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| HOW TO BE A DISCUSSION LEADER AND PARTICIPATOR The success of our class is rooted in the development of our discussions. The instructor will expect three people to serve as Discussion Leaders for each day. Generally, the assigned Reflections Journal homework questions from the prior day will serve as the discussion topic(s) for that particular lesson. ALL STUDENTS WILL BE GRADED DAILY ON DISCUSSION PARTICIPATION AND PREPARATION, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE NOT DISCUSSION LEADERS. Since Discussion Leaders are chosen at random daily, it is important that you put an honest effort into your Reflections Journal homework questions. The objective of the 10-15 minute conference at the beginning of class is so that the instructor can help you with your method of delivery (in other words, how you will lead the discussion and what kind of questions to ask). Everybody in the class has to do this at least once a week and sometimes more depending on how often you are randomly selected. If you are randomly selected more than three times during the week, the instructor will pick another student who has yet to be a Discussion Leader that week until everyone has had an opportunity. By the way, some people might think that it is unfair to be forced to speak and they are at a disadvantage because they are shy. My response is that it is my duty to teach Language Arts; thus, students must master four basic skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. All too often, many of us (including myself) do not think before we speak nor do we express ourselves as effectively as we desire. Secondly, many of us are poor listeners, as we are passive and/or uninterested. We learn how to write better the more we read; we learn how to listen better the more we speak. Here is a simple example: Johnny tells his classmates that he is new to the area and that he is bored in school during recess. The first student responds that he is also bored during recess. The second offers Johnny his new toy for recess. The third classmate tells Johnny he will be his friend for recess. It is my hope that my students will learn to offer the third response because it demonstrates an ability to understand and appreciate the loneliness and boredom that Johnny is experiencing. Most importantly, the third classmate is able to understand that Johnny is really implying that he wants a friend. Inference is a major key to understanding and appreciating literature and speech - we need to live, think, and feel (Please see the Introduction) the written and spoken word (or rather the unwritten and unspoken word). Basically, Discussion Leaders pretend to be the instructor: 1. Each Discussion Leader must have at least two questions about the reading assignment that s/he will ask the other students. Don't use Yes/No questions. Use open-ended questions that require some thought to answer (Remember, it is your job to know the material and it is the job of the instructor to help you communicate it effectively). 2. A Discussion Leader starts us off by asking a question. Somebody has to answer it, or the Discussion Leader will have to re-phrase it (with some help from the instructor). 3. After somebody has offered an opinion or answer, the Discussion Leaders should ask other people to help out, to contribute, until you feel that you've discussed that question as best as you can (and until everybody who wants to talk about it has had an opportunity). 4. Now pass to the next Discussion Leader. All Discussion Leaders do this until they have run out of questions. 5. To get credit for having served as Discussion Leader, you will have to actually lead the discussion! Just sitting there and hoping others will talk will not be good enough. If you do not accomplish anything productive, you will not receive credit (Do not despair, as the instructor will assist in keeping the discussion constructive). BE TOUGH, BUT NOT MEAN: Being tough is good, but being mean is bad. There is a difference. You want to be tough - an academic warrior seeking answers that are meaningful. Do not settle for vague or simplistic answers. Ask people, "What do you mean by that?" And "How did you come up with that answer?" But DO NOT be mean! Do not say things like, "That doesn't answer my question - that's ridiculous!" We are a team and if one member falls short then we all have failed. A good teacher is tough but kind. An example of Discussion Leader Questions: Let's say that you read literature describing what happened to a town when the Vikings came to raid it. It's a long description of what happened to the town, the people, etc, and what the Vikings were like. As Discussion Leader, you might begin with a question like this: "Why was the town vulnerable to being attacked by the Vikings?" Or, "Why couldn't the town stop the Vikings?" Or, "Why were the Vikings so brutal to the townspeople?" If you've read all this, and you're still worried about being Discussion Leader, come see me, or send me an e-mail, and I'll gladly give you some more tips and help. |