Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning

UWA SPOT/SET Project

219)          useful class discussion has been stimulated

Discussions can help to clarify issues, create new ideas and are a part of an active learning process.

·         Kasulis (1984) identifies three dimensions of discussions and elaborates the art of questioning to promote useful discussion (pp. 38-48).

·         Gibbs & Habeshaw (1989) raise some issues to consider when planning small group discussions and provide tips that may encourage student participation (pp. 73-95).

·         Empowering through discussion (Queensland University of Technology, 1997) looks at the use of discussion in teaching.

·         Practical suggestions for encouraging discussions are given in A Berkeley Compendium of Teaching with Excellence. (Davis, Wood, & Wilson, 1983)

·         Steps to Achieving Successful Discussion (Office of Distance Education and Lifelong Learning-Center for Teaching and Learning, 2000) says, "At the heart of the modern online adult classroom is the growing art of conferencing. You have to move beyond saying, 'Twenty percent of your grade is based on class participation,' to guarantee that your discussions blossom beyond the mundane." They provide a few quick steps to insure that successful discussions develop within your conferences.

 

Davis, B. G., Wood, L., & Wilson, R. C. (1983). A Berkeley compendium of suggestions for teaching with excellence [World Wide Web]. The University of California. Retrieved 20 October, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/compendium/sectionlists/sect10.html

Gibbs, G., & Habeshaw, T. (1989). Preparing to teach: An introduction to effective teaching in higher education. Bristol: Technical Educational Services, Ltd.

Kasulis, T. (1984). Questioning. In M. Gullette (Ed.), The Art and Craft of Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning.

Office of Distance Education and Lifelong Learning-Center for Teaching and Learning. (2000). Steps to achieving successful discussion [World Wide Web]. University of Maryland University College. Retrieved 20 October, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://www.umuc.edu/facdev/resources/discussion.html

Queensland University of Technology. (1997). Empowering through discussion [Video Tape]. Brisbane: QUT Publications.