Journal Response to Discussion as a Way of Teaching, Stephen Brookfield

Class discussion can be either a beast of terrible silence amidst awkward blank stares between students, each other and at their instructor, or discussion can be a relaxed and rewarding classroom social activity. I find that opportunities for class discussion can either make or break an experience that students and even instructors will look back, critique and reflect upon. It opens a dialogue option for folks to ask and answer various questions like, “why is this important?” “why did the author phrase this line this way?” among other, more precise queries. There is a strong difference between information memorized under the instruction of arbitrary assignments and a full-bodied classroom discussion that dissects and critiques the source material used in the lesson and the relevance of such material in context of both in the classroom setting and generating connections with the outside world or local culture. Having questions is where most of these dialogues can begin.

A wise individual once said “An intelligent man has all the answers, but if unwilling to share those answers with anyone, he may as well know nothing.”

As such, learning may be able to be achieved through strict memorization or practice with a certain skill set or tools, but for a student to acquire an understanding of the learning material presented they need to ask the right questions and test the validity of the material they have at their fingertips. Knowledge does no good if it remains unused. Healthy group discussion can lead to an opportunity to see the same question or material through different perspectives; more perspectives, mean a greater understanding of the true nature of whatever the focus of the discussion is. Even if your class discussion is as simple or as structured as a circular group meant to take turns responding to a single topic question, it is still more inspiring to hear others’ ideas and perspectives than to continuously rehash your own ideas over and over on repeat for it is madness to do so and think you are really understanding anything.

http://webshare.northseattle.edu/Sustainability_in_Healthcare/Discussion_as_a_Way_of_Teaching%20INC-Learning%20Circles.pdf