MODERATING
PRODUCTIVE
DISCUSSIONS
UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS
Center for Teaching and Learning
THE RESEARCH
“the most productive discussions (whether peer or teacher-led) are structured, focused, occur when students hold the floor for extended periods of time, when students are prompted to discuss texts through open-ended or authentic questions, and when discussion incorporates a high level of uptake”
Soter et al., 2008, What the discourse tells us: Talk and indicators of high-level comprehension. International Journal of Educational Research, 47(6): 373
TYPES OF DISCUSSION
Student-driven (Harkness)*
Socratic circles
Student led*
Teacher led
Mixed: Pairings and class discussion*
Mixed: Lecture and discussion
PURPOSES
Consensus
Engagement
Debate
Express opinions
Truth seeking
Character building
What are the best practices? It depends…
PRE-CLASS SETUP
Topic / text questions
Student questions
CLASSROOM SETUP
Temperature*
Desk / chair arrangement
EVALUATIONS
Discussion map
Random polling
WHERE ARE THE STUDENTS?
Haven’t done the reading?
Challenging presuppositions
LENGTH OF DISCUSSION
Part of class period*
Whole class period
Multiple class periods*
DESIRED END POINT
Wherever we end up
Specific material covered
Specific insight
What are the best practices? It depends…
CANA ACADEMY RULES
Avoid assuming the author’s purposes.
Avoid assuming an interpretation of the text.
Avoid didactic moralizing.
Stick to the text; do not introduce biography, history, psychoanalysis, etc.
Allow the text to move the reader by following the author’s lead.
Offer questions capacious enough to allow multiple interpretations.
Give participants time to experience wonder.
What are the best practices? It depends…
Good discussion can be a matter of culture, habituation, time
How would you summarize the theme of the poem?
How does the poem teach us to overcome youthful sensuality?
What evidence do you see of Platonic influence on Yeats?
How does the poem give insight into Yeats as a lapsed Protestant?
How does the poem help us understand the plight of the elderly?
What are the best practices? It depends…
Good discussion can be a matter of culture, habituation, time
YEATS, “SAILING TO BYZANTIUM” (4 STANZAS)
How would you summarize the theme of the poem?
How does the poem teach us to overcome youthful sensuality?
What evidence do you see of Platonic influence on Yeats?
How does the poem give insight into Yeats as a lapsed Protestant?
How does the poem help us understand the plight of the elderly?
What are the best practices? It depends…
Good discussion can be a matter of culture, habituation, time
What struck you about the poem?
How does the speaker describe “the young”? Who are they? [Stanzas I–II]
What are the “monuments of unageing intellect”? [Stanzas I–II]
Who are the “singing-masters of my soul”? [Stanzas II–III]
What is the place of “artifice” in the poem? [Stanza IV, all]
YEATS, “SAILING TO BYZANTIUM”(4 STANZAS)
What are the best practices? It depends…
Good discussion can be a matter of culture, habituation, time
WHAT ABOUT WHEN QUESTIONS DIE?
Keep questions simple, accessible
Be prepared to wait—at least 60–90 sec.
Be prepared to restate question
Be prepared to break question into parts
Be prepare to give question one step back in the argument / account
Be prepared to direct students to the text to contextualize, frame a question
Be prepare to leave questions unanswered—at least if before the final class or if question need not be answered to serve course goals
FOUNDATIONS
As much as possible, know your students
Know your own strengths and weaknesses
UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS