1-Activity 10- Promoting Discussion

Discussions must be meaningful and properly organised by the teacher or groups of students in order for them to be effective. It is important to think about what kinds of questions to ask, of whom and at what point in the discussion.  We must allow our students to feel comfortable and at ease when they are sharing ideas and we must not rush them off into finishing their view point but allow them the necessary time to do so. We must most importantly, learn the names of our students so that we can help to motivate them. Four characteristics of good discussions are 1. they are prepared in advance 2. are purposefully led, 3. are assessed, and 4. lead to more discussions.

Please read the following quote by C. Roland (“Chris”) Christensen, who pioneered teaching by the case method and taught at the Harvard Business School for 50 years: "Effective preparation for discussion classes takes more time, because instructors must consider not only what they will teach, but also who and how. And the classroom encounter consumes a great deal of energy; simultaneous attention to process (the flow of activities that make up a discussion) and content (the material discussed) requires emotional as well as intellectual engagement. . . . The discussion teacher is planner, host, moderator, devil’s advocate, fellow-student, and judge-a potentially confusing set of roles. Even the most seasoned group leader must be content with uncertainty, because discussion teaching is the art of managing spontaneity."