Discussion

Discussions in the classroom are not a new idea in education, but the ways to facilitate and carry out a classroom discussion are. There have been some new ideas that have come about in education on how to handle classroom discussions with students. In my teaching classes as well as my CEP classes we have talked about different ways of carrying out discussions and new tools or strategies.

One way to get students involved in discussions is to have them be more student based. by giving the power to the students rather than the teacher more students may feel comfortable opening up and talking. Most discussions in a classroom are teacher-student based, but by having the discussion student-student based or led there is more room for the student to open up and say how they feel or voice their opinion on a topic.

Another strategy is to give students a role. Splitting students up into small groups and having each student hold the role, ex. facilitator, reporter, etc, the students will feel more in control and more likely to participate. This gives the students a chance to feel as if they have a role of leadership and therefore they may be more likely to participate. New ideas of discussion can be used in any class and this can really help students to feel more comfortable in the classroom and during discussions.