1. Effective classroom discussion and group work
Diana Marrs & Casey Applegate-Aguilar

2. Teaching students how to discuss
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3. Class discussion set up
Will you grade participation?
If important, Emphasize from day 1 (and have in your syllabus) (syllabus statement handout)
Give them key phrases to start a point (Reciprocal teaching handout and They say, I say)
Consider Write-share, or TPS if you have a quiet group
Create your questions in advance, have a purposeful direction

4. When to use discussion Examining attitudes, beliefs, values, behaviors
Exploring unfamiliar ideas
Critical thinking (analyzing, explaining deviations from expected results)
Problem solving (can be 1 correct answer, best answer, several possible answers)
Transferring knowledge to new situations
Retaining material
*bonus: student rating across all disciplines correspond positively w/ amount of discussion time

5. Discussion is not… Answering knowledge/remembering level questions
Answering comprehension/ understanding questions
*But! These can be a good way to get the discussion started.

6. Good discussion questions
Comparative (theories, research studies, literary works)
Evaluative (validity, effectiveness, strength)
Connective and causal effect (link facts, concepts, relationships, authors, theories not already linked in assigned materials, good cross-disciplinary)
Critical (validity of an argument, research claim, interpretation)
*extending the conversation – ask for more evidence “what else”, ask for clarification, ask “what-if”, ask for opinions on statements made

7. Avoid the Following… Trick questions
Inadequate wait time (less than 3-5 seconds)
Lectures disguised as questions
Sarcasm
Questions with obvious answers
Asking multiple questions before allowing response
Rhetorical questions
Yes or no questions

8. Setting up your questions
Work backward from outcomes. Know what you want students to be able to do/know at the end of the class.
Write a question that will allow students to demonstrate understanding of that outcome (not just recall of what you said)
Then write two or more questions that will build them up toward that critical question
Use Bloom’s taxonomy of questions to build toward more complex questions

9. Alternative discussion configuations
In groups – provide structure, like a handout that must be filled out. Then bring whole class back together and call on a spokesperson per group
Online – even in traditional classrooms – discussion board to be completed before next class – be sure to pull comments and use in class to further the discussion or highlight good points.

10. Final points Encourage and support engagement WAIT
Consider having students prepare summaries in advance, use notes during
When the answers are wrong
Avoid correcting the error yourself for as long as possible
Try to have the student explain or clarify
Ask other students to comment or add
Lead the student in “if that’s true, then what would happen to…” (be gentle!)
Facilitate – if multiple students are talking, just keep guiding it to your end goal
Sometimes it’s ok if things go off track for a few minutes

11. Group work set up How will you group students?
How will you grade the work produced?
What do you do with non-functioning team members (or how to prevent that)?
Have clear learning outcomes and expected product

12. Assigning personal responsibility
All members must sign off on final product
Give group and individual quizzes
Allocate essential resources or pieces of information across group members (material interdependence)
Randomly select students to speak fo rtheir group
Assign group members different roles (recorder, spokesperson, researcher, summarizer, checker, organizer, writer, timekeeper, conflict resolver
Students co-present results as a presentation

13. Dealing with common issues
Allow teams to “fire” non-participants (after verbal and then written warning)
Allow overburdened member to “resign” from a team and join another group
Include peer performance evaluation as part of the grade
Teach conflict resolution strategies
Have students individually summarize their own participation (how many meetings did I attend, how well prepared was I, how well did I listen and include team member ideas, did I fulfil my assigned role, how did I handle disagreements)

14. Group activities
Paired problem solving (each student takes a turn leading through a problem)
After a lecture or video, students complete a worksheet, then take a quiz – students receive individual quiz grade and extra credit for overall group grade
Jigsaw
Controversy – divide group of 4 into pairs, each pair takes a side, prepares arguments and then regroups. Each individual then writes a summary of both sides of the argument
Group investigation followed by presentation (demonstration, product, video, play)
Talking chips – each member receives the same number of “tokens”. Each time they speak, they have to put a token in the middle. Once their tokens are gone, they cannot speak until all tokens are used