Classroom discussions are a vital part of the learning process for both students and teachers. Discussing a topic with their peers helps students process, confirm, and retain the lesson material, while facilitating class discussions helps professors assess how well the class understands the subject matter and jump in to clear up misunderstandings if necessary. Not all discussions are productive, though, and being an effective mediator is a learned skill. Follow these classroom management strategies to identify communication barriers and keep your class discussions on track.
What makes an effective classroom discussion?
An effective classroom discussion is an open conversation that develops students’ communication skills and expands their understanding of a concept. Giving students a platform to voice their opinions and raise questions encourages critical thinking, improves communication skills, and empowers your class to become a room of confident learners.
Addressing barriers to productive class discussions
In an ideal world, every classroom discussion would be interactive, civil, and focused, but the unfortunate reality is that many discussions don’t go as planned. Some common barriers you might face include:
Low student engagement
If you’ve ever attempted to start an open discourse only to be met with silence, you’re not alone. In fact, every teacher has had an experience with the dreaded silent room. Encouraging all students to participate is one of the most challenging yet important parts of a discussion exercise. If your learners are clamming up, it might not be because they didn’t do their homework or weren’t paying attention to the lecture. For a classroom discussion to have its intended impact, students must feel free to express their ideas and ask questions without the fear of being judged by their peers or teacher.
Lack of guidance or mediation
The art of effective mediation is a learned skill. Without proper guidance, a class discussion can go off-topic, get too heated, or hit a dead end before anyone actually learns anything. You might also encounter some students who dominate a conversation while others remain quiet and self-conscious. If you witness any of these behaviors or issues popping up among your students, you should step in to redirect the conversation and restore order.
Time constraints
Jumping into a group discussion in the last five minutes of your class will prevent students from thinking deeply, speaking coherently, and absorbing what their peers are saying. Students who are cut off by the proverbial bell before they have the chance to share their thoughts with the class will walk away in frustration.
How to facilitate a group discussion: classroom management strategies
Holding an effective classroom discussion requires thoughtful planning. Try these classroom management strategies to overcome some of the most common discussion challenges.
Establish ground rules
To avoid chaotic or disrespectful class discussions, set guidelines emphasizing active listening, open-mindedness, tolerance to opposing views, and remaining focused on the topic or subject at hand.
Some ground rules you can establish include:
- One person speaks at a time
- No interruptions when a classmate is speaking
- Each student gets a set amount of time to speak
- No disrespectful language or condescending tones
Spend the first few minutes of the discussion session going over the rules and how you plan to enforce them. Be prepared to take action if boundaries are overstepped.
Create an inclusive classroom with an anonymous Q&A tool
100% student participation should be the goal of any group conversation. Use an anonymous class discussion tool to empower all your students to ask questions and share ideas, including your shy students or those who fear embarrassment.
Creating a judgment-free learning environment not only encourages more productive classroom discussions, but anonymity also fosters student trust and makes you a more approachable teacher.
If you’re looking for a free anonymous discussion tool to use in your class, try SafeAsk™ Anonymous Q&A, our free forever anonymous class discussion tool.
Be a mediator, not a dictator
An effective mediator keeps the classroom discussion focused on achieving its end goals. Some tips for successful mediation:
- Have a clear discussion objective and a desired learning outcome. Initiating a discussion with a clear goal in mind helps you identify when the discussion is deteriorating and direct it back to its intended course.
- Prepare activities and questions ahead of time. Spontaneous discussions sometimes lead to unexpected insights, but productive classroom discussions align with lesson objectives and learning goals. Preparing for a group chat ahead of time will help you get the most out of the exercise.
- Know when to step in and redirect the discussion. Active mediation is necessary if the discussion activity devolves into private student conversations, heated arguments, or silence.
- Know when to speak and when to listen. Class discussions are meant to be student-centric learning activities, so resist the urge to interject with your own opinion before your students are finished sharing their thoughts.
- Remind students of the ground rules. Stepping in to remind students of the ground rules and what the consequences are if those rules are broken should happen the moment a transgression occurs. Failure to do so can easily result in losing control of the class.
- Ask clarifying followup questions to encourage critical thinking. Encourage students to think more deeply about a subject if their response is ambiguous or vague. Ask students to give concrete examples connecting their thoughts to the reading assignment or lesson to clear up any potential misunderstandings about their grasp of the subject matter.
- Know when and how to close the discussion. Make sure you aren’t cutting any students off before they’ve had a chance to fully participate. To close a discussion, announce that it’s coming to an end but allow a few minutes for closing remarks.
- Make your students feel heard and thank them for participating. At the end of a discussion, point out 2-3 key ideas (focus on the ideas rather than the students) and thank your class for participating. Hearing their ideas reiterated by the teacher makes students feel accomplished and encourages them to participate next time.
Use education technology tools to streamline class discussions and maximize productivity
Classroom discussion tools not only encourage students to open up, but education technology can also help streamline group discussions and allow you to cover more material in less time.
For example, REACHUM’s SafeAsk™ Anonymous Q&A discussion tool gives all students the ability to ask or answer questions at once from their electronic devices. You can then pull up individual student responses for group discussion, elaboration, or collaboration. Best of all, if you run out of time before all students have the chance to participate, you can start your next class by pulling up responses from the previous day to continue the discussion.
Productive discussions are a group effort
Classroom dialogue gives students the opportunity to verbalize their understanding of course concepts while giving teachers the opportunity to provide additional guidance where needed. You cannot achieve these goals if your students do not feel empowered to ask questions or participate.
We hope these classroom management tips help you facilitate more productive classroom discussions. We also encourage you to give our anonymous discussion tool a try. SafeAsk™ is one of REACHUM’s many lesson planning tools for educators. Create your free account today.