Facilitating Seminars/Tutorials and Promoting Discussion

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Facilitating Seminars/Tutorials and Promoting
Discussion

• Dr. Catherine Black, Languages and Literatures
• Dr. Marc B. Cels, Medieval Studies/History

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Remember your BEST TA or seminar leader?
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General Goals of Discussion

• Wake up!
• Inspire the frisson of fear
• Reinforce material
• Deepen thinking
• Apply/practice ideas/models/techniques
• Challenge ideas
• Dispel misconceptions
• Argue ideas
• Generate new connections/ideas/theories
• Communicate clearly

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Roles of Participants in Achieving Goals

• Clarify goals with instructor
• Explain goals to students
• Not to listen to another lecture
• Everyones job to think and communicate

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Establishing a FriendlyDiscussion Environment

• Discussions are not oral examinations!
• Forum to try ideas even get it wrong.
• Everyone should be able to face each other (and
  put back).
• Have students use name tags
• Use students names
• NEVER embarrass a student.

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Facilitating Discussion

• Clarify purpose
• Apply knowledge of different learning styles
• Draw out ideas rather than lecturing
• Start with simple questions (analytical)
• Progress to deeper/synthetic questions.
• Rephrase questions if necessary
• Allow thinking time pause
• Help students articulate, distinguish, rephrase
  and refine responses.

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Adding an Edge!

• Provoke responses and deeper thought
• Extreme question/statement
• Question on board/screen/handout
• Cartoon, newspaper, current event
• Set up a debate
• Assign a devils advocate
• Use role play or improv acting
• active learning and communication is fun!

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Cartoons to make a point
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Leaders Attitude

• Influences energy and attitude of a group
• Friendly and open from the start or even before
  class
• Open, encouraging, and enthusiastic
• Empathetic and caring
• Prepares material and gives thought to achieving
  learning outcomes

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Taking Something Away from Discussions

• What kind of notes should participants come away
  with from discussions?
• Worksheets (posted online)
• Tables, charts, graphs
• Discussion journal
• Group recorders/secretaries
• Ask students about note-taking

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Challenges in Leading Discussion

• What have been the challenges that youve
  found/anticipate?

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The Silent

• Why Shy? Confused? Unprepared? Slow?
• Be clear about goals of discussion
• Go around so everyone can respond.
• Allow thinking time.
• Assign two to start discussion.
• Give shy students a question in advance.
• Make an unprepared group read out loud.
• Ask participants how to improve discussion.

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Yappers

• How do you handle the very smart?
• Avoid raised hands on easy questions
• Leave smart to the last
• After class, explain your actions
• Enlist their help in stimulating group discussion

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Yappers The Dominating

• Tactfully ask Is there someone else with an
  answer? So-and-so is doing all the work for us!
• Probe vacuous answers
• After class, explain your actions
• Enlist their help

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Yappers Extreme Cases

• Speak to them outside of class
• Deal limit them to 1 sentence that clearly
  summarizes their idea
• BUT stop rude/obnoxious behavior and speak to
  offenders after class

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You can be someones best discussion leader!
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Resources

• http//teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/participation.htm
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• http//depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/TLBulletins/2(
  3)Discussion.html
• www.philosophypages.com/ph/socr.htm