Part One:
Beginning to Teach
"The
Nine and a Half Commandments of Good Teaching"
"Lecturing:
Using a Much Maligned Method of Teaching"
"Teaching
by Lecture"
"On
Discussion Teaching"
 The
Profession of Teaching
"What
Little I Think I Know About Teaching"
"The
Necessary Lie: Duplicity in the Disciplines"
The
College Curriculum
The
Academic Advisers
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Discussion Teaching
Like an effective lecture, an effective discussion has a beginning, a
middle, and an end that are all controlled by the agenda for a particular
session. An effective discussion, like an effective lecture, moves toward
one or two major points. Unlike the lecture, however, this process is
not controlled by one individual presentation. Rather, the discussion
leader must walk a fine line between controlling the group and letting
its members speak. The most common pitfalls in a discussion—all exacerbated
by lack of organization and clearly defined goals—are overly long
digressions, pointless arguments, or no real discussion at all. The advantage
of the discussion is that it provides an opportunity for the members of
the class to work actively with the ideas and the concepts that are being
pursued.
Fostering effective discussion is difficult; sometimes even experienced
faculty fail to get certain combinations of personalities to enter into
discussion. How authoritarian and explicitly directive you will want to
be will vary according to your own individual style and your class, but
underlying this sometimes overt and sometimes covert control are two principles.
First, effective discussion leaders know their students. They know which
students have which skills and perspectives and will often use this information
to decide whom to call on to keep, or get, the discussion moving in the
appropriate direction. Second, a good discussion leader never operates
without some kind of a general plan. Occasionally, as a result of the
comments or questions your students raise in class, you may find it necessary
to adjust or alter your objectives in the midst of a discussion, but,
without a general plan at the outset, it is difficult to make such on-line
decisions responsibly.
Discussion sessions can be an extremely effective means of changing behavior
or attitudes. Consequently, they occur frequently in instructional situations
in which the goal is to develop problem-solving or critical thinking skills.
Because information is transmitted more slowly via discussion than via
lecture, discussion sessions are most suited to low-consensus fields.
However, even in fields in which consensus about important information
is high—for example, mathematics—there will inevitably be moments
when having knowledge and some control of the discussion method of teaching
will be helpful.
James Redfield presented the original version of the next reading at
one of the CTP's spring 1988 Conversations on Teaching. While committing
the local heresy of only giving two cheers for discussion teaching, Redfield
provides some useful insights into the history of discussion teaching
at the University of Chicago and also makes a number of provocative points
about this method of instruction. Here and elsewhere, discussion teaching
is generally regarded by many as a loftier and freer expression of the
art of teaching than is lecturing, but Redfield argues with this common
perception and examines some the hidden dynamics that underlie discussion
teaching. His may not be the dominant view, but it is one that should
provoke healthy debate and self-reflection.
"On Discussion Teaching"
by James Redfield
As they prepare to engage in discussion teaching, most beginning teachers
are well aware that getting students to talk can be problematic. In fact,
when asked about their greatest fears prior to entering the classroom,
many will articulate concerns about how to keep the discussion moving
and on track. To be truly effective, each discussion session must also
work within the course as a whole. One way to provide that context is,
before each class, to assign specific tasks such as study questions to
provide a common ground for the discussion and focus the students on the
goals of the course. Another method is to introduce the topic for the
day at the start of class and to list the subareas that should be covered,
but, as many beginning teachers rightly anticipate, supplying this information
may not be enough. The following sections respond to questions teachers
raise about the typical problems they encounter in discussion teaching.
How can I be sure the students will talk at all?—In
large part, you control the progress of a discussion by controlling the
kinds of questions you pose before and during the session. For example,
when you want to generate some real debate, then the questions you pose
should offer a genuine starting point for debate. More commonly, however,
most discussion leaders simply want to get people talking about the topic
at hand, assuming heated debate will come later. Perhaps the most straightforward
method of encouraging participation from as many people as possible is
to ask questions with multiple rather than single answers. For example,
instead of asking, "Why is the ending of Wuthering Heights a good
one?" you could ask, "What are other ways in which Emily Brontë might
have ended Wuthering Heights?"
