Discussion as a Way of Teaching

          The two chapters we read were very informative and filled with pieces of useful information that would be important for the teacher, as well as the students, to know before they took part in a class discussion. One thing that I thought was useful, and not something that I had put a lot of thought into before, was how discussions shouldn't be aggressive. Every student should able to express their whole opinion within the discussion without being interrupted by another student. I was thinking through past discussions that I have been a part of in my classes and many times students who were speaking got cut off in the middle of what they were saying by another student who was trying to express their opinion. The students should know not to cut other classmate mates off, but instead they should politely listen to what their peer is saying then respond to that with their opinion or a response to what their classmate just said. I see a lot of potential in classroom discussions if students know how to act while another student is talking and how to respond after a classmate has finished voicing their opinion about the topic we are talking about.

          Another piece from the text that I thought would be very valuable to use in the classroom was utilizing small group discussions. When I was in high school I had a fear of talking in large groups, especially when it came to speaking my own opinion in front of the class. Utilizing small group discussions can give the students that don't like to speak in large groups a chance to voice their opinions to their small group.
         
          When teachers have the students participate in whole classroom discussions this lets students explore a diverse amount of perspectives. Many students have only been exposed to limited opinions on certain topics. So hearing their peers opinions can broaden their view points and give them a more well rounded view of what the class was discussing. I feel that this is a very important part of the student's education. Showing the students that different view points, other than theirs, are out there gives the students more chances to refine their opinion on the topic the class is discussing. Also, when students voice their ideas about a certain topic that gives other students ideas for what they can add to the topic the class is discussing about.