DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING

Stephen BrookfieldUniversity of St. Thomas,

Minneapolis-St. Paul

10 Questions

• What do you hope to achieve by using discussion?

• What has stopped you from participating in discussions?

• What happens when a discussion goes well? What does it look, feel & sound like?

• What does a good discussion leader do?• How can we create the conditions for good

discussion?

10 Questions

• What’s the worst discussion you’ve ever participated in and what made it so awful?

• What would it take for you to overcome your resistance to take part in a discussion?

• Why do discussions fail?• When is using discussion counterproductive,

inappropriate or a waste of time?• Think about the best discussion leader you’ve

experienced. What did she do that was so impressive?

When Should We Use Discussion?

• When content, subject matter, experience or reasoning is open to different perspectives or theoretical interpretations

• When it helps students to share their reasoning processes on how they came to certain conclusions or understandings

• When the application of classroom based learning to real life contexts is considered

Common Claims Made for Discussion

• Cognitive – helps students appreciate the complexity of content

• Communicative - strengthens ability to think & speak extemporaneously & clearly

• Socio-political – analog of democratic exchange & decision-making

• Affective – solidifies students’ emotional connections to subject matter

Why Do Discussions Fail?

• Learning Unsuited to Discussion• Unprepared Students• Unrealistic Expectations• No Ground Rules• Reward Systems Askew• No Teacher Modeling

Critical Incident Questionnaire• Moment most engaged as a learner• Moment most distanced as a

learner• Most affirming/helpful action• Most puzzling/confusing action• What surprised you most These are anonymously completed - the instructor reads

these & reports main findings at start of next class with time for discussion (if needed)

Creating Ground Rules

• Individuals reflect on features of best & worst discussions they’ve experienced

• Groups discuss commonly agreed features of best & worst discussions

• For each feature group asks how can this be encouraged &/or eliminated

• Class creates ground rules with teacher assistance (the 3 person rule, rotating roles, building on others’ contributions, providing evidence)

Circle of Voices• Individuals reflect on the discussion topic (1-3 minutes)• Participants go round the circle in order - each person

has up to 1 minute of uninterrupted air time to give their viewpoint on the topic. No interruptions are allowed.

• Move into free discussion with the ground rule that every comment offered must somehow refer back to a comment made by someone else in the opening circle of voices. This need NOT be agreement - it can be a disagreement, a question, an elaboration or extension, an illustration, etc.

3 PERSON RULE

• ONCE YOU HAVE SPOKEN YOU MAY NOT MAKE ANOTHER COMNTRIBUTION UNTIL AT LEAST 3 OTHERS HAVE SPOKEN - UNLESS SOMEONE ASKS YOU DIRECTLY TO EXPAND ON YOUR COMMENT

Snowballing

• People spend time individually reflecting on the topic

• Form into pairs & share reflections• Pairs form into quartets• Quartets form into octets AND SO ON & SO ON!!(An alternative way to move from small to whole

group discussion)

STRUCTURED SILENCE

• Every 15 minutes students write individually on 3x5 cards ONE of the following - most important point, most puzzling point, question they’d most like to discuss, something new they’ve learned - in the discussion so far.

• Cards shuffled & responses read out by different students

CONVERSATIONAL MOVES

Bring 3x5 cards to class with moves typed on each of them. Participants choose 1 of these cards randomly.

EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC MOVESAsk a question or make a comment that shows you are interested

in another’s commentsMake a comment that underscores the link between 2 previous

contributionsMake a comment clearly building on what someone else has said

- make this link explicitMake a summary observation on a recurring theme in the

discussionExpress appreciation for how another’s comments have helped

your understandingDisagree with someone in a respectful way

Conversational Roles

• Devil’s Advocate• Theme Spotter• Textual Focuser• Evidential

Assessor• Problem Poser

• Detective• Reflective

Analyst• Scrounger• Umpire

Circular Response (Eduard Lindeman)

Individuals reflect on a topic for discussionForm into circles of 6-8 One person starts by giving her reflections on the topic. Up to

1 minute allowed - no interruptions Person to left of 1st speaker goes next - whatever she says

MUST somehow refer to/build on previous speaker’s comments (can be a disagreement or express confusion). Up to 1 minute allowed - no interruptions

Process continues leftwards around the circle with people speaking in order until all have participated

Group moves into open conversation with no particular ground rules in force

Mutual Invitation(Eric Law - The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb)

Facilitator begins by sharing her views on the topic

Facilitator chooses who will speak next - this person can pass but then chooses who will speak in their turn

