Four Powerful Ways to Engage Students in High Quality Discussions

When you run class discussions, do you find students always directing their comments at you? Don’t you want them talking to each other? Keep reading to learn four ready-to-use ways to get students to talk among themselves during discussions. Take classroom talk to a more constructive and meaningful level and take yourself out of the picture.

Creating Student-Centered Discussion

Students, during discussions, most often turn to the teacher to see if what they said was right or wrong. When one student makes a comment, if all students automatically turn to the you for validation, your classroom discussion norms need work. “Discussions” that function like what I just described are not true discussions. They are simply a back and forth between the teacher and one student at a time. Let’s move away from that! But how?

1

Have students come to the discussion with something to say: Give students the purpose of the discussion, question prompts, or other preparatory materials ahead of time. This can be in the form of a focused free-write, a simple worksheet with background information, or a question that they generate. Doing so will ensure all students have something to say.

2

Consider how your room is arranged: Putting students in a circle gets everybody on relatively even footing. All students can see every other student and no one person is the center of attention. Students can make eye contact with one another, which is a key element in effective listening.

3

Create ground rules with students: Have students talk about what their role should be, who gets to talk and when, and how to make decisions about how to get called on or move from one person to the next. Also, be explicit about your role. Have a rule explaining what your participation will look like. This one step will being to bring student attention away from you and back to one another.

4

Have students self-assess their discussions against the rules. The rules shouldn’t necessarily be stagnant. If they aren’t referred to, aren’t followed, or are missing important elements, revise them! You can have students do this by getting them to reflect after each discussion (or during if necessary). How well are the rules working? How well are you engaging in them? Do the rules need to be refined? What can you do as a student to improve your contribution to the discussion?

Final Thoughts

Once you get this going, it will require patience. This process can take months before your students are truly having high quality discussions. Be okay with silence. Students are learning and may not always have wildly engaging discussions. If you refrain from commenting, they will learn that the discussions are theirs to run and theirs to direct. Best of luck getting students to engage collaboratively and without your constant approval!