Time to Stuff the Pantry
Discussion-Based Teaching and Handling Controversial Topics in the Classroom
Discussions help students apply abstract ideas and think critically about what they learn. In fact, studies show that discussions build students’ problem-solving skills more effectively than do lectures. However, fostering productive discussions can be difficult for even the most experienced instructors. The articles in this section offer tips on preparing for discussions, asking questions that promote discussion, getting students to talk, and handling common problems that arise during discussions.
Articles
Using Discussion Questions Effectively <Create Hyperlink to page>
Strategies for encouraging student engagement and critical thinking through effective questioning.
IDEA Paper #49: Effective Classroom Discussions (IDEA Center, Cashin, 2011)
Explores the strengths and weaknesses of discussion approaches, and suggests 18 recommendations for improving discussion in college courses.
IDEA Paper #31: Answering and Asking Questions (IDEA Center, Cashin, 1995)
This paper is concerned with the answering and asking of questions in college-level courses. It makes suggestions regarding questioning techniques that are appropriate for lecture classes as well as for discussion groups.
The Dreaded Discussion: Ten Ways to Start (Frederick, 1981)
Listing of ten ways to start a discussion, adapted from Frederick’s article in Improving College and University Teaching.
Guidelines for Classroom Interactions<Create Hyperlink to page>: This page provides examples of class discussion or interaction guidelines and guidance on how to develop them.
Handling Controversial Topics in Discussion
Many instructors consciously avoid controversial issues in the classroom because of the difficulty involved in managing heated discussions. However, controversy can be a useful, powerful, and memorable tool to promote learning. Research has demonstrated that conflict or controversy during classroom discussion can promote cognitive gains in complex reasoning, integrated thinking, and decision-making. The links in this section offer guidance for how instructors can successfully manage discussions on controversial topics.
Articles
Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom (Warren, 2000)
Handling controversial topics and heated discussions can be stressful and difficult. However, controversy can be a powerful tool to promote learning. This article offers instructors practical strategies for turning difficult encounters into learning opportunities.
CRLT Guidance on High-Stakes Discussions
CRLT has often provided guidance to help instructors facilitate classroom discussion when controversial or tragic incidents loom large in students' minds. This page includes both general guidance on facilitating high-stakes topics and an archive of guidance in response to particular historic moments and controversies (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, the War in Iraq, 9/11).
Guidelines for Classroom Interactions
Share responsibility for including all voices …
Listen respectfully …
Be open to changing your perspective ...Instructors across Central use guidelines such as these to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and collaborative inquiry in their courses. Sometimes called 'ground rules,' community agreements, or participation norms (and there are several fuller examples below), such guidelines can be provided by an instructor or generated collaboratively with students. In any discipline, guidelines can support a series of goals: they help clarify expectations, cultivate a sense of belonging among students, and facilitate students’ ability to engage productively with one another across their differences.
On this page, we offer <questions to consider LINK WITHIN PAGE> when developing guidelines for your particular teaching setting, several examples of <guidelines LINK WITHIN PAGE>, and ideas about how to <make use of guidelines over the course of the term LINK WITHIN PAGE>.
Questions and Considerations
Before proposing specific guidelines or inviting students to participate in generating them, it’s helpful to decide upon and clarify for students some key questions, including:
- What types of learning interactions will be common in your course? (e.g., whole class discussion, small groups or pairs, long-term team projects, ‘Socratic’ question-answer led by the instructor, etc.)
- If discussion is a key part of your pedagogy, what are your reasons for using it? What skills, capacities, or knowledge do you want students to learn or develop through discussion? (In their book Discussion as a Way of Teaching, Brookfield and Preskill identify four purposes of discussion, which you might find useful to consider: “(1) to help participants reach a more critically informed understanding about the topic or topics under consideration, (2) to enhance participants’ self-awareness and their capacity for self-critique, (3) to foster an appreciation among participants for the diversity of opinion that invariably emerges when viewpoints are exchanged openly and honestly, and (4) to act as a catalyst to helping people take informed action in the world.”)
- What other goals would be useful for determining guidance for interactions in your particular learning context? (e.g., Are your students preparing to engage in particular professional or community contexts? Is your course focused on especially high-stakes topics that you’re helping students navigate critical conversations about?)
- What are the limits of guidelines? Explicit conversations about expectations, norms, and goals of classroom interactions can be an important resource for you and your students, providing common language and understandings that help shape a constructive learning environment. But such conversations--or the guidelines generated by them--will not prevent all challenges. It’s important for you and students to maintain realistic expectations and understand that conflict, misunderstanding, or resistance may well arise in a learning setting even when the group has carefully considered the ‘rules of engagement.’ Guidelines can serve as a useful resource in navigating such challenges, but they won’t always prevent them.
