TCA Lectures Explain the structure of guided discussion method and the assessment procedure of classroom discussion. BEd

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Answer:

The guided discussion pedagogy is an active learning technique which offers many benefits to your students. Guided discussion exposes students to a variety of diverse perspectives, helps them recognize and investigate their assumptions, improves listening and conversation skills, fosters connection to a topic, and affirms students as co-creators of knowledge. As they participate in discussion, students situate new knowledge within the context of their current understandings, thus facilitating a more thorough understanding of the course material. Despite the many benefits, instructors are sometimes hesitant to start discussions because of its unpredictable aspect and its potential challenges. This worksheet offers basic tips and strategies on how to effectively plan and conduct classroom discussions, as well as prevent problem situations. Guided discussion, when used strategically and intentionally, can excite and engage students, fostering a deeper understanding of the content and its application to their lives.

A common challenge of guided discussion is involving all students and keeping all the student voices in balance. You may have one student that dominates the discussion, a select group that participates while the others remain silent, or a student who never contributes no matter how “inviting” the discussion. One way to foster active and equal engagement is to divide the class into groups. Three is an effective group size namely because it is small enough that students feel comfortable sharing and large enough that they feed off each others’ ideas. Whether or not you divide the class into groups, you can help discussion by creating a democratic culture in your classroom. Preface the discussion by saying “I really would like to hear from everyone on this issue, so let’s be careful that we keep our voices in balance”. Ask students to offer their insight into what makes for a good discussion. If a student begins to dominate, you could divert to others by saying “So Leslie has expressed her perspective on the issue, now let’s hear some other reactions”. For a student who under-contributes, you may ask the student to summarize the previous points, and ask “What is your perspective on the issue?” If the problem of the talkative student continues, however, speak to the student privately. Tell her that you really value and appreciate her contributions but need to be able e to hear from less participatory students as well.

Assessment procedure of classroom discussion:

Whole-class discussions can encourage students to learn from one another and to articulate course content in their own words. While generally not conducive to covering large amounts of content, the interactive dynamic of discussion can help students learn and motivate them to complete homework and to prepare for class. Leading discussions in which students contribute meaningfully requires a great deal of instructor forethought and creativity. The suggestions below can help you to facilitate good class discussions and improve your classroom climate, a piece of the Fearless Teaching Framework.

Devote a moment to communicating the value of discussion to your students. It may help to convey your rationale for discussion, perhaps deepening not only their sense of why they are expected to engage in active learning but also their engagement with the course.

Before Class

• Review lesson-related material, even if you have already mastered content. Extemporaneous recall can breed trouble.
• Plan. Write out more discussion questions than you think you will need before class begins, but don’t treat your questions like a to do list. Your questions should be a resource for you; they should not inhibit your students from taking the discussion in a productive direction.
• If students were assigned reading prior to a class meeting, plan to use the text. You may want to begin class with a short reading from the text and have discussion flow from that reading.

During Discussion

• Every student should have an opportunity to speak.
• Encourage students to look and talk to each other rather than to just look and talk to you. Too often “discussions” take the format of a dialogue between teacher and a series of students.
• Before the discussion starts, ask your students to take several minutes to write down everything they know about the topic of the discussion. This will prime them for the discussion.
• If possible, make the class space more conducive to discussion. Arrange seats in a circle or in a manner that enables students to see each other easily. Don’t let students sit in seats that are outside this discussion space.
• After asking a question, wait at least eight to ten seconds before calling on someone to answer it (measure the time by counting silently to yourself). Otherwise, you signal they need only wait a few seconds for the “right” answer to discussion questions.

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