Discussion in the College Classroom: Getting Your Students Engaged and Participating in Person and Online

Second only to lecture as the most widely used instructionalstrategy, there's no better method than classroom discussion toactively engage students with course material. Most faculty are notaware that there is an extensive body of research on the topic fromwhich instructors can learn to facilitate exceptional classroomdiscussion. Discussion in the College Classroom is apractical guide which utilizes that research, frames itsociologically, and offers advice, along with a wide variety ofstrategies, to help you spark a relevant conversation and steer ittoward specific learning goals.

Applicable across a spectrum of academic disciplines both onlineand on campus, these ideas will help you overcome the practicalchallenges and norms that can undermine discussion, and foster anew atmosphere of collaborative learning and critical thinking.Higher education faculty are increasingly expected to be moreintentional and reflective in their pedagogical practice, and thisguide shows you how to meet those expectations, improve studentoutcomes, and tackle the perennial problem of laggingengagement.

Thoroughly grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning, this book gives you concrete guidance on integrating discussioninto your courses. You'll learn to:

The kind of discussion that improves learning rarely arisesspontaneously. Like any pedagogical technique, careful planning andsmart strategy are the keys to keeping students focused, engaged, and invested in the conversation. Discussion in the CollegeClassroom helps you keep the discussion applicable to thematerial at hand while serving learning goals.