The sample guidelines below are offered as starting points in connection with these reflection questions. They include several guideline types: behavioral suggestions (e.g., don’t interrupt), invitations to adopt particular attitudes (e.g., be open to changing your perspectives), prompts to reflect on one’s own learning (e.g., strive to see your mistakes as part of the process). In all of these examples, we try to steer clear of some common pitfalls discussed by Sensoy and DiAngelo in their 2014 article, “Respect Differences? Challenging the Common Guidelines in Social Justice Education.” In their discussion of the particular teaching context of social justice education courses, these authors argue:
In practice, the common guidelines purported to be important to building the kind of classroom climate that can support the commitments above [i.e., skills of critical analysis, critical self-reflection, and analysis of relations of oppression and privilege] do not address the deeply patterned social and structural dynamics that are brought into the classroom itself. In other words, these guidelines [e.g., assume good intentions, everyone’s opinion matters, speak from your own experience, or don’t take things personally] can run counter to social justice pedagogical commitments. (p. 3)
The article goes on to explain how these sorts of guidelines can inadvertently mask differences in student positionalities and demand that students who are targeted by others’ speech maintain a neutral stance or demeanor. The examples below deliberately avoid replicating those common guidelines, creating space to acknowledge the ways students’ different relations to social power and privilege can affect interactions in the learning environment.
Sample Guidelines from CTI
Many of these will be more useful for some disciplines, topics, and class settings than others. Which are most relevant for your specific teaching context? Additional examples, including some for specific disciplinary spaces, can be found here.
- Share responsibility for including all voices in the conversation. If you tend to have a lot to say, make sure you leave sufficient space to hear from others. If you tend to stay quiet in group discussions, challenge yourself to contribute so others can learn from you.
- Listen respectfully. Don’t interrupt, turn to technology, or engage in private conversations while others are speaking. Use attentive, courteous body language. Comments that you make (whether asking for clarification, sharing critiques, or expanding on a point) should reflect that you have paid attention to the previous speakers’ comments.
- Be open to changing your perspectives based on what you learn from others. Try to explore new ideas and possibilities. Think critically about the factors that have shaped your perspectives. Seriously consider points-of-view that differ from your current thinking.
- Understand that we are bound to make mistakes in this space, as anyone does when approaching complex tasks or learning new skills. Strive to see your mistakes and others’ as valuable elements of the learning process.
- Understand that your words have effects on others. Speak with care. If you learn that something you’ve said was experienced as disrespectful or marginalizing, listen carefully and try to understand that perspective. Learn how you can do better in the future.
- Take pair work or small group work seriously. Remember that your peers’ learning is partly dependent upon your engagement.
- Understand that others will come to these discussions with different experiences from yours. Be careful about assumptions and generalizations you make based only on your own experience. Be open to hearing and learning from other perspectives.
- Make an effort to get to know other students. Introduce yourself to students sitting near you. Refer to classmates by name and make eye contact with other students.
- Understand that there are different approaches to solving problems. If you are uncertain about someone else’s approach, ask a question to explore areas of uncertainty. Listen respectfully to how and why the approach could work.
Sample Guidelines for Social Justice Education Contexts
(Sensoy & Diangelo p. 8)- Strive for intellectual humility. Be willing to grapple with challenging ideas.
- Differentiate between opinion--which everyone has--and informed knowledge, which comes from sustained experience, study, and practice. Hold your opinions lightly and with humility.
- Let go of personal anecdotal evidence and look at broader group-level patterns.
- Notice your own defensive reactions and attempt to use these reactions as entry points for gaining deeper self-knowledge, rather than as a rationale for closing off.
- Recognize how your own social positionality (e.g., race, class, gender, sexuality, ability) informs your perspectives and reactions to your instructor and those whose work you study in the course.
- Differentiate between safety and comfort. Accept discomfort as necessary for social justice growth.
- Identify where your learning edge is and push it. For example, whenever you think, I already know this, ask yourself, How can I take this deeper? Or, How am I applying in practice what I already know?
Using Guidelines Over Time
For guidelines to be most useful in your class, it is important to continue bringing attention to them after the first day. Here are some practices that instructors can use to leverage guidelines as a resource throughout the semester:
- For the first few weeks, post the list in class where everyone can see it. Maybe ask a student to read it aloud occasionally, as a whole-group reminder of your collective agreements.
- Type up the class’s list and distribute the hard copy, or include it as a page on your Canvas site. (This can be a complement to the first suggestion, especially important in case you have visually impaired students in your class).
- Revisit the guidelines in class after several class sessions to elicit revisions or additional suggestions.
- Use at midterm and/or at the semester’s end as a point of reference for students to self-assess their participation (answering, e.g., ‘How have I contributed positively to the sort of learning environment described in our discussion guidelines?’ Or ‘What have my strengths been as a contributor? Where can I grow?’) and/or to provide feedback about their sense of the class interactions and learning environment (answering, e.g., ‘How well have we as a class been abiding by these agreements?’).
- Use in strategic moments where interactions might feel more fraught: e.g., remind students of your agreements if tensions arise or you’re moving into a potentially high-stakes conversation.
