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Class discussions can be enjoyable, challenging, uncomfortable, stimulating, complex, and enlightening. Facilitating discussions is among the most important of all teaching methods because it encourages students to apply, test, and extend their learning in dialogue. Discussion is essentially structured application with immediate feedback, with rapid iteration. It is the place where novices take steps towards speaking with the facility of experts, where students can begin to think of themselves as invited into the discipline.
It is also perhaps the most challenging art for the teacher to master. Facilitating a discussion with all it entails – asking the right questions, listening and responding fully to participants while simultaneously fitting each comment into your overall plan and also thinking of how to connect it to the next step or idea, all while keeping it related it to the essential learning of the course but also allowing for the organic emergence of fresh ideas – requires concentration and creativity.
Below, we offer some guidance and suggestions to consider when incorporating discussion into your teaching strategy:
Preparing the students and environment for discussion.
We also recommend reviewing our resources on facilitating discussions and encouraging student participation in discussion .
When deciding when and how to use discussions, consider some of the benefits and types of learning that can occur and how discussions might support student learning in your course. Discussions can help students to:
Short, medium, and long discussions and class size considerations Depending on your course, you may want to plan class discussions regularly or only on certain days for key topics. Some discussions may take an entire class period, for example, within a small seminar class; however you can also include short or medium-length discussions within your course, alternating with periods of lecturing. For medium and large sized classes, pair or small group discussions can work especially well, since it can be challenging to hold a discussion with the entire class.
Short discussion: Turn to your neighbor (1-5 minutes) . Students turn to a person sitting next to them to discuss a question prompt. Sometimes this technique can be paired with answering a polling question or raising hands. This works in any class size, but is especially a good option for large classes in rooms with fixed seating.
Medium-length discussion: Think-Pair-Share (10-20 minutes) . Students first think or work on a problem individually, then pair up or form small groups for discussion. At the end, you can ask students to share what they discussed with the whole class. Note that the larger the group size, the more time they will need to discuss. For example, in a group of four, if everyone talks for two minutes, they will need at least eight minutes to discuss. This strategy can work in all class sizes, but pairs may be best in classrooms with fixed seating in rows.
Long discussion (20-60 minutes). This type of discussion allows for more in-depth and nuanced consideration of a complex topic. These types of discussions tend to work well in smaller classes and need more active facilitation by the instructor . You may consider starting class with a warm-up strategy . Other techniques such as gallery walks, concept mapping, or case studies are well suited for these longer discussions . To prepare for a long discussion we suggest writing a list of main question prompts or activity directions and sharing them ahead of time to allow students who may want extra time to prepare or think about the questions. Follow-up questions and further discussion can emerge from the main prompts. Preparing a handout or slide with questions can create structure.
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Build rapport: Spend time early in the semester building connections within the classroom, learning about your students, and helping them learn about each other. Icebreakers and structured activities can help with this. Give students several low-stakes practice opportunities to express themselves, develop confidence, and build interpersonal skills and familiarity with the rest of the class before graded discussions even start. This also works to develop a supportive and welcoming environment full of sharing, listening, and showing respect. Their regular comments and contributions need to feel valued and honored by you and their classmates. In small and medium sized classes, using name tents or name tags can help people refer to each other by name during discussions.
Communicate guidelines and structure : Discussion structure might look different in various courses so clarify the format of your discussions. Share guidelines for discussions, explaining their purpose. Outline your goals for these discussions and how students can succeed.
Model effective discussion : Depending on the course level or major, you might have students who haven’t really experienced or witnessed college-level discussions before. You can describe the difference between conversation in class and academic conversation which involves students using specific vocabulary, phrases, and statements in your discipline that allow them to articulate and practice critical thinking. To demonstrate and practice what effective discussions look like before going into a graded experience you can participate in frequent academic discussion activities, such as energizer activities that share values or opinions, scenarios, and case studies that generate perspectives, conversational starter activities that practice generating questions, listening activities, or pre-class activities such as social annotation or discussion boards on the reading.
Practice foundational skills : Use these low-stakes practice opportunities to develop several pre-skills before diving into the full discussions.
Foundational skills with activities to practice :
Build students’ content knowledge : When entering your course, students might have little context or prior knowledge on the topic. How much do students need to know before engaging in your critical discussion? You can decide, based on your learning outcomes, how much content knowledge you’d like them to develop. Consider giving them guidance on how to read and evaluate academic or other sources or provide reading questions. Communicate to students if you want readings or outside material referenced in the discussion. Social annotation can be a great pedagogical tool for getting students to engage in critical reading.
Assess and adjust the physical space : Is the physical space conducive to hosting effective discussions? Visit the classroom ahead of time to see how the space will work for your intended discussions – you may need to see if you can make adjustments to the room, adjust your teaching plan, or look into requesting a different room. For example, in a room with fixed seats in rows, you might use paired discussions (talk to your neighbor) as a strategy. Consider the following:
For more on engaging students with class discussion, visit Facilitating Discussion and Encouraging Student Participation in Discussions.
Eberly Center, Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation (2024) Discussions. Carnegie Mellon.
Davis, B. G. (1993) Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Brookfield, S. D. and S. Preskill. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Classroom Rules for Elementary Presentation . Education . Premium Google Slides theme, PowerPoint template, and Canva presentation template . The Rules in the school of Slidesgo are simple: Download our template, enjoy it with your friends, family and students, edit it as much as you want (being creative is allowed!) and, finally, don't ...
