A Few Suggestions for Classroom Discussions

The following serve as a fill-in-the-blank, self-help type thing for the dreaded classroom discussion. For those of you in math/science/whatnot, who have no idea what I'm talking about, its one of those weird things that humanities students do where they kind of get in a circle and talk about things. If you do know what I'm talking about, then I'm sure you understand that there are some general guidelines to follow so that you don't drive your classmates crazy or make yourself look like a moron.

_______ (Sometimes; Rarely; Every day) in class I have to go through the ________ (dreaded; beloved; boring) group discussion. Usually, I am completely _______ (enthralled; bored; nervous; irritated) because everyone __________ (gets a chance to share their opinion in a collegial environment; talks just to hear themselves talk; clearly read the book when I didn't). Your strategy for the discussion should be based on ________ (how comfortable you feel in the classroom environment; how much you read; whether or not the discussion in graded). After a while the conversation _______ (becomes a heated debate; is completely dominated by one person and the teacher; drops off and the room is filled with awkward silence). My best suggestion for when this happens is to ________ (chime in with your extremely well-supported take on the matter; punch the annoying kid in the face; gird yourself against the painful silence and hope the teacher doesn't ask what you think). Whatever you do, do not ________ (let it escape the teacher's attention how intelligent you are; talk if you have no idea what you're talking about...or if you're wrong; awkward laugh- you're only making things worse!).

And there lies my advice for classroom discussion. Take it as you will. Take it seriously, take it as an ode to Mad Libs, etc. But still, don't be that kid...you know that kid...don't be him/her.