Creative teaching through discussions

Students are better able to assimilate knowledge via discussion than merely receiving it, making it an essential component of learning across all fields. Different abilities are required to successfully lead a debate as opposed to delivering a lecture. The purpose of a conversation is to encourage students to engage in reflective thought about the content of the course. Your job description now includes “facilitator.” You do not provide the content but rather develop and support the dialogue instead. If you want to have a conversation with the class, you shouldn’t do all of the talking yourself; you shouldn’t give a speech to the whole class or speak to one kid at a time.

Discussions

Before you can even begin to arrange a conversation with your students (or any other kind of education, for that matter), you need to identify what you want them to learn from the topic. Do you want them, for instance, to discuss their comments, come up with new connections, and discuss the ramifications of a text? Should it be expected of them that they would be able to solve specific difficulties by the end of the hour? Should they be able to analyze and comment on a work of art or a picture that was taken for a journalistic publication? You will be able to determine which sorts of activities throughout the discussion will be most beneficial to your students in terms of achieving the goal of the discussion if you first decide on and then articulate the goal of the discussion.

discussions

Don’t forget that there are a lot of other methods you may arrange a discussion: you can have pupils work in small groups, role-play, pick sides for a debate, or write and share a paragraph in response to the subject in question. You should also schedule enough time to wrap up and summarise the conversation for your students (or have your students do this), as well as time to debrief following activities like debates or role-plays.

Develop a Clear Goal for discussions

It is not enough to have knowledge of the material that will be addressed. It is not enough to just name the chapter that your pupils will read. You need to be able to describe what the pupils will be able to accomplish. It is with the material or the concepts that you provide to them. In a philosophy class, for instance, in which the students have read a chapter on various theories of knowledge. You may want the students to be able to construct authentic urgings. It is for and against any theory about which they have read. In this scenario, the students will have read the chapter on epistemologies or theories of knowledge.

Select a Discussion Format

In the classroom, there are various different discussion exercises that may be employed. Pick one that will assist your students in meeting the objectives you have set for the debate. When you can be more detailed in the assignment that you provide your pupils, it will increase the likelihood that they will succeed at work.

About the Author

Lisa Lee

Lisa Lee

I am a Parsons School of Design graduate with a certified teacher's license. At Gooroo, my passion is to educate students through an artist's approach, which requires critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. During the elementary years, I think that students broaden their perspective and expression through art, and this skill can be applied to any other fields of study later on. I believe that a true educator can be the key to unlocking every child's potential. Gooroo is a tutoring membership that matches students to tutors perfect for them based on their unique learning needs. Gooroo offers Math, English, SAT, Coding, Spanish tutoring, and more.