tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post92298483290624084..comments2024-03-14T04:16:20.472-07:00Comments on In Socrates' Wake: ‘On Course’, Part 5: In the Classroom: DiscussionsMichael Cholbihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-15381942167195344052008-12-06T14:20:00.000-08:002008-12-06T14:20:00.000-08:00"The more talking the more people do the earlier i..."The more talking the more people do the earlier in the course, the more likely the trend will continue."<BR/><BR/>I think this is the most important thing that could be said about classroom discussion, and it is something I'm going to pay more attention to in the future. While I've certainly noticed the trend--that courses where no one talks rarely improve with time and courses where students talk early often become great by the end of the semester--I suspect I haven't paid as much attention as I could have on new strategies to get that ball rolling.<BR/><BR/>I know that the next time I'm at the front of a classroom, I will be using the strategy of beginning the class with a five-minute open-book writing task on the topic of the day. (Lang suggests ten minutes. Does that seem excessive to anyone else?) I think this would get the less-prepared students to at least have <I>glanced</I> at the reading assignment before the discussion starts, giving them at least a <I>possible</I> meaningful contribution to make.Kevin Schuttehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04562007179161022792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-7990517050633350872008-11-28T07:50:00.000-08:002008-11-28T07:50:00.000-08:00I have used class discussions for many years now w...I have used class discussions for many years now with varying degrees of success. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they do not. The major reasons for failure is that 1) I do not prepare the groundwork for the discussion well enough and/or 2) students come to class ill prepared. To minimize these problems I have students write a weekly short paper (1-2) pages) dealing with a specific topic associated with the readings that I use as the focal point of class/group discussion and/or give an in-class assignment also on a specific topic. These in-class assignment are either done individually and then in conjunction with another student where they compare what they have written and try to arrive at a consensus if there is disagreement or in small groups that are assigned to bring out issues associated with the topic and offer possible solutions. I have found much better participation when I take the time to prepare students for the discussion.<BR/><BR/>As far as grading participation, I simply subtract points if students are not present. My belief is that people will participate but only if they are in class. If I notice that someone is not actively involved in a group discussion I will choose him or her to start the discussion when we get back into the larger group. I also select students at random to discuss their responses, so no one knows who is going to be asked to talk. I am not opposed to embarrassing students to get them involved. It works!John Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388418182862297211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-15097180802891202422008-11-28T00:46:00.000-08:002008-11-28T00:46:00.000-08:00Good summary Nathan.I'm not keen on debates either...Good summary Nathan.<BR/><BR/>I'm not keen on debates either. In addition to the false black/white dichotomy you mention, I've found them to be logistically challenging (it's tough to get 40 students involved in a debate) and the same students who are most voluble in typical class meetings are most active in debates.<BR/><BR/>I should give in-class writing assignments more of a try. I like the idea of having people read their responses aloud. I wonder if an interesting (and useful) side effect of this is that students who've come to class having read and thought about the material will produce stronger responses, which might light a fire under those who are less prepared. I'd love to hear more specifics about the kinds of in-class writing people do.<BR/><BR/>I'll close this comment echoing a question I offered before about students learning from lecture: Do students know how to learn from discussion? I have doubts here as well. Students almost invariably say they want plenty of "discussion," but what many of them want from it is not what we want from it. They want something that they think they can be involved in with little preparation, that's more social and interactive, etc. I gather what we instructors want is discussion that is focused, guided, and informed. So I'm not sure students have a picture of what a genuinely philosophical discussion is supposed to be. And as with lecturing, most students don't seem to take very good notes. I've noticed students often put their pens down when they see that a "discussion" is breaking out! Many of the same students are later flummoxed on exams and papers when questions are asked that relate to previous in-class discussion.Michael Cholbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-78173341394978025782008-11-27T14:48:00.000-08:002008-11-27T14:48:00.000-08:00I believe that something crucial has been missed i...I believe that something crucial has been missed in respect to why it is often hard to start up discussions and keep students engaged and active in these discussions. They just don't do the readings. What I've found is that in courses where I set weekly assignments based on the readings the class participation increases greatly.<BR/><BR/>The way I've often done it is to have them prepare an answer to a question aimed to focus them on a certain passage from the reading and then just give them 1% if they've done it. <BR/><BR/>In other courses I've found the in-class writing assignments (always open book) to also be very helpful in facilitating discussion and it is my favourite method to use, however, I do worry that it eats up valuable "lecture" time, and therefore have come to prefer having my students prepare a writing assignment before class - but, this does have the effect that some students decide they can't be bothered to do them and are fine with losing 10-11% (as there are usually 10-11 weeks of class).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com