Students learn best when they are active in the learning process. They become more engaged, creative, and in tune with the world around them.
Think about the best lessons you’ve taught. Your students were probably the ones solving problems and leading thought-provoking discussions. So try your best to ditch the lectures and get your students involved in learning!
Why are student discussions a crucial part of the learning process?
Studies have shown active learning techniques encourage students to produce thoughts and get feedback through interactive settings rather than passively receiving information. Classroom discussions are a perfect way to turn your passive students into active leaders.
Discussions hold students accountable and keep them focused. Don’t be afraid to let go. Classroom management can even improve as students have the opportunity to share their opinions and even debate a little. Just make sure to develop ground rules as a class for these discussions. A noisy classroom can actually be a great sign that there is learning happening.
How do you get students talking?
So just how do you get students to talk to one another? They can be shy, insecure, or confused. Make it more comfortable by starting with a whole group discussion. Some students will be more likely than others to share.
Then, you can break them into smaller groups where you’ll start to see more students talking. Pose a question, step away, and let the magic happen!
Where can I find engaging discussion topics?
You can hold student discussions on just about anything. Sometimes it’s good to just let them talk about their interests before diving into more technical topics. Once students seem ready, ReadTheory users can search the ReadTheory library for passages on various topics and then hold a class discussion on the main idea, character traits, point of view, and more.
Bonus points: Some ReadTheory teachers will often ask students to jot down notes throughout the week about how the ReadTheory passages relate to their lives. They can share the results routinely with whole class or small group discussions on Fridays.