Pack appropriate homework materials in your Take Home folder. If on Yellow, Orange, or Red bring your folder to me. Put away personal materials. Put away classroom materials. Clean out trash from desks. Perform any assigned classroom jobs, if needed. Collect book bags. Pack lunch box in book bag. Pack Take Home folder.
Ideal for outlining classroom expectations, routines, and behavior standards, this template is versatile for both PowerPoint and Google Slides users. Make your classroom management more effective and fun. Download now and transform your teaching strategy with a visually appealing presentation that speaks directly to your students. Let's make ...
31 different infographics to boost your presentations. Include icons and Flaticon's extension for further customization. Designed to be used in Google Slides, Canva, and Microsoft PowerPoint and Keynote. 16:9 widescreen format suitable for all types of screens. Include information about how to edit and customize your infographics.
These slides are intended for use with online teaching. To print high-quality materials, please visit https://lessonflows.com/downloads/ There is a comprehensive ...
Classroom rules game. This is a game in the form of a presentation. You can choose the number of the image by drawing lots, or put the numbers in a hat and pull out one by one. The game can ... 5457 uses. ritamoretti.
Page numbers in slides really don't provide any useful information -- they just remind your students how long they've been watching. 5. Go BIG. Pursuant to tips #1 and #2, you're not going to win awards by cramming the most content on the fewest slides. Make text and visuals as large as you can.
Here are some tips and ideas for writing and sharing classroom rules worth keeping and enforcing. 1. Be clear and specific Avanti by Solution Tree. ... that everyone came to class completely prepared today," or "Thank you so much for listening quietly during that presentation." Sure, these might just be things they should be doing anyway ...
New year, new rules!This beautifully illustrated Classroom Rules presentation is a great way to welcome students at the start of the year. Make your expectations clear and help students join you on the same page.Each slide has a picture of students engaging in positive behaviour, giving students strong examples of how they should behave.There is text to go with each image. Read along with your ...
This resource is a great way to explain classroom rules to children in Junior and Senior infants. Each rule is explained in detail in accessible language to children of this class group. You can assess what the children have learned with a question on each slide giving the opportunity for children to answer both verbally and non-verbally. This will have children actively engaged throughout ...
I can reuse the book for new students, students who need to review the rules, and parent conferences. Check out this back to school blog post for more information. 16. Create a digital quiz/game. An interactive game filled with fun facts and classroom rules may be the perfect way for you to begin the school year.
PowerPoint rules. Transcript: SOME ADVICE - Keep your text simple - Be clear and concise - Use more imagery unless text where possible - Strong visuals seize audience attention #4 Treat your audience as king #3 Use tools to reinforce your message #2 Be attractive The presentation is for your audience, not for you Text rules To make a successful ...
Mrs. Panzarella Pre-AP/English I. 2 Classroom Rules Be on time Be prepared Be respectful of others. Be productive Be cooperative. 3 Rule #1- Be on Time In this class, being on time means that you are in your seat and ready to begin learning as soon as the bell rings. 4 Rule #2- Be Prepared In this class, being prepared means that you have all ...
Classroom Rules. Classroom Rules. Mr. Letts. Be on time to class . If you are late you must have a pass. After 3 times your are late without a pass, you will get a detention. Be in your assigned seat and prepared to work when the final bell rings Follow directions the first time they are given. 200 views • 8 slides
Classroom Rules Presentation - Free download as Powerpoint Presentation (.ppt / .pptx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online. The classroom rules document outlines 16 rules for student behavior, including wearing uniforms, being on time and prepared for class, showing respect for others and property, following directions, keeping hands and objects to oneself ...
Description. This FREE PowerPoint includes 20 slides outlining virtual classroom rules. Great way to start your first virtual session with students, to familiarize them with proper virtual classroom behavior. Includes a bonus one-slide list of rules that you can use prior to every virtual session, or at least for the first few weeks of school ...
Brighten up your classroom with our colorful and cute doodle illustrative presentation template. Perfect for setting clear and engaging classroom rules, this slideshow template helps you communicate expectations in a fun and memorable way. Ideal for the first day of school or any time you need to reinforce classroom guidelines, this template ...
CLASSROOM RULES AND PROCEDURES Rules are a principles or conditions that customarily govern behavior. Rules have consequences when they are broken or not adhered to. Champ rules are posted on the wall. Procedures are those routines, or patterns of behavior, that we will follow each day in class. These routines are intended to help make our classroom an efficient, productive, and positive ...
Classroom Rules. Found a mistake? This ppt presentation is useful to remember some classroom rules at the beginning of the school year. The students will remember some vocabulary and at the same time the rules that they have to obey. It is also useful for the teacher in first classes. I showed it to my students and they liked it a lot.
Its multicolored design captures students' attention, making rules engaging and easy to remember. Whether you're setting up a new classroom or refreshing your space, this eye-catching tool ensures that expectations are clear and visually appealing. Available as a PowerPoint or Google Slides template, it offers flexibility and ease of ...
Short, medium, and long discussions and class size considerations Depending on your course, you may want to plan class discussions regularly or only on certain days for key topics. ... oral presentations with feedback, role-play scenarios, creative projects, audience analysis; Building upon a conversation: structured group discussions, dialogue ...
Realtors across the country are bracing for a seismic shift in the way they do business. Starting August 17, new rules will roll out that overhaul the way Realtors get paid to help people buy and ...