Submitted by Amber Engelson
Meta-discussion:
Most students have never experienced a discussion-based class at the university level, so making the expectations of academic discussions as explicit as possible is quite productive. I have students imagine the ideal conversation/ the awkward conversation (they can draw on their own experiences), and then we make a list of positive/negative attributes together. We then negotiate a set of “Discussion Parameters” as a class, talking about what kind of language we’ll use, what kind of signals to use if we want to intervene (raising hands? Eye contact?), and how to validate or show that we understand what someone else says before moving onto our own ideas, etc. As rudimentary as this sounds, it seems to build a sense of community, and a set of shared expectations for discussions.
Start with a writing/sharing warm up:
Remember, students are studying and attending several other classes in very different fields, so often they need time to switch to “College Writing” mode. To help them retrieve their ideas, I often have them do informal writing about specific parts they liked/marked up in the assigned essay to get their brains fired up. If they did reading responses as homework, I have them read their response to a peer so they remember what they wrote about.
Transitioning:
Often, because of students’ past educational experiences, first-year classroom discussions seem disjointed, teacher-centered (they look at you, not at each other, even if responding to a peer), and outright awkward. I both point to this awkwardness, and I teach them phrases such as “Although I agree with _______ in some respects, I want to add my own perspective…” or “I agree with________ about _______because…” or “To add to that…” or “You make a good point, ______, but what about_______?”. Although it seems very prescriptive, I have them use these “formulas” (and you can generate more ways to transition as a class) in our first discussions to teach them thoughtful ways of responding to each other in a cohesive, additive manner. I also give them nametags so they can call each other by name if at all possible. This discussion exercise can also transition into their writing and the ways they address authors—they start to view themselves as part of an academic community, rather than always viewing themselves as disconnected, agonistic individuals.
Questions:
Have students bring discussion questions to class and write them on the board, and let these dictate the directions the discussions will go. You can also have them write out answers to a couple of these questions as a “warm-up.” Rather than you telling them what’s important, let them do their own thinking and generating.
Silence is OK:
Remember, sometimes silence is productive: they’re thinking. Don’t interrupt silences; let them do that, and the discussions will be much more student-centered and generative. I think that just being quiet is really hard because we conflate “speaking up” with intelligence in the U.S. and silence with a lack of engagement. I point this out to students when discussing class participation, and we generate ways of participating and showing engagement without necessarily having to speak up—nodding, taking notes, eye contact with the speaker, etc.