- Use as a starting point for a guidelines conversation the next time you teach the class (e.g., ‘Here’s what my previous students suggested. What do you appreciate here, and what might you want to add or change?’).
References
Brookfield, S. D., & Preskill, S. (2012). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. Wiley.
Sensoy, Ö., & DiAngelo, A. (2014). Respect Differences? Challenging the Common Guidelines in Social Justice Education. Democracy and Education, 22(2), Article 1. Available at: https://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol22/iss2/1
Using Discussion Questions Effectively
Compiled by Lauren V. Kachorek with help from Kirsten Olds, University of Michigan CRLT, 2009
General Strategies
Start with Open-Ended Questions
These types of questions help begin a discussion because they encourage multiple viewpoints. They also tend to invite students to share their opinions, which can generate additional topics or define crucial issues. “What struck you as most successful/problematic about the characters in Little Women?”
Ask Questions with Multiple Answers
This is the most straightforward method of encouraging student participation because it removes the students’ fear of answering incorrectly. Instead of asking, “Why is the ending of Little Women a good one?” ask, “What are other ways in which Louisa May Alcott might have ended Little Women?” While this type of question does not ask students to recall details from the ending of the book, it does promote critical thinking because it forces them to put together an argument that the details of the book will support.
Utilize Follow-Up Questions
When students respond with an answer that is very brief or short, don’t miss the opportunity to ask a follow-up question: “Can you tell me more?” or “Why do you say that?” or “How did you come to that conclusion?”
Know Which Types of Questions Do What
Certain types of questions will elicit different responses from your students. Identify the purpose of your question and plan to ask it at an appropriate time. For example, introductory questions may ask students to recall factual material or comprehend difficult ideas in the reading while higher-order questions may ask students to apply, analyze, synthesize, or evaluate the material.
Relate the Material to Students’ Lives
Often it can be advantageous to ask questions that are only loosely related to the topic at hand. Consider asking questions that will encourage students to relate on a more personal level: “How does Holden Caulfield appeal to a contemporary audience? Did any of you relate to his struggles?” or “Did this character remind you of anybody you know?”
Ask About the Content, Not the Participant
Instead of saying, “Does anybody have any questions?”, “Does everyone understand?” or “Does everyone see how I came to this conclusion?” try to frame this question in language that doesn’t single out the student for his/her lack of comprehension. Instead try, “What is the most difficult part of understanding this concept?” or “Could someone rephrase what I just said?” or “What were other possibilities people were considering when I shared this analysis with you?” Asking students to rephrase reminds them that nobody has a perfect understanding of the concept and that often there is no single “right” way to look at an argument or interpretation.
Use Small Groups
Pair students or group them in threes or fours, and let them discuss a question or topic. This encourages participation from all students, even those who may be hesitant speaking up in a whole-class discussion.
Pause after Asking a Question
Allow 10 to 20 seconds wait time after asking a question that requires higher-level skills (such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation). For a complicated question, you might also ask students to paraphrase the question in their own words before responding.
Decentralize
Encourage students to talk to and respond to one another. Use a “rotating chair” model in which students call on each other instead of you calling on them.
Opening Discussions
How you open your discussion can set the tone and momentum of the day’s class.
Self-Presentation
How the discussion leader approaches a discussion section has a large impact on how the activity will go. Are you interested in what you are teaching? If so, let it show! If not, is there a way you could introduce the content that will make it more exciting for your students?
Frame the Discussion
This is your best chance to take information from the last lesson or lecture and connect it to THIS discussion. Tell students 1) Where they have been 2) Where they are at the moment, and 3) Where they are going.
Clarify your Discussion Goals
Instructors can let students know what the goals are for a particular discussion section. Write them on the blackboard for later reference.
Offer a Shared Point of Departure
Begin a discussion by giving students a place to jump off. For example, you could start class with an introductory type of question, a particular passage from a text, or you could ask them to write a minute paper on a topic of your choosing. Better yet, you could use email to ask students to respond to a question the night before – thereby allowing you to begin with an example in their own words.
Model Behaviors for the Students
Model the skills you want to develop, including active listening and civil and courteous communication.
Closing Discussions
How you close a discussion can determine what students will “take with them” from the exercise.
Return to the Discussion Goals
Tell students what you have accomplished during your discussion, and what they may expect for the next discussion or lecture. If possible, try to clarify how the discussion relates to the lectures or the readings.
Summarize Important Points
Identify three important ideas that came from the discussion and let students know why they were important. Or use a <Classroom Assessment Technique [Link to page]> to gauge students’ comprehension, synthesis, or application of the material.
Ask Students a Closing Question
This sets the stage for the next discussion or lecture and could be a good way to help students relate the discussion content to future exams.
Assign Reading or Homework
Another good way to close a discussion is to summarize what you expect your students to accomplish before you see them next.
Make Yourself Available
Often students have lingering questions or ideas about the topic that were not fully articulated in a discussion setting. Remind them that you are available after class, by email, or in office hours if they have any questions.