No-one can interrupt the chosen speakerOnce all have spoken participants move into

open discussion with no ground rules

Critical Conversation Protocol

• Storyteller tells the tale - no interruptions• Detectives ask questions about story• Detectives report out assumptions they hear• Detectives offer alternative interpretations• Participants do an experiential audit (what

have we learned, would do differently etc.) Umpire enforces ground rules throughout

Discussion InventoryTell students you reserve 5-10 minutes at the

end of the discussion to offer your thoughts

On a notepad record:- - clear errors of fact or understanding, - perspectives that are ignored, - oppositional views that are smothered

Articulate these for 5-10 minutes before giving participants ‘the last word’ & the CIQ

Hatful of QuotesType out 5-6 provocative quotes from

assigned reading on a 3x5 card (each quote will be on several cards)

Put these in a hat & have participants choose a card at random

Participants take turns (at their choosing) to respond to these quotes - or to earlier comments on these quotes

Quotes to Affirm & ChallengeEach participant brings in a quote she wishes to affirm, & one

she wishes to challenge, from the assigned readingQuotes to affirm - resonate with experience, explain difficult

concepts clearly, add significant new information, are cogently expressed, are rhetorically powerful etc.

Quotes to challenge - immoral/unethical, poorly expressed, factually wrong, contradict experience

Quotes are shared in small groups & each group chooses ONE to affirm & ONE to challenge

In large group conversation the small group communicates rationales for each of these choices

NOMINATING QUESTIONS

• Small groups come up with 1-2 questions they want to discuss further

• Groups post questions on posters or black/white board

• Students individually put a check against 2 questions they would like to discuss more

• Whole class discussion is structured around questions with most votes

Newsprint Dialogue• Small groups put their deliberations on newsprint

sheets - no reporter is chosen to report these out• Newsprint sheets are then posted around the

room & blank sheets posted next to each sheet• Each participant takes a marker & wanders by

herself around the room - she writes her questions, reactions, agreements etc. directly onto the sheets or on the blanks posted next to them

• Groups reassemble at their postings to see what others have written

CHALK TALK• Facilitator writes a question in the center

of the board & circles it• Whenever they wish people go to the

board & write responses to question• Others draw lines between responses to

show connections/differences• Facilitator adds responses as needed

Rotating Stations

Small groups record their deliberations on newsprint sheets and hang these on the wall - a blank sheet hangs next to each group’s posting

Staying in their small groups, each group visits the posting next to theirs - as a group they post their reactions to the posting on the blank sheets

Group’s rotate until they arrive at their own posting. They review all the previous groups’ comments

Whole class discussion follows on how groups reacted to other groups’ postings

GRADING FOR PARTICIPATION: BEHAVIORAL INDICATORS

• Ask a question of a peer that draws out their thinking

• Bring in a resource not covered in the syllabus that adds new info. or ideas

• Make a comment that underscores the link between 2 people’s comments

• Use body language to show interest in a person’s contribution

GRADING FOR PARTICIPATION: BEHAVIORAL INDICATORS

• Post an online comment that summarizes our discussion or suggests a new direction

• Make a comment (online is ok) about how you found another’s comments useful or interesting. Be as specific as possible.

• Contribute something that builds on what another has said - be explicit about how you are doing this

GRADING FOR PARTICIPATION: BEHAVIORAL INDICATORS

• Make a comment on the CIQ or online that helps us examine discussion dynamics

• Ask a cause and effect question• Express appreciation for how the discussion

has helped you understand something better (online is OK). Be specific about exactly what was helpful.

• Summarize several people’s comments

PARTICIPATION AUDIT

• HOW DID YOU? …• Express Appreciation for a Contribution• Connect 2 or 3 previous comments• Point out differences between comments• Draw out another’s thinking• Ask a helpful question• Contribute a new idea

APPRECIATIVE PAUSE

Comments allowed only that thank people for:• A question that was asked that suggested a new line of

thinking• A comment that clarified a confusing idea• A new idea or piece of information not considered

before• A comment showing the connection between two other

ideas• An example given that helped understanding a difficult

concept

Discussion Learning Audit• As a result of today’s discussion … What do you know that you didn’t know

this time last week? What can you do that you couldn’t do

this time last week? What could you teach someone else to

know or do that you couldn’t teach them this time last week?

What Would It Take to Engage Me?

• Former resisters testified to its utility• Faculty modeled their own participation• My silence was not misconstrued• I was not coerced into speech• Open - not a guessing game of ‘what the teacher

thinks’• Group developed & observed ground rules• Participation was assessed by multiple indicators

RESOURCES

• DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING Stephen Brookfield & Stephen

Preskill (2nd Edition) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005

• www.stephenbrookfield.com