Suggestion 55. Make one of the lecture periods a discussion section

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Encourage class discussion

• Form discussion groups in large lecture classes

Turning one of the lecture periods into a discussion section.

An engineering professor teaches a lecture course which enrolls about 40 students. Because of its size, there is no Teaching Assistant for the class and no formally scheduled discussion section.

"I believe that discussion is quite important, but the current size of 40+ students prohibits useful exchange in the lecture setting," he says. As a result, he decided to restructure one of the lecture meetings into two discussion sections.

On Mondays and Wednesdays he lectures to the class. On Fridays, students meet in two different sections (15-25 students in each group) to discuss the material. The faculty member conducts both discussion sections.

Although it might be difficult to schedule a convenient time for one of the sections (the other can meet during regular lecture hours), the benefits seem worth the effort to this instructor.

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

  Discipline:  None
Course Level:  None
 Course Size:  Classes too large for discussion & too small for Tas
        Mode:  None

Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

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