Strategies and Prompts for a Productive Discussion Section

A pastiche of practical suggestions and proven strategies for making the most of discussion time.
Compiled over the years by English Department TA 's.

In initiating discussion, try to avoid questions that invite one-word answers. Ask open-ended questions that get the students thinking about the relationship between ideas, between texts, between courses, about the consequences and implications of their answers, and so on.

Asking a question that has one right answer is sure to limit your share of student responses. Most students won't want to attempt the answer and look foolish if they fail. The rest may be reduced to playing a guessing game. Offer the information you want your students to include in their analysis and ask them to consider it. Instead of asking "What was Gerard Manley Hopkins's profession?" you could start, "Hopkins was a Jesuit. How might this poem reflect his religious beliefs?"

Raise questions about the lecture. What were the essential ideas? Are there any problems? How can we apply what was said?

If students don't respond to general questions about the text(s) under discussion, you might want to point to some short passages that could spark comment. Always have three or four ready.

Not waiting long enough after a question to give students time to think will usually defeat the purpose of a good question. Students need time to ponder a provocative question before they respond. Give them at least 7 seconds to think and respond. Silence is uncomfortable for them as well as for you, so give them a chance and they will usually fill the gap. (Besides, answering your own questions sets a dangerous precedent for a discussion group.) A very long silence can also be turned productive by asking what it is about that question (or that text) that is difficult to respond to. You may also want to ask, "why are you having trouble thinking of what to say?" "how did you feel about this assignment?" or "are you confused?"

Be aware that your class will consist of both majors and non-majors. This makes it difficult to predict the level at which to aim questions. Students live up to reasonable challenges, so it is best to keep the level a bit above that of the average student. Asking questions of varied levels of sophistication and complexity has the advantage of garnering a response from many kinds of students.

Use advanced students as a resource. Turn their ideas into questions for the whole class.

Sequence questions in the same type of format as you might writing assignments. Begin with the less challenging/intimidating and become more complex as you go. This line of questioning can help to get students talking and ensure that they have enough information to answer a more difficult question.

It is important that some of the big ideas (what is culture? what is literature? why do we study it? how?) come into focus at some time.

Ask questions that demand that the students theorize about connections among the major topics of the discussion of that day, or in the course so far. If you can make some connections to lecture or what is to come next week, all the better.

Don't be afraid to play the devil's advocate or to introduce a highly personal or even controversial idea. Debates in the classroom are a sure sign that you have your students' interest and involvement with the material.

You might want to share the real problems or conflicts you have with a certain text or with lecture. Questions that begin "I don't really understand why ..." or "What do you make of ..." can be helpful.

Don't be afraid to leave some questions unresolved. The best discussions can grow out of questions that you may not be able to answer.

Make an effort early on to get as many people talking as possible. The more people you can engage at the very beginning of a class (or the quarter), the more likely they are to continue talking.

Draw in quiet students who seem to have something to say in such a way as to help them get over their nervousness by addressing inviting openers to them or by asking them questions you know that they can answer.

Try to avoid the private conversation syndrome.If a student asks an especially interesting and complex question, a lengthy conversation between you and that student may develop, with the result that other students will tend to get resentful and bored. Be sensitive to this and address your response to all the members of the class, perhaps using the question to raise another question that other students can respond to (one of your objectives, of course, being to get students to discuss ideas with each other, not solely with you.) You might like to invite the talkative student to continue the discussion after class.

If one or two students tend to monopolize the discussion, tension will develop. To change the pattern you may want to ask students to raise their hands when they have something to say and then call on the students who talk less frequently. You may also want to call on a specific person to answer a question so that you bypass the usual talkers.

Always try to focus on a few key points at the end of class. A quick recap will help students feel as if they've gotten something to take with them as they leave section.

You can lay the groundwork for the following week's discussion by asking students to read with a particular passage, question or focus in mind.