University Teaching & Learning 5000

June 04, 2008

Reading:

• Chapter 9 of the Ramsden book
• Baume, D. (2002). Designing and leading seminars and discussion groups. Oxford Brooks University
• Baume, D. (2002). Using questions in teaching. Oxford Brooks University
• Gross Davis, B. (1993). Encouraging student participation in discussion. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Each of the Baume items is part of a series he has prepared for the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development. It includes items on quite a few other topics that we have considered in the course. You will find the full list here. If you are more likely to be running laboratory sessions than tutorials, you might wish to substitute his ‘Demonstrating in laboratories and practical classes‘ for the one on leading seminars and discussion groups.

Viewing:

• The Art of Discussion Leading, a video produced by Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.
  [Click on the title under "Disk 4" when the Bok Center's site comes up.]

  The link is to a 3-minute preview of a longer video. I am particularly interested in an idea introduced near the end of the segment regarding taking a discussion into the “balcony”.

Writing:

Please come to the class prepared to discuss the assigned reading; however, rather than writing a response to this material, I would like for you to
• write an annotation for an article of your choice from a recent issue of one of the discipline-specific journals on teaching.

There was a link to the list of journals in my May 25th post on teaching philosophy statements, but you can also get to it by clicking here and scrolling to page 50. Please make an attempt to place your annotation on the wiki for the ‘Bibliography Project’. There is a link to it on the sidebar, but clicking this link will also take you there. If your efforts to figure out how the wiki works proves too frustrating, send me your annotation by email and I will post it for you.

Optional material on discussions:

If you are interested in more information on asking questions, the following paper provides a very thorough account of how to develop your skills. Don’t be put off by the look of the paper; though it was written when typewriters were still the norm, the ideas remain very useful.

Goodwin, S., Sharp, G., Cloutier, E., Diamond, N. & Dalgaard, K. (1983). Effective Classroom Questioning. Office of Instructional and Management Services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The following item provides a useful taxonomy (and examples) of types of questions one might ask in either a tutorial or lecture setting

Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning (2007). Some different types of questions.

A book that compiles several articles on discussion methods is:

Neff, R. A. & Weimer, M. (Eds.) (1989). Classroom communication : collected readings for effective discussion and questioning. Madison, WI: Magna Publications. [Available in Scott Library, LB2331 C52 1989]

The article on Effective Classroom Questioning is reprinted in Neff & Weimer’s book as is the following article which offers several strategies for promoting a class discussion:

Ewens, W. (1986). Teaching using discussion Journal of Management Education, 10, 77-80.