Similarly, at the beginning of a discussion session you might simply
ask students open-ended questions such as, What did you think about a
particular chapter (or article or whatever)? The actual structure of these
open-ended and multiple-answer questions will vary somewhat depending
on the task at hand, but they have several advantages. First, they decrease
the odds that you will be met with silence once you have finished asking
your question. Second, because they encourage multiple viewpoints, they
also lessen the problem of having the brightest—or most vocal—student
in the class answer and dispose of the question straight away, thereby
resolving the problem from which you hoped to develop a discussion. Finally,
if you record these multiple responses on the blackboard, they can provide
the beginnings of further topics for discussion; students will commonly
participate more freely in discussions when they feel their own concerns
and ideas have contributed to the agenda.
Are there other things I can do to keep students talking?—In
addition to posing the right kind of question, the teacher must send clear
signals about the kind of exchange that is desired. In other words, once
you pose a question that asks for real debate, you must pause long enough
for someone to pick it up—not necessarily the first person who raises
a hand. If you must do so, look away from the class and count to sixty,
slowly, before calling on anyone. Rapid reward for answering promotes
the programmed answer even to an opinion question; students will provide
the answer you have already programmed into the course. If silence follows
after the first person presents an opinion, you must pose follow-up questions,
such as, How do the rest of you feel about it? You must make it clear
that the students should listen to each other and not just to you. Not
waiting after posing a question is one of the most frequent errors many
beginning teachers make.
Beginning teachers make another common error when they fail to repeat
students' inaudible questions and answers, an error that is especially
problematic in classrooms in which the students all face the front of
the room. A good rule is to repeat the correct portions of all comments—either
questions or answers—made by a student. Restate complex or inaudible
questions posed by students for the whole class. Pursue the topic with
the first student by asking for clarification or elaboration, by requiring
more analysis (e.g., What are the reasons for thinking this? and What
is the opposition to this point?), or by refocusing the discussion by
asking, "If this is true, then what are the implications for . . .?" Show
attention yourself by building on a student's point, by withholding judgment
until you have several responses, or by listing the multiple responses
on the board and asking the students to regroup.
Despite this attention to student input, however, students do expect
the teacher to control the discussion. When it is time to move on to another
of the subareas of the topic that you want to cover, ask for a summary,
or summarize yourself before moving ahead. When tangents develop, make
the connection to the main topic or the subarea as defined on the board.
In other words, at transition points, remind the students of your goals
and their responses.
Another approach to getting active participation is to make it
clear from the onset that you will call on those students who do not volunteer.
However, depending on how you handle the responses they give you, just
calling on students can have a stifling effect, especially for the more
reticent members of the group. If students are off track when you call
on them, try to extract those aspects of their responses that were correct
and then ask a more directive question. Simply negating a student's response
and turning to another student with exactly the same question generally
does not help to maintain active participation by all students.
Are there types of questions I should avoid using?—With
a few exceptions, no. Every form of question has its purposes, but, before
you can know whether the question you asked was the wrong one, you may
need to give some thought both to the objectives you had in mind when
you asked the question and to what kind of dynamic that particular type
of question establishes. For example, if you ask the question, Does everyone
see how the uses of sexual passion in these two works differ? you may
not get much of a response from your students other than a few nods. If
this question is meant to summarize a discussion you have just had, why
not ask, "Would someone please summarize the major differences between
the uses of sexual passion in these two works?"
The opposite case—that of asking too many questions with real answers
at once—can be equally problematic but generally has a great deal
more potential. It is fairly common to hear teacher ask a string of questions
such as, What is Faulkner doing here? How does he use Addie's death? Did
she have to die? What is the result of her death? If you don't provide
your students with any explanation as to why you have posed so many different
questions, they may not respond simply because they do not know which
question to answer. Generally speaking, teachers use these strings of
questions when they realize they have asked a question that is currently
beyond the reach of the class. They then try to break that question down
into the subordinate questions that can be used to solve the original
question. When you find yourself doing this, the simplest solution is
to let your student know how each question is related to the others.
