Leading Effective Class Discussions
by Dr. Cynthia Haynes
Teaching rhetoric and writing involves sustaining a delicate balance among
a variety of activities, such as lecture, class discussion, and individual work
on the computers. When presenting material from the textbook related to methodologies,
strategies, and formal aspects of writing, it is usually more effective to do
mini-lectures in combination with question and answer sessions over the assigned
material. However, when students have read essays on topics that should yield
effective arguments and critical thinking, it is best to facilitate a class
discussion. It is important to engage as many students as possible when discussing
assigned readings or an open discussion about topics that arise during discussions.
Here are some useful tips for conducting class discussions.
Preparing students to read for discussion:
- Always explain at the beginning of the semester that you expect students
to be prepared for discussions and offer tips for how they can do that.
- Encourage students to make notes as they read and come to class with questions
and comments to contribute to the discussion.
- Let students know at the outset that their opinions matter.
- Explain the difference between offering opinions and using discussions for
grandstanding or destructive discourse. Let students know that hate language
and intolerance of other opinions will not be tolerated.
Before assigning readings to be discussed, explain what kinds of things to
be looking for while they read. Explain that these readings are meant to be
"studied," not just given a cursory quick read. It may mean re-reading
a text several times.
Preparing yourself for class discussions:
- Read the texts and make notes, formulate questions, and highlight important
passages.
- Set up a time frame for the discussion and estimate the time necessary for
specific segments of the discussion. Keep to this schedule in order to cover
all significant points.
- Be sure to re-read material that you have taught in previous semesters
in order to see the text with fresh eyes and to yield fresh insights for discussion.
Conducting the discussion:
- Open the discussion by placing the assigned reading into the context of
the aims of the course.
- Review any prior material that has a bearing on how this text needs to be
understood.
- Ask students if they have any questions prior to covering the text.
- Be sure to respond to each question and comment before moving on. Be supportive
and positive. Acknowledge student insights as well as their frustrations.
- Start discussion of the text with an initial question of your own. Be prepared
to use student responses as transition into the next segment of the text/discussion
you want to cover.
- Ask open-ended questions.
- At times, be sure to allow for spontaneous student insights to take the
discussion in a direction you had not expected.
- Then subtly lead the class back into the direction that your plans call
for.
- Try not to interrupt students. If students do not speak up, repeat or summarize
what they say, or ask them to speak up more.
As the discussion proceeds, stop periodically to recap and/or to place the
discussion into context.
If certain students dominate the discussion, ask others in the class to contribute
as well. Another tactic for showing domineering students how to take a back
seat is to ask the class how they respond to the students' comments and questions.
If students are non-responsive during discussion, do not assume they have not
read the material. Try to vary your questions. Offer initial answers to model
what kinds of points you hope to raise, then wait for students to answer.
Try not to fill the void of silence. Wait for students to answer. They will
come to understand that they are responsible for contributing to the discussion,
not waiting on you to give answers.
- Try to remain neutral when discussing controversial topics.
- Encourage constructive disagreement.
- Treat students equally.
Do not fall into the role of student in the discussion. Whether or not you
agree with students or not, and you may, you need to maintain the role of leader
of the discussion, not participant.
Write important points on the board as the discussion proceeds.
At some time you may want to conduct the discussion in Lingua MOO and record
it for students to have an archived record of their participation. After students
log in, direct them to small groups in separate MOO rooms. Students may also
link to the log of their MOO discussion in their LRO.
Ask students to write an observation in their LRO after discussions.
Wrap up the discussion by recapping important points and setting the discussion
into the context of the aims of the next class or a specific assignment.
End by asking if students have final questions.
Other Resource Links
Provided by:
Dr. Cynthia Haynes, who is the Director of Rhetoric and Writing at The University of Texas at Dallas. Her research interests are rhetoric, composition, electronic pedagogy, virtual systems theory, feminist theory, and critical theory. One of her main projects has been designing and teaching rhetoric and writing in synchronous multimedia learning environments (MOOs), and with Jan Rune Holmevik (University of Bergen, Norway) Cynthia co-founded LinguaMOO at UTD (1995). Their co-edited collection of essays, HIGH WIRED, is in its 2nd edition from University of Michigan Press. Their textbook, MOOniversity: A Student's Guide to Online Learning Environments, is available from Allyn & Bacon Publishing. She is currently working on a book manuscript, Beta Rhetoric: Writing, Technology, and Deconstruction (forthcoming from SUNY Press).