Using Discussions
Before assigning a discussion activity or writing your discussion prompt there are many things to consider, first and foremost of which is whether including a discussion activity is the right choice for that particular assignment. If students interacting with other students' ideas is essential to the activity, then discussions are the way to go. However, as you develop your discussion assignment, ask yourself the following questions:
Are you (perhaps unconsciously) looking for a right answer?
Take care when presenting your discussion questions to students. In a Discussion activity, students should spend their brainpower thinking critically, not wondering what answer the teacher is secretly looking for in their responses. Wherever possible, use questions that allow for a variety of valid responses that students can answer personally and confidently, without worrying if it's the answer you're 'looking for.'
Is the depth and difficulty appropriate?
Asking a difficult question early in the quarter can be fruitful if you're doing so to illustrate to students how much they've learned when you ask the same question again later on in the term. Asking difficult questions early on to scare them into studying harder or communicating that the course will be demanding is usually counterproductive. Instead of getting students' attention and drawing out some better work ethic, it can confuse students (did I miss a chapter or something?) or hurt their confidence (I already feel like I'm not smart enough for this class). Instead, question stakes and difficulty should progress or escalate over the term in a way that makes sense, particularly when you are asking students to put their thoughts in front of their peers.
Will students apply their learning in a meaningful way?
If the answer to this question is "yes," that's a good start to a strong discussion question. If the answer to this question is "sort-of," you may need to reimagine the question so that it's clear to students how they should be using their learning to participate in this discussion. If the answer to this question is "no" then ask yourself a follow-up question: if the discussion question doesn't ask students to directly apply their learning, is it worth their time to answer it?
Does it push students to think about broader context?
Put another way, does the discussion question invite students to think beyond just answering the question and extrapolate to a new context? Context, experience, and reflection are principles of Ignatian pedagogy that lend themselves easily to exploration in discussion activities.
Students feel a certain safety when they're encouraged to share their experience and tie material to their own lives in some way. For one, it can help reassure them that there's no "wrong" answers. It can also give room to picture themselves in the context of the material they're studying. Often this leads to increased motivation and more insightful responses from students.
Tip: Don't take student motivation for granted. Each discussion question you ask needs to remotivate students and get them excited for this question in particular. A great way to get students talking is to ask for their opinion on something polarizing or controversial, inviting their personal contexts to enter the conversation.
Will this question help build community?
Building community is covered in a later module, but a strong sense of community leads to better discussions. Students are more eager to share, more open in their sharing, and interact with other discussion participants more deeply (students move beyond those I agree with soandso responses). When students feel comfortable enough to let their guard down, better learning takes place.
Question Types to Consider
As mentioned earlier, questions that ask students to put some piece of themselves into their response yield the best results. Asking students for their informed opinion or to weigh in on a controversy with their research gets them talking, as long as they feel like the environment is safe to do so.
Consider using questions that ask students to:
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- tie the issue back to their own experiences—either in a way that supports or refutes the way the issue is being presented.
- look at an issue from a different perspective—historical, cultural, gender, age, race, socio-economic, human vs other.
- apply a theoretical framework to a situation—and questions that require students to apply and possibly adjust frameworks to novel situations or situations that are not typically viewed through that framework.
- project future scenarios of an issue and possibly compare multiple future scenarios based on the change of certain aspects.
- argue from a point of view that they do not share or is the opposite of their own.
- respond in a different medium: song lyrics, collage, physical model, mathematical formula, advertising slogan, etc.
- situate an event in a different context.
- take on the personas of a given situation and argue their positions accordingly.
- tie their answers back to earlier material covered, or earlier theories, or previous discussions.