Using discussion as a teaching format can be an effective way for students to express and explore their ideas and to have them challenged by their peers. But facilitating good classroom discussions takes more than throwing out a provocative idea and sitting back to watch fruitful dialogue unfold. Depending on the dynamics of the class and the topic under discussion, some students may resist participating while others dominate. And when topics involve highly charged controversies, even normally vocal students can clam up due to a variety of reasons.
To promote engaged participation in classroom discussion in these diverse contexts, the instructor needs a broad palette of strategies and activities. Led by SAGES Fellow Barbara Burgess-Van Aken, the upcoming UCITE session, “Varying the Discussion Format,” will address ways to select discussion formats that are most appropriate for the topic at hand.
This discussion will be held Thursday, June 14, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Herrick Room, located on the ground floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Building.
Pizza lunch and sodas will be provided; RSVP to ucite@case.edu.