Discussion As a Way of Teaching
This blog post is a response to my reading of Stephen Brookfield's "Discussion As a Way of Teaching."
As I was reading the first few pages of the text, I was given the impression that this was very much a "how to design and manage a discussion" manual. While in many ways that's what this is, I was happily surprised to find that rather than containing step-by-step instructions telling you exactly how you need to host classroom discussions, Brookfield instead gives you a number of unique and creative examples to serve as guides. He doesn't tell you there is one "right way" to do it; instead, he gives you tips and suggestions that encourage you to have more fruitful and inclusive conversations in the classroom. There are a number of important things to keep in mind when you're facilitating a group discussion: setting ground rules to make sure your discussion doesn't fail before it even begins, making sure to participate in your own discussions and lead by example, delegating roles and actions (or "conversation moves" as he calls them) to students to make sure everyone is able to participate in interesting ways. I found myself especially appreciating his exercise examples which aim to involve all students, and the different methods of facilitating discussions that he proposes.
Balancing Student Involvement
It's important to make sure your group discussions are inclusive of everyone in the group, which in my experience as a student is something that is often difficult and usually not achieved. Efforts should be made to bring the silent listeners into the conversation, in ways which do not create stress and anxiety for those who are prone to non-participation. Not only does it add to the dialogue, since their voices are usually left unheard, but it gives an opportunity for more vocal students to become more skilled listeners, and gives them time to stop and reflect on where the discussion has gone. Discussions are supposed to encourage critical thinking, and the sharing of new ideas and perspectives; the best way to make sure that happens is to ensure that all ideas and perspectives can be shared and heard, and that all students are allowed the time to pause and think critically.
Adapting Discussions to Your Audience
Brookfield illustrates a number of different discussion exercises throughout the text; prior to reading this, it hadn't really occurred to me that there might be so many different methods of discussion facilitation. This offers some variety (who doesn't like options?), but more importantly it gives the facilitator ways to better serve different types of classrooms - not all students are the same, after all. Exercises like "Newsprint Dialogues" and "Rotating Stations" encourage students to get up and move around the classroom - great for those who had to sit through a test in the previous period, or maybe for those learners who prefer to be active and engage with physical learning environments. Not all classrooms are the same, so your learning exercises shouldn't be either.
As I was reading the first few pages of the text, I was given the impression that this was very much a "how to design and manage a discussion" manual. While in many ways that's what this is, I was happily surprised to find that rather than containing step-by-step instructions telling you exactly how you need to host classroom discussions, Brookfield instead gives you a number of unique and creative examples to serve as guides. He doesn't tell you there is one "right way" to do it; instead, he gives you tips and suggestions that encourage you to have more fruitful and inclusive conversations in the classroom. There are a number of important things to keep in mind when you're facilitating a group discussion: setting ground rules to make sure your discussion doesn't fail before it even begins, making sure to participate in your own discussions and lead by example, delegating roles and actions (or "conversation moves" as he calls them) to students to make sure everyone is able to participate in interesting ways. I found myself especially appreciating his exercise examples which aim to involve all students, and the different methods of facilitating discussions that he proposes.
Balancing Student Involvement
It's important to make sure your group discussions are inclusive of everyone in the group, which in my experience as a student is something that is often difficult and usually not achieved. Efforts should be made to bring the silent listeners into the conversation, in ways which do not create stress and anxiety for those who are prone to non-participation. Not only does it add to the dialogue, since their voices are usually left unheard, but it gives an opportunity for more vocal students to become more skilled listeners, and gives them time to stop and reflect on where the discussion has gone. Discussions are supposed to encourage critical thinking, and the sharing of new ideas and perspectives; the best way to make sure that happens is to ensure that all ideas and perspectives can be shared and heard, and that all students are allowed the time to pause and think critically.
Adapting Discussions to Your Audience
Brookfield illustrates a number of different discussion exercises throughout the text; prior to reading this, it hadn't really occurred to me that there might be so many different methods of discussion facilitation. This offers some variety (who doesn't like options?), but more importantly it gives the facilitator ways to better serve different types of classrooms - not all students are the same, after all. Exercises like "Newsprint Dialogues" and "Rotating Stations" encourage students to get up and move around the classroom - great for those who had to sit through a test in the previous period, or maybe for those learners who prefer to be active and engage with physical learning environments. Not all classrooms are the same, so your learning exercises shouldn't be either.
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