Suggestion 64. Identify discussion questions/issues in advance

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Encourage class discussion

• Help students prepare for discussion

• Provide a stimulus for discussion

Identifying discussion questions in advance.

Students are more inclined to participate when they know the focus or intent of the discussion. A preview of the discussion topics can help students organize their thinking and prepare to express their views. Several faculty members develop discussion questions in advance and distribute them to their students.

"In my education course," one professor explains, "I give students a series of four to eight discussion questions on each week's reading assignment. These are spelled out in the course syllabus which is handed out during the first week of class. Each student is responsible for all the questions in any given week. These questions serve both as study aids and stimuli for discussion."

A professor of engineering and another in English do not hand out lists of questions until one or two weeks before the topic is to be discussed. This makes it possible for them to design questions which incorporate issues related in earlier discussions.

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

  Discipline:  None
Course Level:  None
 Course Size:  None
        Mode:  None

Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

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