One of Kevin Gannon’s favorite class discussion activities doesn’t involve much talking. Inspired by complete-the-story games in which players each write a line of a tale that builds off a previous ...

Asking students questions in class is an important aspect of the teaching and learning process. The right questions can pique curiosity, get students to dig deeper into class content, and provide an ...

So the day of the text-based discussion has arrived and all of the students have had time to think about their ideas, write them down and pair-share in preparation for a vibrant and meaningful student ...

Discussion was the element of my college classes I enjoyed most. I loved sitting in a class with a diverse group of people discussing literature, historical events, and political issues. In those ...

Why Are Class Discussions Challenging? There are a variety of reasons that class discussions are challenging. It’s not necessarily just students being “lazy”. There could be a lot of real issues and ...

Underneath this arc runs a fourth element—Timing—the ongoing work of pacing each segment so you reach your goals without losing flexibility. What you do before class officially starts, shapes the ...

It makes sense that students are more likely to ask and address questions with teachers who are open, enthusiastic and encouraging, who select interesting and important material to discuss, and who ...

Often we as instructors look for ways to include classroom participation as part of our course design. Student participation can take the form of simply being present in class to actively discussing ...

Participation in a discussion board is among the most common assignments in online courses. We typically ask our students to respond to a reading or a prompt and then reply to several of their ...

People often ask me to name my favorite online teaching tool. My answer is always the same: Hands down, it’s online discussion forums. As a veteran online teacher, I view discussion forums as the meat ...