Planning for Discussion
Planning for a discussion necessitates every bit as much effort, perhaps more, as planning for
other types of lessons, and even though spontaneity and flexibility are important in
discussions, it is a teachers planning beforehand that makes these actions possible.
1. Consider Purpose.
Deciding that discussion is appropriate for a given lesson is the first planning step.
Preparing the lesson and making decisions about what type of discussion to hold and
specific strategies to employ are next.
Teachers generally want their discussion to accomplish one of the three objectives: to
check for student understanding of reading assignments or presentations through
recitations, to teach thinking skills, or to share experiences.
2. Consider Students.
- Knowing about students prior knowledge is just as important in planning a
discussion as it is in planning other kinds of lessons. If students have no
understanding of the topic under discussion, it is impossible for them to express an
opinion or to render a reasonable idea.
- Experienced teachers know that they must also take into consideration their students
communication and discussion skills. They consider, for instance, how particular
students in the class will respond differently to various kinds of questions or focus,
they predict how some will want to talk all the time whereas others will be reluctant
to say anything.
- When planning discussions, it is important to devise ways to encourage participation
by as many students as possible, not just the bright ones, and to be prepared with
questions and ideas that will spark the interest of a diverse student group. More is
said about this aspect of discussion later.
3. Choose an Approach.
Three approaches are described here :
a. Recitation
Brief question-and-answer or recitation sessions covering assigned materials are
useful in checking student understanding.
b. Inquiry or Problem-Based Discussion.
Problem-based lessons centered on a discrepant event, Suchman (1962) or what
Palincsar and Brown (1989) called mystery spots encourage discussion and help
students become aware of their own reasoning processes. Both refer to puzzling
situations that are not immediately explainable and situations are puzzling to
students and create cognitive dissonance, they provide a natural motivation to think.
When using this approach, teachers encourage students to ask questions, to generate
empirical data, and to formulate theories and hypotheses to explain the puzzling
situation.
c. Sharing-Based Discussion
Sharing-based discussions help students to form and express thoughts and opinion
independently. Through dialogue about shared experiences and what these
experiences mean, ideas are refined or expanded and questions are raised for future
study.
4. Make a Plan
Advance preparation and identification of questioning patterns can greatly
improve the flow of a classroom discussion. A lesson plan for a discussion consists of
a set of objectives and a content outline. The plan should include not only the targeted
content but also a well-conceived focus statement, the description of a puzzling event,
and/or a list of questions.
5. Develop a Questioning Strategy. For many types of discussions, asking students
questions becomes a key feature. In preparing their questioning strategy, teachers
need to consider both the cognitive level of questions and the level of difficulty.
Teacher can used is Blooms Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives,
which is described in Chapter 3. Table 12.3
Question :
a. convergent questions
focus on a single, best answer or conclusion and to explain known relationships.
Example :
- questions in the remember and understand categories require students to recall
information (facts, events, principles) that they have learned and to explain what it
means.
- Apply and analyze questions require more of students and ask them to focus on
the why of some situation and/or to apply particular kinds of knowledge.
b. divergent questions
Divergent questions allow multiple answers, conclusions, and creativity on the part of
students.
Example : Evaluate and create questions, in contrast, require students to make
judgments based on criteria or answer what if questions.
c. elaborative interrogation questions.
Pressley et al. (1992) and Marzano (2007) describe another type of question very
similar to divergent questions. They come after a student has answered a particular
inferential question and include such follow-up questions. Elaborative interrogation
questions enhance student comprehension and help extend their thinking about
particular topics.
d. Sandra Metts (2005) offered five types of questions that teachers should not ask :
The Dead-end Question:Aquestion requiring only a yes/no response. This
question goes nowhere (e.g., Can animals communicate?).
The Chameleon Question:Aquestion that begins in one direction and then
switches to a different direction (e.g., If language requires both symbols and
rules, can animals have language? That is, if a chimpanzee can be taught to make
a sign for banana, does it have language?)
The Fuzzy Question:Aquestion that is unclear or confusing (e.g., What do you
think about animals communicating?).
The Put-down Question:Aquestion that is largely rhetorical, minimizes the
legitimacy of a comment, and/or closes down additional discussion (e.g., Can we
all see why Marys solution is not feasible?).
The Programmed-answer Question: A question that gives away the intended
answer. Many scholars say that animals can communicate with each other, but
are they using signals or language?
