I place tremendous value on class discussion, a space where students can voluntarily share ideas and talk directly to one another. Over the years, my students have helped me find a system that works nicely and the structure I describe here is inspired by them.
Each participant in class discussion should prepare before class by reading thoughtfully and selecting something specific they want to bring into the discussion.
- Before the start of class, I’ll ask each of you to share the passage or question you want to bring into discussion under your name in Our Doc (either as a link to an online text or a picture of a physical book).
- All devices will go away and notebooks will come out for discussion.
- You will be invited to elaborate on what you’ve added to Our Doc during the discussion and I’ll pull up whatever you’ve shared so everyone can see what you’re talking about
- I will do my best on the class computer to pull up texts, passages, and random things that come up as the discussion happens.
- After discussion, I’ll set aside some time for you to create a discussion reflection (on our course website) and write what you took away from the discussion, whether you spoke or not. Your goal is to write quickly and informally to capture emerging ideas. By the end of the allotted time, I will ask you to publish your post to share with your classmates or set it to private (I’ll be able to see it either way).
- After class, I’ll mark who entered a passage/question in Our Doc and who has not. I’ll also mark who has completed their post and who has not—this will be how I track preparation (zero points for no work in Our Doc, 10 points for work in Our Doc) and participation (zero points for no discussion reflection, 10 points for a complete discussion reflection).
I’m likely to tweak things as I see how this system is working—please share ideas if you see ways to improve discussion!
