Discussions in the Classroom

Classroom Discussions

There are a lot of important aspects when it comes to class discussions. Some teachers just give the students free reign to chat it out without any particular direction, and I think that this article helped give more direction to teachers to give to students that will benefit them. One of the important aspects that I thought will be super beneficial for students is the speech policy. The article talks about how forcing students to speak during discussion does not really do anything from them. It says that just because someone is not speaking, does not mean that their brain is not working hard and thinking about the content. A student should not be forced to talk or be told they will fail in the participation scale if they do not speak, because that only fears a child and honestly does nothing for their confidence and the discussion as well. This is something I appreciate because I am STILL in classes today where I am forced to speak or else I will not get the participation grade. I do not have to speak to be participating, most of the time I am just taking all of the information in and enjoying other people have conversations about the topic. This article also gave direction in rotating groups frequently to encourage students to examine critically ideas that originate outside of their group, snowballing their thoughts to give the discussion a more intense and fun environment, circular conversation so that everyone can face each other while they speak, and mutual invitation to structure the opportunity for everyone to speak in the classroom and to give them the power to choose their own direction. All of these, in my opinion, are a great way for a teacher to include class discussions in the classroom without overstepping boundaries and still making it fun for the students.