Facilitating Class Discussions

Discussions can be an excellent means for students to explore content, develop new skills, and compare their perspectives with those of their peers. Discussion can occur orally or in writing, synchronously or asynchronously, or in a combination of these. Given adequate preparation, discussions can also provide a space for students to learn from one another and can increase their engagement in other course activities. Achieving these benefits requires some forethought and creativity on the part of you, the instructor, but the rewards can be well worth your efforts. Below we outline the steps necessary to facilitate a constructive class discussion and highlight several of the forms these discussions may take.

How do I prepare for class discussions?

Like with any learning activity, begin planning your class discussion by asking yourself what you hope this exercise will accomplish. Put another way, how will a discussion facilitate students’ achievement of the course learning outcomes? Will it provide students with an opportunity to practice a necessary skill, assist with content comprehension, or assess their understanding of a concept? Because there are many ways to structure and facilitate discussions, the form you choose for your activity may support several of these ends at once. Therefore, you should have a clear goal for your discussion before choosing a strategy.

Once you have identified the objectives of your discussion, your next step is to decide what form the discussion will take. Many of us are familiar with some variety of the Socratic Seminar format of class discussions, even if we don’t know it by that name. In this strategy, an instructor asks students open-ended questions, often about a particular text, and students are encouraged to continue the conversation. There are, however, many other types of class discussions which require higher or lower degrees of preparation on your part. Some common discussion strategies include:

• Affinity Map/Diagram – Present students with a broad question or problem that is likely to result in different ideas. Students write down their response on a sticky note and post the note on a board. Once all students have placed their notes, the class organizes the answers into categories and discusses why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another, etc. This approach can also be achieved digitally using Google’s Jamboard tool.
• Chalk Talk – In the center of the chalkboard, whiteboard, or poster paper, write a question, keyword, or another item pertaining to the topic you want to discuss in class. Students then write answers, ideas, tangential questions, draw pictures, share thoughts, or anything else they can think of relating to the central idea of that board. During this process, students are encouraged to look at one another’s ideas and mark them (circle, star, highlight, etc.) if they agree, like, or want to emphasize them. Once everyone is done, use the diagrams that have been created to discuss the original topics. This process allows for a combination of nonverbal and verbal discussion, which increases the accessibility of the exercise. This activity can also be done virtually using Google’s Jamboard tool.
• Fishbowl – Students take turns actively participating in the discussion and serving in the role of listeners. The inner circle consists of the active participants in the discussion while the outer circle consists of observers. All class members, whether in the inner or outer circle, are assigned a particular task, such as the completion of a short written reflection or synthesis. The instructor does not participate in the discussion and only interjects when necessary.
• Jigsaw – Students are divided into small groups in which they discuss and learn more about a particular topic. Students are then re-shuffled to create new groups with representatives from each previous group. In these new groups, each student is responsible for sharing key aspects of their original discussion. The second group must then synthesize and use all the ideas to complete a new or more advanced task, such as answering questions. Another variation on the Jigsaw format that is particularly useful for classes with extensive reading is Jigsaw-In-Place. Students in small groups are individually tasked with reviewing one of the assigned readings. During class these groups convene, and each student shares their impressions of the reading they chose/were assigned.
• Think-Pair-Share – Students work individually on responding to a prompt (Think), then compare their responses with a partner and synthesize a joint solution (Pair). Some pairs share the outcome of their discussions with the entire class (Share).

As you compare different ways of framing the discussion, consider the strengths of each strategy. Some activities, such as Think-Pair-Share, may work well in classes of any size, while others, such as the Socratic Seminar, may be better suited to smaller or mid-size classes. Likewise, it may be beneficial in some circumstances to provide students with a nonverbal discussion format, in which case an Affinity Map or Chalk Talk may be preferable. Identifying a suitable strategy is thus just as much about knowing your students as it is determining what you want them to learn or practice. You may use multiple of these strategies in the same course for different lessons or topics, based on your goals for each class discussion.

How do I help my students prepare for discussions?

Once you have decided the shape your discussion will take, your next consideration is how you can support your students in preparing. Depending on the form of your discussion, you may wish to prompt students during the preceding class session. For example, if the activity will draw upon assigned material, provide students with questions to consider as they are reviewing the material. When it is time for the discussion to take place, explain to students the logistics of the activity you have chosen and what the goal of the activity is. Being transparent about the purpose behind activities can build trust between you and your students and affirms to them that their participation will be to their benefit.

