IF YOU WANT TO:
Using students' writing assignments as the basis for discussion.
An engineering professor identifies several key questions or issues which are given to students a week or two before they are to be discussed. Students prepare written responses of no more than one typewritten double-spaced page. As a result of writing their answers, students come to class well prepared to discuss the material. Their written responses are turned in at the beginning of the period and are subsequently graded, as is their participation in the discussion of the topic.
A history professor uses a similar strategy. In the first week of class he gives a few short writing assignments, each of which can be completed in one or two short paragraphs. "It's hard to provoke discussion at the beginning of the term by simply tossing out a broad query to the class," he says. "Assigning a specific topic to write about helps students prepare for the discussion. Later, when the students are more comfortable with each other and with me, this kind of formal preparation is less necessary."
A professor of business administration uses the same approach throughout the term. Each week a "reaction" paper is due which requires students to write one to three pages on a specific topic, typically responding to a controversial issue. The papers are graded and used as the basis for class discussion.
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
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