Class Discussion Challenge: Getting Students to Listen and Respond to Each Other Faculty Sub Focus [For teacher please try Faculty Focus site. I am member and frequently they send good information] 6:43 PM [Keep this message at the top of your inbox] Newsletters ezine@facultyfocusemail Send to a friend | My Account | Subscribe to RSS Faculty Focus April 23, 2014 Trouble viewing this email? Read it on the web here. Class Discussion Challenge: Getting Students to Listen and Respond to Each Others Comments By Maryellen Weimer, PhD Issue 1: The classroom discussion is going pretty well. Students are offering some good comments and more than one hand is in the air. Then a student makes a really excellent observation that opens up a whole avenue of relevant possibilities. You follow-up by calling on a student whose hand has been in the air for some time. Her comment is fine, but its totally unrelated to the previous comment. How do you get students to respond to each others comments? How do you get student comments to build on a key topic so that it becomes more like a real discussion? What about this idea? Tell students that when they hear you say hold on to it that means the next comments must respond to the comment just made. The faculty member who suggested this to me pointed out that often students arent listening all that closely to each other, so after saying hold on to it, you may need to repeat the original comment and give students a bit of time to prepare an appropriate response. This same faculty member mentioned that those of us whove been doing academic discourse for almost as long as we can remember are sometimes a bit blithe in our assumptions that students know how to do it. She recommended identifying for (or maybe with) students a few ways they could respond to a comment made by a classmate. Here are some ideas: Agree or disagree with it and say why. The why is the most important part of the students response. Ask a question about the comment. Asking for an elaboration on part or all of the original comment is a good approach, assuming it needs further explanation. Provide an example of it. Examples can come from content covered in class, from the reading, or from experience. Relate or link the comment just made to another comment, maybe one the teacher or another student made. A link also can be made to something in the reading material. Make a new, related comment. It needs to be different from whats been said and dont assume that how it relates to the first comment is obvious to others. The hold on to it request can mean two other things as well. For students who have things theyd like to say unrelated to the comment being elaborated on, it means they should hold on to their thoughts; maybe jotting down a brief note so they dont forget what it is they want to share. For the teacher, hold on to it is a good reminder to not succumb to the sometimes irresistible urge to say something in response to every comment a student makes. Its a much better class discussion if students offer three or four responses before the teacher chimes in. Why do students so rarely comment on the contributions of other students? First off, they tend not to value each others comments, especially if the teacher has a habit of clarifying and elaborating on everything a student says. Those elaborations sound a lot like right answers to students, so they tend to tune out their peers knowing the teacher will put everything in just the right context. And then there are those participation policies where the grade is primarily a function of how often one speaks, with little mention as to the quality of the contributions. Issue 2: Talk to each other. It doesnt matter how often you say it or where you position yourself in the room, students still address all their comments to you. You are the person in charge. Do you tend to be the person who answers the most questions? Try this: assign yourself the role of the recorder. As students make comments, type them on your computer or write them on the board. Take a look now and then at the student speaking, but mostly keep your eyes on the comments youre recording. If you use the board, that permits you to keep your back to students and its pretty awkward talking to somebodys back. If class size permits, seat students so that they face or at least can easily see each other. Sit with them and let them speak without being called on. You can step in and facilitate when too many students are talking at once, when someone needs help getting into the conversation, and to gently offer a reminder when its needed: Youre responding to Reids comment, speak to him. What are some strategies you use to get students to listen and respond to one another? Please share in the comment box. ShareThis Featured Product How Can I Use Discussion to Facilitate Learning? Whether theyre shy, unprepared, or simply reluctant to share their thoughts and opinions, a good number of students prefer to listen, observe, or daydream rather than contribute. So while we all know the importance of classroom discussion, far too many students feel they shouldnt have to take an active role in their learning. They just sit there ... staring at you, their notes, and the clock. In How Can I Use Discussion to Facilitate Learning?, Jay Howard, PhD, a sociology professor at Butler University, identifies the classroom norms that prevent productive discussion and shares proven strategies to combat them. In this 20 Minute Mentor video program, you will learn how you can: Fight the norms on day one by having students review and discuss the syllabus in small groups Encourage student engagement by having students grade themselves on their contributions to classroom discussions Expand student participation by limiting the talkers Encourage shy students with the idea of collective answers Upgrade classroom discussions Use rewards to enhance student engagement and participation Register for How Can I Use Discussion to Facilitate Learning? 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Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 15:06:17 +0000
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