Materials from discussion groups workshop

Wondering what you missed at the workshop on leading effective discussion groups? You can find the powerpoint slides here. Also, Liz Martin, my always thoughtful and hard-working partner in TA mentor crime, typed up notes on the best take-away tips that came out of the discussions in both workshops. They're copied and pasted below.

Remember that Monday's workshop on grading will be in St. Pat's room 472 at 11:30. That's conveniently nearby and immediately after J5000, but not right next door so the MJ1s don't have to guiltily avoid looking me in the eye as they shuffle past like last time. I try to be thoughtful.

Facilitating Effective Discussions: Sample Scenarios

For the following situations, how could they be handled effectively? How could you prepare yourself to avoid these situations?

1. Only four or five students show up to your discussion group.
• Make the session as fun and useful as possible. Don’t give up because many students are missing.
• Address specific concerns of these students
• Emphasize that the session is still important.
• Have activities or questions prepared in case attendance is low.
• Emphasize importance of regular attendance to students. Let them know you record attendance.
• Keep in touch with students through WebCT or email to let them know what will be happening in upcoming sessions.
• Find out from students how to make discussion groups more useful to them so they want to attend.
• Relate the discussions back to lecture material and readings.
• Emphasize points that might show up on exams.
• Incorporate different media to make your sessions more interesting.

2. One student keeps monopolizing the discussion and bringing it off track.
• Identify the relevant points to what the student says. Paraphrase what the student said and re-focus the discussion
• Make eye contact with other students.
• Call on other students if they are attempting to contribute but are being cut-off.
• Regain control of the discussion by emphasizing that you are the moderator.
• Emphasize that others should get a turn to speak
• Politely interrupt the student if they are becoming obnoxious
• Use smaller-group activities to allow quieter students to have their ideas heard

3. No one in the class has done the readings.
• Have an alternate activity prepared in case students haven’t done readings.
• Divide the reading into sections. Have students break into pairs or small groups, read the section and summarize
• Come prepared with 5-10 key points from the readings. Go through the text in small groups and have groups discuss these points
• Ask at the beginning who has completed which readings. If lots of people did one reading, you can focus the discussion on that reading. If some did another, you can break into smaller groups to discuss individual readings.
• Give pop quizzes at the beginning of sessions to encourage students to read regularly
• Provide students with focus questions a week in advance as a preview to next week

4. You have to lead a discussion after a paper was just handed back that many students did poorly on.
• Address some of the main issues from the essay
• Provide students with resources to help with their next essay
• Have a fun, light activity prepared to get their mind off the essay

5. A student makes a comment that offends another student.
• Handle the situation immediately. Ask the student to explain their comment
o Ask the student if they can restate their point in a less offensive way
o Ask the student to take a moment to think over their statement and give them a chance to reformulate it
• Point out why the comment was offensive
• Focus on the comment, not on the person
• Allow students to take a break if the situation is emotionally charged. Take the opportunity to talk to the individuals privately.
• Establish ground rules with your students in the first class. Outline what kind of behavior is not appropriate.
• Have students create a contract of respect for the classroom.