Melinda's Reading Notes 2

Class discussions always seem to be dreaded by a lot of students.  I have seen the fear in undergraduates and graduates.  I think it is important as the instructor to make students feel as if it is not something they HAVE to do, but something that is valuable.  Davis (98) makes a suggestion that I feel aids in that process.  Involve the class in conversation about what makes for a good discussion and deciding the rules of the discussion.  We have talked in class about making the student feel as if they have some control over their learning process and this helps achieve that goal.  
 
I think the most important advice that both Lang (96) and Davis (97) offer is to start early.  It establishes to student that discussion is an important part of the course.  Even if participation is not graded, the students will still see the value of learning from their peers if it’s done from the beginning.  I feel that if an instructor lectures for 6 weeks with little discussion or debate, then students won’t take the discussion as seriously when the instructor does decide to include it.  Students may feel that it’s just something to kill time and has very little impact on their learning or grade in the course.  Lang (93) and Davis (107) also offered another reason for starting early: the longer a student goes without contributing, the less likely it is that the instructor will ever hear from them in class.
 
There are two techniques that Lang described that I was already considering using when I teach.  The first was using low stakes writing (90).  From my experience, discussions lasted longer and were more student directed when this method was used.  I do feel that expecting student to come up with a coherent answer to a complex question is unfair.  Giving students the opportunity to think of ideas first, makes the discussion less painful for them and the instructor.  
 
I also liked the moving from fact gathering into interpretation method on page 904 of Lang.  It is very easy for students answer questions when they know there is a right or wrong answer and they have the right one.  Getting the “right” ones quickly out of the way allows them to change their shift that other possibilities are correct as well.  For example, I could have asked the class the two main forms of corrections (jail/prison and probation/parole).  Then, I could have asked other forms such as fines, home monitoring, etc.  I also could have furthered the discussion as to which punishments are more appropriate for a certain crime.  
 
I have not really formed an opinion on using online discussions.  It may very well be that it was only used in one my classes.  That class did have some very debated material.  I can see in that context that people may be more inclined to offer their true opinion on a topic from behind the safety of a computer screen.  Debates would probably be more real and a little less politically correct.  However, I feel it may be more work for me to constantly have to check the threads to make sure there is nothing that may overly offend other students.  As well, given my material (unless we are talking death penalty) people’s opinions aren’t as “personal” and they are more inclined to offer them.  For example, talking about executive compensation being tied to company performance isn’t as controversial as same sex marriage.