that suits your lesson, your teaching style, and the needs of your students. The traditional discussionisteacherled.Theteacherasksaquestion,anda student answers it. Next, the teacher comments on the student’s answer; then, another student is called on to add to the discussion. The verbal action alternates between students and teacher. The teacher stays in overt control of the discussion. This typeofdiscussionisgood fortrainingyourstudentstoparticipate in discussions or dealing with sensitive topics that may become volatile. At the university level, I prefer that my students learn to discuss matters among themselves rather than through me. Getting to that point with a secondary class, however, takes a lot of effort on the part of the teacher. Ideally, a discussion will flow from the teacher to the students and then among the students. The teacher observes the discussion constantly, stepping in occasionally to redirect or summarize. Though the teacher appears less active , s/he is busy monitoring the discussion, making a list of points that students make (and comparing it to the list of points included in the lesson plan), foreseeing potential difficulty, thinking of examples or related research, and formulating a summary. Is it not amazing how calm teachers appear while undertaking all this mental activity? A discussion requires preparation, as do other instructional methods. Discussion can be built around a list of questions, a problem to solve, a plan to be made, or an activity to be completed. All of these should require verbal 98 Classroom Instruction interchange among group members. Like other assignments, discussions should have teaching objectives. To prepare a lesson plan for a discussion, first write the objectives, then create a list of questions that will help reach the objectives . Next, write a list of all the concepts, ideas, or facts that you want to result from the discussion. Finally, select a method of closure for the discussion. In your lesson plan, estimate the amount of time your students need to complete the lesson. Keep track of time, because it tends to slip away during lively discussions. (See sidebar 11.1.) To prepare students for small-group discussions, the teacher describes the assignment and divides the class into groups. Consider making the discussion assignment first, perhaps by writing it on the board and then creating the groups. Sometimes students are too busy thinking about moving into their groups to remember the assignment. Then, when their group is settled, they Sidebar 11.1 Tips for Good Discussions (1) Let everyone have a chance to speak. Prevent the loquacious and verbally quick students from monopolizing the discussion or overwhelming the quiet students. (2) Address all comments to the entire group by projecting your voice and by using eye contact with students in many locations around the room. Do not let the discussion between you and a student or between two students drift toward a private conversation. (3) Ask students to speak loudly enough for the entire class to hear. Do not repeat student comments. (4) Students should take notes on the discussion. Unfortunately, students come to class with the impression that they only take notes on what the teacher says. Students need to know that they can learn from their peers, which is as valuable as learning from the teacher. (5) Discussions, like lectures and other instructional methods, need summaries . You can summarize the major points of the discussion or let the students do it. Requesting that students summarize the discussion from their notes will be incentive to take notes. (6) Displays of temper or name calling have no place in a discussion. Students who get angry or call other participants unflattering names lose the privilege of participating. Discussions and Interactive Teaching 99 fall into conversation because they lack an assignment. A written assignment prevents such a waste of class time. Purposefully changing the composition of small groups frequently during a semester allows students to hear a variety of viewpoints. When assigning groups, make sure to mix students in terms of...