Regardless of the type of discussion, it is important that you talk with your students about expectations for respectful discourse in your class. Ideally, any expectations should be developed with student input, as doing so enhances students’ sense of agency over their learning experience and increases the likelihood that students will comply with the standards that are agreed upon. These expectations should be included in your syllabus, but you may wish to remind students of them prior to beginning the conversation. Examples of common expectations include:

• Raise your hand to speak.
• It is okay to disagree with peers, but not okay to attack them for holding different points of view. We disagree with/critique ideas, not people.
•  Avoid sarcasm.
• Think before expressing an opinion and be mindful of language and word-choice.
• Keep the discussion focused on the topic at hand.

How do I facilitate a class wide discussion?

If you are facilitating a discussion among the whole class, a common challenge is knowing when to intercede and when to let the conversation continue. It takes practice and experience to know exactly when to step in, however in general if the conversation is flowing and focused it is better to avoid interrupting. Intercession should be limited to instances in which you find it beneficial to highlight student contributions, refocus the discussion, or address tension.

During a discussion, highlighting student contributions is an excellent way to provide real-time feedback. Interjecting to underscore particularly insightful comments models appreciation for students’ efforts. It also encourages the class as a whole to consider the topic of discussion from new perspectives. When student contributions include factual errors or misrepresentations, you can use such responses as opportunities to probe understanding. For instance, if only one student’s response contains an error, instead of immediately moving on, tap into what led them to answer how they did. If several students advance an incorrect piece of information, solicit additional responses before clarifying any misunderstandings. In either circumstance, emphasize that correction of misinformation is important for students’ understanding and that incomplete or inaccurate answers can be opportunities to learn and grow.

As a form of intellectual exploration, discussions can wander in unexpected directions or touch upon subjects that may be emotionally sensitive. If a conversation begins to veer away from the original topic, it may be appropriate to interject, either to remind students of the subject at hand or to present a new question or concept for examination. Likewise, if you sense a major takeaway or perspective is absent, you might pose a question to lead students to where that missing idea or perspective resides.

In the event that a conversation engenders tension between students, pause the discussion. In such circumstances, one technique is to ask everyone to take a minute to think about what they have just heard. Another is to then ask students to write down what they are thinking, while yet another is to employ the calling in technique. Depending on students’ reactions and responses, there are times when you may want to table a topic and return to it in the next class session. Let students know if this is the plan and be sure to follow through. This approach provides you and your students with additional time to reflect on the issue. After class, you might email one or two questions for students to consider before the next class and use the time to think about how you want to address the issue.

When you decide to conclude the discussion, be sure to review the main points that were addressed, or invite students to do so. This step validates the time and effort students spent participating in the activity. You might also ask students how the discussion affected their views on a topic or their understanding of a concept. Doing so provides an opportunity for metacognitive reflection that can reinforce the benefits of the exercise. Finally, point out how the day’s discussion will tie in with an upcoming assignment or topic, if applicable, as this can assist students in drawing connections between different content areas across the course.

How might I evaluate the success of discussions?

How will you know if a discussion accomplished what you hoped it would? How will you assess your own performance as a facilitator? There are many ways to evaluate discussions. For example, immediately following the conversation, you might ask students to write briefly about what they learned, how their thinking changed, or how the discussion relates to other course materials. Another method is to ask students to reflect on the quality of the discussion, answering questions such as: What kinds of contributions were and were not helpful?  When were and weren’t digressions productive? Did everyone who wanted to get a chance to speak?  If not, why not? You might also find it helpful to ask students for feedback on the structure of the discussion: Did you like the format? Were the instructions clear?

Discussions can also be evaluated simply by asking yourself a set of questions after the fact, for example: Who participated? Who didn’t? What might explain the patterns of participation? What questions proved most fruitful and why? How might the discussion be improved to promote deeper inquiry, more student-student interaction, etc.? Ideally, feedback can be used to augment the quality of future discussions in the same course, as a new cohort of students may respond differently to the same activities.

Additional Resources and References

Cheung, F. (2022, March 23). Five Techniques for Better Class Discussions. Faculty Focus. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/five-techniques-for- better-class-discussions/

Gonzalez, J. (2015, October 15). The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/speaking-listening-techniques