Using Twitter to Facilitate Classroom Discussions
As a history major I usually found most of my history courses pretty interesting. Certainly some were more interesting than others but I think that had more to do with the instructor than the content....
View ArticleTop 10 Tips for Addressing Sensitive Topics and Maintaining Civility in the...
1. Create a classroom environment that from the first day sets ground rules for discussion and makes it clear that all students are included in the work of the class. Make sure you make all students...
View ArticleEncouraging Student Participation in Large Classes
If you’re interested in approaches that encourage students to participate in class and develop their public-speaking skills, as well as techniques that help you learn student names, then my “daily...
View ArticleLetting Go of the Reins
Sometimes we are so concerned with following our lesson plans to the letter that we miss what is truly important: teaching moments. A teacher has to learn to listen to his or her class and realize when...
View ArticleInterested but Noncompliant Students: Annoyance or Opportunity
If you have been teaching for any time at all, I’ll bet you’ve encountered what I call the interested but noncompliant student (hereafter, the INC). Here are some examples encountered in my courses: In...
View ArticleSix Keys to More Effective Class Discussions
Students find discussions disillusioning just about as often as faculty do. In the analysis referenced below, students objected when a few fellow classmates dominated the discussion; when the...
View ArticleDo You Talk Too Much? Tips for Facilitating Classroom Discussions
Discussion is a staple in most teachers’ repertoire of strategies, but it frequently disappoints. So few students are willing to participate and they tend to be the same ones. The students who do...
View ArticleThree More Tips for Facilitating Classroom Discussions
Editor’s note: What follows is part-two of the article on facilitating classroom discussion. If you missed part-one, you can read it here. 4. Learn to slow down the pace—We are used to discussing...
View Article10 Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions
Participation is one of those workhorse instructional strategies—easy to use, straightforward, expected, and often quite successful at accomplishing a number of learning goals. It’s good to remind...
View ArticleParticipation Policies and Student Motivation
A number of excellent comments were posted in response to the July 7 post which raised questions about how much participation should count. Thank you to those of you who contributed and a suggestion...
View ArticleStudent Comments: Moving from Participation to Contribution
A colleague and I have been revisiting a wide range of issues associated with classroom interaction. I am finding new articles, confronting aspects of interaction that I still don’t understand very...
View ArticleWays of responding to a wrong or not very good answers …
Whatever the relative quality of a student’s response, faculty members can respond in ways that increase the likelihood of participation by students in the future or result in diminished participation...
View ArticleGrading Participation: An Alternative to Talking for Points
Is there a way to motivate and improve student participation without grading it? I raise the question because I think grading contributions gets students talking for points, not talking to make points....
View ArticleDiscussion Made a Difference in Student Learning
The evidence that students benefit when they talk about course content keeps mounting. In the study highlighted below, students in two sections of an introductory zoology course were learning about the...
View ArticleLetting the Students Lead Class Discussions
The joy of discussion as a class activity is starting it up and seeing where it goes. Although some of the same themes come up in every discussion, how they emerge and the connections they raise vary...
View ArticleDoes Discussion Make a Difference?
Here’s the scenario: Students are taking a chemical thermodynamics course. The instructor solicits clicker responses to a conceptually based multiple-choice question. Students answer individually,...
View ArticleThe Relationship between Participation and Discussion
My interest in participation and discussion continues. How do we use them so that they more effectively promote engagement and learning? A couple of colleagues and I have been working on a paper that...
View ArticleUsing Personal Stories to Engage Students in Conversation
Engaging students in class conversation is not always an easy task. Even though we may make class participation part of their final grade, stress its importance in the syllabus, and give subtle (and...
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What Does Student Engagement Look Like?
Engagement. . .it’s another one of those words that’s regularly bandied about in higher education. We talk about it like we know what it means and we do, sort of. It’s just that when a word or idea is...
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Facilitation Skills: The Way to Better Student Discussions
Most faculty aspire to engage and involve students in interesting and insightful discussions. But these in-class and online exchanges frequently disappoint faculty. Students come to them unprepared....
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