INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
Section 7
Preparing Questions for Discussions* In a structured discussion, questions posed by the teacher drive the dialog to enable students to discover solutions to problems on their own. But if you want to lead the students up a ladder of analysis, discussion questions must be organized in a logical hierarchy. At the lowest level, ―knowledge‖ questions requiring factual recall establish the general background and will help you determine the level of student preparation for the discussion. At the next level, ―application‖ questions ask students to reach a conclusion based on evidence from the reading or other assignments. Because these questions require interpretation, inference, and reasoning from evidence, student answers will differ in style and substance, offering opportunities for disagreement and debate. In cases of interpretation there are usually no right or wrong answers, only stronger or weaker arguments for particular positions. At the highest level, ―evaluation‖ questions demand judgments based on factual knowledge of the material, application of concepts, and evaluation of evidence.
Examples of Questions for a Class Discussion Knowledge question Did Descartes believe in God? What are some differences between sodium atoms and ion? What three conditions must be met for something to qualify as a business asset? Application questions How do you know how many times to use l’Hopital’s rule in a differential calculus problem?
How would you explain the connection between confidence interval construction and hypothesis testing? How well do American secondary schools fit Weber’s definition of bureaucracy? Evaluation questions What do you think might have been the result if the cotton gin had been invented 20 years earlier than it was?
In this case study, what would you do about amortizing equipment costs if you were the chief accountant? A poet once wrote that ―death is the brother of sleep.‖ In light of the research articles you read, do you think the poet was close to the truth?
*Teaching at Carolina (1996). Chapel Hill, NC: Center for Teaching and Learning, University of North Carolina.
Maintaining Discussions* Maintaining discussions often means dealing as smoothly as possible with the problems that arise. Here are some common problems and suggestions for how to deal with them: The student who talks too much. Avid talkers can be both a blessing and a curse. Such students can monopolize classroom conversations at the expense of others. These strategies might help: • • •
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Avoid looking in the direction of the persister, or structure the discussion to preclude that person’s participation (e.g., ―let’s hear from someone who has not yet contributed.‖) Raise the question of participation with the class (e.g., ―would the class be more effective if the participation were more evenly distributed?‖) Ask one or more members of the class to act as observers for a few class periods, reporting back their observations to the class. Perhaps assigning the avid talker to the observer role would help increase that person’s sensitivity to the need to share conversational roles. Talk to the student individually outside of class.