Thảo luận trên lớp

Một thầy giáo hỏi tôi: “Làm thế nào thầy làm cho học sinh tham gia vào thảo luận trên lớp? Khi tôi hỏi một câu hỏi, mọi điều tôi thấy là phần lớn học sinh cúi đầu xuống, không ai ngẩng lên hay nói cái gì. Xin thầy lời khuyên.”

—English version—

Class discussion

A teacher wrote to me: When I have a class discussion, students only give the answers that they found in the textbook. I have tried many times, but students confuse and do not want to say much. How do you encourage class discussion? Please advise.”

Answer: There are four levels of class discussion. You need to go from one level to the next and allow students time to get used to this approach. After many years of listening to lectures, it is not easy for them to change their habit from passive to active. Following are the four levels of discussion:

Discuss to understand: This is the first level where the teacher asks students questions following a lecture to determine their understanding of the lecture. As the teacher, you should call each student by name to answer since many students may not volunteer. For example: “James, what is the relationship between X and Y?” As James answers, you could call another student to comment on the answer. For example: “Bill, what do you think about James’ answer? As Bill answers, you continue: “Bob, do you agree or disagree with Bill and why?”  The goal of this type of discussion is to make sure students understand the lecture by asking mostly “What” and “Why” questions.

Discuss to critique: The next level of discussion involves students’ perspectives when they examine questions and answers. The teacher also calls a student by name to answer a question. For example: “Bob, explain to me why we should do X instead of Y?” After Bob explains, you could ask the class: “How many of you agree with Bob’s answer? If you agree, please raise your hand.” You can select a student who does not raise the hand by asking: “Bill, it seems that you do not agree with Bob’s answer. Please tell me why? By create small conflicts on the topic, you encourage more interactions among students where the class begins to discuss. The goal is to facilitate a discussion between a student’s existing knowledge and other who can provide another perspective. By having more than one view, it leads the class to learn more by going deeper than the right or wrong answers. The goal of this type of discussion is to encourage deeper learning that force students to re-examine their understanding on a topic, an issue, and develop critical thinking skills.

Discuss to construct knowledge:  The next level of discussion gives students more opportunities for interaction and collaboration with others. In this type, students work in a team and discuss among themselves before participating in class discussion. The teacher gives a topic for discussion and assigns students to a team (i.e., three to five per team) to discuss the answer. After a short period (10 – 15 minutes) the teacher begins to ask for debate among groups. For example: “Each team will have 5 minutes to present your view on the topic. Afterward, I like to have the team to debate to see which one have the best argument.” The topic of this type should be broader than the class materials to encourage the student to look outside the traditional academic learning. I like to select controversial topics such as “The impact of the fourth industrial revolution to our society”; “The issue of industrialization of the city and agriculture lands.” By having teams to present and defense their position, it can lead to more vibrant discussion. The goal of this type of discussion is for students to build their knowledge together. From a learning perspective, individuals do not learn in isolation, by having more interaction with others, they learn more and develop a profound understanding of the topic (Deep learning).

Discuss to share knowledge. The next level of the discussion focuses on building active groups of students who are willing to share their knowledge with others. Students will learn more when they are part of an active learners group. A strong group of active learners who represents an opinion, an idea on the specified class subjects can present their view and engage others in discussing more. The goal of this type is assigned a topic for the group ahead of time and let them lecture in class. For example, the teacher can assign a team to research on a topic then bring to class and teach others. When students learn something as a group, they have a sense of belonging, ready to support each other to learn.

As a teacher, you can watch the whole class evolves as students move from passive to active learners. It is important for teachers to acknowledge all participants, even those who are not speaking much, by a look at them and nodding to encourage them to participate. The teacher should listen attentively to know what each student needs, what they say or do not say during the discussion. Even students who actively participate still need to be challenged to think deeper. For example: “Bill, is it that all you know? Can you tell me more.” Students who express some confusions may need a little encouragement. For example: “Bob, that is a good effort. I am pleased that you do well today.”

There are times teacher should guide the discussion and times when a teacher should allow students to do the discussion. One common mistake some teacher make is to attempt to drive every conversation. Occasionally students may need to take charge to learn the material themselves. Teaching science and technology require investigations and deeper learning and having a class discussion is one of the best ways to help students to be active in their learning.