Posts Tagged ‘classroom discussion’
September 21 - Practical Ideas for Improving Student Participation
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
At a recent workshop at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, I asked participants to identify the one thing about participation they would most like to change in their classrooms. From a variety of items mentioned, we decided to focus on three. They are listed below along with a range of solutions suggested by the group. Some of the solutions apply to more than one of the problems.
July 7 - How Much Should Class Participation Count toward the Final Grade?
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
Two faculty researchers assembled a large collection of syllabi from introductory courses in their field and then analyzed them to see how much active learning it looked like the teacher would be including in those classes. It’s a really neat research design which I explain in the next issue of The Teaching Professor newsletter. They also looked how much participation and in-class discussion counted in the total grade calculation and that’s what I want to write about in this post.
May 2 - Strategies for Facilitating More Effective Classroom Discussions
By: Mary Bart in Effective Teaching Strategies
If you’ve been teaching for any amount of time, you probably have a few nicknames for students based on the personality traits they exhibit. Roben Torosyan, PhD, associate director of the Center for Academic Excellence at Fairfield University, has some nicknames for his students, too. Names like Q, Sunny, and Light Bulb.
January 27 - 9 Ways to Use Class Discussion to Promote Transformation
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Classroom discussion – whether face-to-face or online – is a vital part of higher education today, valued as way to explore course content while promoting critical thinking and effective communication. Learn how to improve your class discussions by attending this seminar.
November 12 - Could We Hear from Someone Else, Please?
By: Elayne Shapiro in Effective Teaching Strategies
Generating participation in a large class discussion is fraught with teaching land mines. We can call on people who raise their hands, but too often it is always the same people. We can ask to hear from someone else and risk offending those who have been volunteering, so that there are even fewer hands. We can call on people randomly and risk embarrassing those who aren’t prepared or don’t understand. Maybe that will motivate them to prepare, or it may just be reflected in our teaching evaluations. I’d like to share an exercise that broadens class participation and offers a way around these potential risks.
August 26 - Encouraging Substantive Discussion of Course Content by Getting Personal
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies
“Why are teachers afraid of sentences that begin with ‘I feel’ or that draw on personal experience?” Margaret Mott asks, repeating a question she read in an essay early in her career.
April 20 - Three More Tips for Facilitating Classroom Discussions
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies
We are used to discussing topics with our colleagues. They know the material, have already thought a lot about it, and can answer questions quickly. We want conversations in class to clip along at a similar pace—there’s always lots of material the class needs to get through.
April 19 - Do You Talk Too Much? Tips for Facilitating Classroom Discussions
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies
Sometimes it’s good to revisit an instructional standby. Discussion is a staple in most teachers’ repertoire of strategies, but it frequently disappoints. So few students are willing to participate and they tend to be the same ones. The students who do contribute often do so tentatively, blandly, and pretty much without anything that sounds like interest or conviction. On some days it’s just easier to present the material.
March 29 - Interested but Noncompliant Students: Annoyance or Opportunity
By: Carl B. Bridges, PhD. in Teaching and Learning
If you have been teaching for any time at all, I’ll bet you’ve encountered what I call the interested but noncompliant student (hereafter, the INC). Here are some examples encountered in my courses: In an ancient language course, one INC would not take the trouble to learn her noun forms and verb endings but, fascinated by the language, went online to find an inscription that she tried to decipher. Another INC read more than I have in a subdivision of my field. He wanted to talk about it endlessly before and after class, so much so that I had to chase him away to give other students a chance to talk to me. Am I describing student behaviors that sound familiar?
May 21 - Using Media Materials to Set the Stage for Learning: A Strategy for All Disciplines
By: Camille Belolan in Teaching and Learning
Humanities and social sciences instructors have long borrowed from media communications to drive home concepts. For example, a business instructor might clip a magazine article pointing out how inappropriate attire can negatively influence the outcome of an interview with a company. Philosophy professors might motivate a classroom discussion on hedonism by discussing the antics of popular young superstars as reported in the tabloids.
