Class Discussion

The following resources are online or available at Pickler Memorial Library.

Brookfield, Stephen D.; Preskill, Stephen.  "Strategies for reporting small group discussions to the class."  College Teaching 47 (Fall 1999) 140-142.  Link to article.
Suggests five activities for the college classroom to stimulate discussion when students report results of small-group discussions to the class as a whole. The activities "newsprint dialogue", rotating small-group stations, "snowballing," "cocktail party," and "jigsaw" stress maximum student participation, interaction, and intellectual engagement.

Casein, William E.  Answering and asking questions. IDEA Paper No. 31. Manhattan, KS: Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development in Higher Education, 1995.  ERIC Document.  Link to article (pdf)
This paper focuses on the answering and asking of questions in college-level courses and makes suggestions regarding questioning techniques for lecture classes and discussion groups. "Question" (Q) id defined as "any eliciting of an answer (response) regardless of grammatical form. "Answer" (A) is defined as "any response that fulfills the expectation of the question. "Reaction" (R) is defined as "any response that modifies (clarifies, expands) or rates (positively or negatively) a previous statement (question, answer, or another reaction)." It is pointed out that instructors experience difficulty in handling pauses and silence after posing a question, and it is recommended that instructors wait for a response. It is emphasized that it is desirable for an instructor to create a classroom atmosphere that welcomes questions from students. This atmosphere can be evoked by the teacher's asking for questions, listening to the student's questions adequately and answering the questions without belittling the students.

Cooper, James L.; Robinson, Pamela.  "Getting started: informal small-group strategies in large classes." in Strategies for Energizing Large Classes.  New Directions for Teaching and Learning 81 (Spring 2000), 17-24.  General Collection: LB 1032 S77 2000
Describes a number of informal "turn-to-your-neighbor" approaches that create an active learning environment in college lecture settings.  These include: launching class in discussion, breaking up the lecture for comprehension checks, closing class with small group conversation, and debriefing exams.

Dietz-Uhler, Beth; Bishop-Clark, Cathy.  The use of computer-mediated communication to enhance subsequent face-to-face discussions.  Computers in Human Behavior 17 (May 2001) 269-283.  Periodicals BF 39.5 C663
Describes a study of undergraduate students that assessed the effects of synchronous (Internet chat) and asynchronous (Internet discussion board) computer-mediated communication on subsequent face-to-face discussions.  Results showed that face-to-face discussions preceded by computer-mediated communication were perceived to be more enjoyable.

Neff, Rose Ann; Weimer, Maryellen.  Classroom communication: Collected readings for effective discussion and questioning.  Madison, WI: Magna Publications, 1989.  General Collection: LB2331 C52 1989
This collection is intended to help teachers encourage active learning by involving students in classroom learning and to encourage teachers to cultivate critical thinking through thought-provoking questions.  The readings include: (1) "The Dreaded Discussion: Ten Ways to Start" (Peter Frederick); (2) "Classroom Structures Which Encourage Student Discussion" (William H. Bergquist and Steven R. Phillips); (3) "Teaching Using Discussion" (William Ewens); (4) "Improving Discussions" (William E. Cashin and Philip C. McKnight);  (5) "Grading Seminar Performance" (Edward G. Clarke); (6) "Designing Discussions as Group Inquiry" (John H. Clarke); (7) "Learning to Question" (Ralph Weimer); (8) "Questioning in the College Classroom" (Robert T. Hyman); and (9) "Planning Questions" (Stephanie Goodwin and others).  Chapters include questions for reflection and action.

Nunn, Claudia E.  "Discussion in the college classroom."  Journal of Higher Education. 67 (May/June 1996) 243.  Link to article.
Offers a look at student participation in classroom discussions.  Advise offered by master teachers for stimulating participation.

Reynolds, Katherine C.; Nunn, Claudia E.  "Engaging freshmen in classroom discussion: Interaction and the instructor techniques that encourage it." Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition 10:2 (1998): 7-24.  Periodicals LB 2343.32 J683
Reports research on the relationship between student interaction in freshman seminar courses and instructor techniques and interaction.  Results indicate that freshman differ significantly from upperclassmen and differ somewhat from their instructors when reporting effects of certain teaching techniques on classroom participation.  Students and instructors reported higher levels of interaction in freshman seminars than in other classes.

Tai-Seale, Thomas; Thompson, Samuel B.  "Assigned conversations."  College Teaching 48:1 (Winter 2000) 15-18.  Link to article.
Describes "assigned conversations", a technique for inducing focused study of reading assignments outside of class by using them to structure cooperative learning in class.  Individual students take responsibility for leading a class conversation about a portion of text.  Application with both large and small classes indicated the method increases students' preparation for class, their active participation, and the amount learned.

Compiled by Carol Lockhart
Pickler Memorial Library