Some Suggestions for Classroom Discussion

and Question-Asking

[courtesy of the WPA electronic discussion list]

Some Rules of Thumb (all other things being equal):

¨      Ask real questions, that is, ones you don't already have answers to.

¨      Ask questions when you're interested in knowing the answers.

¨      Lead off with specific questions, not general ones.

¨      Give students time to answer.

¨      "How," "what," and "why" questions are more productive than questions that can be answered with a yes or no.                                   [Richard Haswell and others]

Although there were plenty of role models & literature on the subject, I found I learned the hard way-trial and error.  I'm not sure there are any standard ways of forming good questions.  So much depends not on the question itself but on the teacher's personality, relationship with the class, the class size, students' skills, etc.  One assignment I have for TAs is to sit in on someone's class and observe the ways in which class and small group discussions work and don't work-and what might work in their own class discussions.

How to overcome problems with discussions that fall flat:

¨      I ask my students to write informal 5-10 minute responses to the readings before they come to class.  I don't mind if they write these before class starts, just so long as they are done.  Then, I either have several students read their responses in class or I have students exchange them several times.  An alternative is to have students write a response on the spot to a question asked.  In either case, I find that students are much more willing to discuss after they have written something.  It works even if I don't ask a specific discussion question.  That way, my students themselves generate the discussion question.

¨      In classes where students seem very uncomfortable with a discussion format, I assign students to present the material and then I also assign "respondents."  I have been very pleased with the results.  Bottom line: maybe teachers don't need to determine all the discussion questions.                                             [Jane Nelson]

Ask Questions that Students Can Understand:

¨      Charleton Ryan wrote a master's thesis that looked at the wording of questions-in this case the study questions in readers.  One thing she discovered was that students often didn't respond very well to the discussion questions-not because they had not read and understood the reading-but because they could not understand the questions.  Ryan found that the questions tended to be phrased in abstract teacher-talk.  When she translated them into more concrete and accessible language, students responded eagerly, accurately, and in great and terrible detail.  That blank look we get from students in response to questions asked is often construed as a sign that the students haven't read the stuff.  Ryan found that it was equally likely to be a sign that they didn't understand the question.

¨      Bronwyn T. Williams: What helped me was to remember what I was taught as a journalist, "Always begin with an answerable question, even if it seems simplistic, in order to get the conversation started."  So I always begin with simple, obvious questions that refresh everyone's memory on the readings and their written responses to them and get people speaking up.  Conversations can be contagious and this almost always leads quickly to more sophisticated comments and questions, usually without me having to do most of the question posing.  I encourage students doing presentations to try the same tactic-and to not be afraid of silence while people think about what they are going to say.

Designing Classroom Activities to Encourage Discussion:

¨      Ask small groups each to consider a specific question, discuss it, then report back to the large group; open up general discussion after the reports.

¨      Use a case (the more stimulating and complex, the better).

¨      Ask people to write for a few minutes about specific questions/issues before leading the discussion.  Simple, but it often makes a big difference.

¨      Design assignments that are complicated and interesting, and use those as springboards for discussion.

¨      I've been experimenting with something I call "Voices."  I write up some statements (for an overhead or handout) about a reading or topic of discussion, presumably from people responding to the reading or topic.  I have some fun varying the style of the statements, making some of them clearly outrageous and others more sensible but controversial.  Then the students react TO the statements, agreeing with parts of them, figuring out what motivated them or what the reasoning is behind them, etc.  For some reason, the discussions about these "voices" have been really engaging-maybe it's an issue of risk or something.  You can also have students write in response to one or more of the "voices" beforehand.  [Chris Anson]

I find it productive to ask students what folks generally believe about an issue rather than ask what the students themselves believe.  "How do the people you know respond to X?"  Or "What have you heard people say about X?"  This allows students the chance to talk about the beliefs of others rather than their own beliefs.  Ideas are generated and discussion takes place quite quickly.  This strategy is especially useful early in the life of the class when students are reticent and perhaps a bit nervous about participating in class and sharing their beliefs.  [Laurence Musgrove]

I have students write responses to assigned readings and then after collecting and responding to them individually, I type up excerpts from some of them representing a range of responses and create a collage of their voices. The students enjoy this and it sparks a lively discussion. 

