Leading a Group Discussion (LGD)
Leading a group discussion is a core teaching practice that takes time to be able to do and even more time to perfect. Through this process we will start with talking about the initial group discussion and what it lacked:
Overall Participation
Conversation Tracking
Writing down the ‘big ideas’ for students to follow
Organized thought processes throughout multiple class periods
Lesson Plan:
In order to address and improve these aspects of the discussion, I added:
Smaller group discussions divided randomly by students
A focus question that was addressed multiple times throughout the two-day-long unit on The Cold War
Visible tracking of the conversation while writing down key ideas (next to the visible focus question)
By having students engage with each other on a smaller-scale basis prior to a larger discussion they are allowed to get their ideas out there in a more privatized setting (not in front of the whole class) and also are allowed to share and obtain new or otherwise unthought-of knowledge from their classmates prior to entering the larger class-discussion.
Having a visual aid or conversation tracking allows students to keep track of the big ideas that are discussed in the class.
Studies have shown that repetition of the big ideas and consistently connecting them to the smaller units helps students connect and understand the topics being taught.
