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LEADING A DISCUSSION

1) You will need to develop an outline for the discussion, indicating what points you want covered and list potential questions that will draw these points out. The list of questions developed for the Critique of a Scientific Research Paper is an excellent starting point. You may need to modify them to make the questions more directly relevant to the paper you are discussing.

2) Develop a list of follow-up questions or references. If no one answers the question you pose, or answers in a way that you did not anticipate, you need to be able to guide them to the answer you think needs to be discussed. This can be done with a more pointed question or with reference to a part of the text and a follow-up like "What does that refer to?" or "What do you think of that statement?"

3) Do not be scared of silence. It may mean people are thinking. Sometimes it is productive to make someone with a quick answer to a question wait so that everyone can process the question. Many teachers will slowly, silently count to ten as an appropriate wait time before adding a follow-up question or comment.

4) You need to encourage full participation in the group. Sometimes this means stifling a dominant group member and almost always involves finding ways to encourage participation from people who are not. Techniques for the latter include calling on specific people, asking for comment from "those that have not yet commented", asking everyone to write out the answer to a question, or going around the group asking each person to briefly comment on a specific question.

5) If possible, strive for a discussion were the participates are interacting with each other directly, not exclusively through you. This is difficult to manage when it is also your responsibility to guide the discussion and control the time.

6) Don't be too rigid. The group may identify a new and interesting topic or idea that you did not anticipate. Let them pursue it. However, …

7) Manage the time. Make sure you know how much time you have and be clear which topics, ideas, or information you feel MUST be covered. Move the discussion along so you can get to the information you need.

The suggestions above came in part from the following:

Committee on Undergraduate Science Education. Science Teaching Reconsidered A Handbook. 1997. National Academy Press.

Guilette, M.M. 1984. The Art and Craft of Teaching. Harvard University Press.

Janes, J. and D. Hauer. 1988. Now What? Readings on surviving (and even enjoying) your first experience at college teaching. Copley Publishing.

McKeachie, W.J. 1986. Teaching Tips A Guidebook for the Beginning College Teacher. D.C. Heath and Company.

© Meers, Savarese, Demers, Barreto, Kakareka, Volety, Everham, Cruz-Alvarez, Loh, Goebel, Fugate, Bovard, Hartley, Mujtaba, & Gunnels 2009.

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