[Mark Wiley]

Advice from a Law Professor:

¨      When you ask a question with an obvious answer, students will not answer because they think it is a trick, it is too obvious and insulting, etc.  Every semester I need to train my students to answer the first obvious question because it sets up the more interesting questions that follow. I explain why I am asking the question at that level, and I say things like, "I know it is obvious, but humor me"; "all together now. . . ."  By about the third week the students recognize the obvious-answer question and answer in unison.

¨      Give enough time for students to formulate an answer.  And a corollary-don't always call on the first person to put his or her hand up.  Remember-you know the answer-you are a prepared expert.

¨      Ask real questions.  Ask questions that you think are important-important to understanding the point you are making; important in understanding the problem; important morally, etc.

¨      Create an atmosphere of trust where mistakes lead to learning; where mistakes are expected, tolerated, celebrated-not because they are wrong, but because they lead to insight.  When an answer seems "wrong," see if you can grab onto the bit that was in the right direction and then ask series of increasingly pointed questions.

¨      Plan an attack on the subject.  Specific to general.  General to specific.  Elliptical.  From left field.  From the center out.  No single method works for all subjects, for all students, for all teachers.  I tend to like elliptical and left-field starts-helps to make unusual connections.  But for many topics I use more conventional approaches.

¨      Be impromptu.  (I know this contradicts number 5.)  But when you are being impromptu, or even when you plan an attack, recognize that some of your questions will be unintelligible to anyone else, especially a novice.  Don't be afraid to admit screwing up and needing to start over.

¨      Rephrase your question.  This can help fill the "dead air" time.  As a trial lawyer taking depositions or interviewing clients and witnesses before trial I learned how to ask the same question 3, 4, 10 times-as many times as needed, until I got a responsive answer.  What I was doing was rephrasing the question, recasting it, restructuring it, changing the words, explaining in a longer lead-in what I was looking for, doing anything I could think of to communicate with the witness so that we could understand each other.  This skill is valuable in the classroom, but is invaluable in individual conferences.

¨      Listen to the answer and respond.  A quick "that's right" is often insufficient reinforcement unless there is a pause after it to allow students to rethink what the answer just given was or unless you highlight by repeating just what that answer was.  [Stephen Jamar]

Some Ways to Help Quieter Students Participate More Actively:

¨      I have students fill out a 3x5 card and then I shuffle the cards and when I ask a question I just call on the person whose card is on top-no raising hands, no trying to remember who I've called on too recently.  It gets the smart-quiets to say something, it raises the ante for paying attention.  For some reason the smart-not-quiets try to save their cohorts by chiming in at a higher level (more of them participate) or they raise their hands to offer insights or ask questions.  Sometimes all I have to do is take out the cards-"There's something that doesn't like a wall [of index cards]."  I think it has to do with their preference, finally, for controlling the dialogue.

¨      Have students take 3-4 minutes to write down any questions they have.  The questions could be about material recently covered, or anything covered up to that point in the course, or questions about assignments, course policies, etc.  The teacher can focus it broadly or narrowly.  Then I use The Cards.  If the student doesn't have a question, then I get to ask the student a question.  My questions are hard, so most are prepared and we usually get side-tracked on an issue of interest, but the great thing is that it is their issue, not mine.  This is good to do once a week or perhaps a little less.

¨      Break the students up into groups, give them a task, give them overheads and pens, then have each group report to the whole, using the overheads.  Then you don't have to talk much since the students are doing the talking.

¨      Use a listserve attached to the class.  For many, this medium provides welcome relief from the psychological intensity of public, face-to-face dialogue.  I now teach three courses exclusively over asynchronous computer conferencing.  That evens out the level of participation-everyone participates to the same degree because it's required.  The smart-quiets-and their insights-are there.  The smart-talkers don't dominate.  The classroom lurkers-backrow sitters must also contribute.  I'll always remember what one of my smart-quiets said in evaluating a computer conferencing course-"I like it because I have time to think before I respond and the conversation hasn't moved on before I've had a chance to formulate a response."                                                  [Donald Wolff]