The only type of question you should avoid because of the debilitating
effect it can have on classroom dynamics is that which effectively act
as a put-down to your students. For example, the questions, Who can reword
her answer the way you think I would say it? and Anybody so confident
in his answer that he wants to put it on the board? have an off-putting
quality to them that is unlikely to foster healthy exchanges in the classroom.
In general, however, most questions have their uses. The important thing
is to determine which kind of information and dynamic you are really hoping
to establish and then to look at how you have framed a particular question.
Nearly every question can be recast for a different effect.
What should I do if I lose control of the discussion?—When
beginning teachers raise this question, they usually are thinking about
one of two classroom situations. The first of these involves the highly
vocal student who dominates a group, a situation that is dealt with in
some detail in the later section about coping with problem students. The
other situation is somewhat more benign and involves something akin to
digression en masse. In this situation, the entire class appears to have
a goal for the discussion that bears no relation to the one you intended
or stated at the beginning of the class.
When this happens, it may be a good idea to listen for a while until
you have some idea why they might have settled on their own set of issues
rather than accepting the ones you intended. Once you have some idea of
what their implicit agenda might be, try to summarize the key points that
have been made. If it seems appropriate, you could then ask the group
to connect their points for debate with those you originally made. If
they are unable to do so, you now have important information that will
help you to plan subsequent sessions or alter the course of the present
one.
In other words, when a discussion continues to go off in unplanned directions,
it may be because the students simply do not have enough information to
engage in the discussion you intended. Because they cannot answer your
questions, they end up by answering their own. Try to determine whether
there is information you could have supplied them first—that is,
via a small lecture—that would allow the discussion to continue in
a more fruitful direction. Is the topic at hand too controversial for
them to deal with objectively? Are there ways you could limit it to make
it less volatile? Sometimes, finding out what your students are thinking
and how they will respond to a given question is more important than momentary
control. However, you should try to reassert your authority by the end
of the class, which is essentially what you accomplish when you summarize
the points they have made and connect them to the original questions posed
at the beginning of the class.
How can I improve my discussions?—In general, discussions
have the potential to provide you with immediate feedback about how successful
they were. If your students were all engaged in healthy debate over the
proper topics at the designated times, it was a good discussion. Even
if you generally have good discussions in a particular group, it is often
useful to determine why or how you might have changed its course. As is
true of lectures, the most obvious way to improve your lectures is to
get objective feedback about what you are now doing. Ask someone to sit
in on your class. Take a tape recorder to class. Get as much feedback
as possible, ideally from a number of different people. (See also Getting
feedback from others, below.)
Which is the best way to prepare for a discussion?—As
is true of the lecture, there are many approaches to preparing a discussion.
Here again, the following set of questions should help you get started
as you are preparing the questions that will form the basis of a particular
discussion.
Questions to Have in Mind: Discussion Teaching
- If my students leave this discussion with one or two key ideas
or insights, what would they be?
- Who are my students? What can I assume with absolute certainty
that they know? What evidence do I have for these assumptions? What
misconceptions are they likely to have about the topic? What misconceptions
are they likely to have about what is expected of them in the class?
- How did I arrive at the ideas I am trying to convey?
- How important is it that we achieve consensus? Do I have any points
on which consensus is imperative?
- On which points will I be most tolerant of divergent viewpoints?
- With which kind of group process am I most comfortable? Do I want
to control the whole agenda, or is it reasonable that the students should
be active in setting part of it? Do I plan to take attendance? Do I
plan to call on my students? If I do not plan to call on students, do
I have an alternative plan for encouraging participation from the whole
group? How will I handle digressions?
- What kinds of digressions are likely? How might I make them work
for the goals of this session?
- How does this class session fit in with the last class discussion?
With subsequent ones? With the course as a whole?
- Are there parts of this class that would be better served by the
lecture format?
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