Reading Notes 2

Having a meaningful in class discussions is an important part of any college level course. As students bring a number of perspectives to any given topic, encouraging and allowing them to interact and process the material together can help reveal interesting new takes on the material at hand. One of the most important points that I think comes through in both sets of readings is that instructors should put just as much planning and thought into class discussions as they would into any normal lecture. Some instructors take a more hands off role when it comes to discussion times hoping that the students will be totally inspired and will take control of the class. As Lang describes in his opening example, sometimes that just doesn’t happen. Most students want to know that there is a point to the activities that they participate in. Davis discusses the importance of keeping the discussion oriented to key issues and providing students a progression of questions to follow (101). I guess the question that arises out of this for me is how much planning is too much planning? As an instructor I want to make sure that the important points get across, but I also don’t want to stifle any interesting insights or new ways in which the information presented in class could be applied. Would it be valuable to provide students a list of questions prior to coming class for them to think about and answer while they are reading? Or will doing so encourage students to skip?

An issue not from the readings but that bothers me concerning group discussions is the fact that students opt to skip when they know that the class is primarily going to be group discussion. What is confusing to me is that when asked at the end of the class students often say that they really enjoyed group discussions and that it helped them understand the material. I am curious as to why many students don’t find class discussion important enough to attend when they have the opportunity, but why they cite these discussions as valuable to their learning experience.

Davis highlights the value of posing controversial topics and having students take different sides of the argument (100). Lang also encourages something similar even going so far as to dividing the class into sides (95). I am one of those people who like a spirited debate and will often act as the contrarian just to keep the discussion going. Furthermore, I also feel that it is important to discuss controversial topics in order to understand why they are controversial and how the controversies may be resolved. In my mind no subject is taboo for an honest discussion. Very few topics get me upset and I have very few aversions. However I also recognize that not everyone feels the same way as I. How do I as an educator make sure that my discussions do not offend my students, while still covering the material appropriately? I can understand one needs to encourage a respect for different viewpoints, but sometimes the facts are just hard to take. I feel like this problem is particularly important in the area of psychology because the research findings can be upsetting and hard to deal with. This is one of my biggest concerns as an instructor.