INTRTNATIONAL BURCH UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

TARIK SULI

HOW TO MAKE STUDENTS

PARTICIPATE IN A
DISCUSSION?
ESSAY

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SARAJEVO, 2016

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ABSTRACT

Discussion methods are one of the most valuable tools in the teachers repertory. Often
teachers in big classes think that they must lecture because they believe discussion is not
possible. In fact, discussion techniques can be used in classes of all sizes. In order to help
students learn and think, teachers will need to find out what is in their heads. Discussion is
one of the ways of doing so. While trying to increase participation the teacher can encounter
problems of students passivity and inactivity. The aim of this essay is to research the
educational approach of how to make students participate in a discussion, firstly by
exploring the barriers and problems a student may be facing with. We then shift our focus to a
range of techniques which can be helpful to the instructor while trying to include
nonparticipants into the discussion. Even though the path of teaching by discussion may be
regarded as hard, it is likely to be more satisfying for both students and teachers.

Keywords: discussion, participate, barrier, nonparticipants, technique, buzz groups, innercircle technique(fishbowl)

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INTRODUCTION

While increasing participation is an obvious goal in courses that include frequent

discussions and small-group work, it is also important in a lecture class. In short, if only a few
students participate by volunteering answers, asking questions, or contributing to discussions,
class sessions become to some extent a lost chance to measure and promote learning (Davis,
1993).
Now imagine youve just had one of the greatest lessons of the year. You think your
lecture was amazing, awesome even inspiring. You finish, then turn to the classroom and ask
your students a question to discuss this amazing lesson. What do you hear? Nothing, just
blank stares, no eye contact, and the sound of silence in the background.
It is hard to get students to participate in classroom discussions. Why? There are
numerous reasons. It may be the topic or the presentation. It may just be a group of shy
students. They may not understand your questions. And some students may be afraid of
speaking in front of the class. Applying some techniques seen in the following pages you will
learn how to help your students participate more, how to raise their interest in the topic you
are teaching, how to increase the students awareness of the values of participation (Dees,
2010).
Ideally, the goal for increasing participation is not to have every student participate in
the same way or at the same pace. Rather, it is to produce an environment in which all
participants experience the opportunity to learn and in which the course of study explores
topics and ideas in depth, from a diversity of vantage points. The instructors goal is to create
conditions that enable scholars of diverse learning preferences and personalities to contribute
(Davis, 1993).

BARRIERS TO DISCUSSION

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One of the most important matters of discussion leaders is to be able to assess the
groups progress and to be aware of roadblocks or problems that are hindering learning. This
skill depends on attention to cues such as inattention, aggression, or diversionary questions.
Some of the reasons why students dont participate in discussions are (Svinicki & McKeachie,
2011):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Student habits of passivity

Not being able to see the value of the discussion
Fear of criticism or of appearing stupid
Push toward agreement or solution before alternative points of persuasion have been

weighed
5. Sensing that the job is to find the answer the instructor wants, rather than to explore
and evaluate possibilities
A primary barrier to discussion is the students belief that they are not learning.
Occasional summaries during the hour not only help students graph their progress but also
help smooth out communication problems. A summary doesnt need to be a statement of
conclusions. In many cases the most effective summary is a restatement of the problem in
terms of the matters resolved and those staying. Maintaining a visible record on the
chalkboard of ideas, questions, data, or points to explore helps maintain focus and grant a
sense of forward motion (Barkley, 2010). Asking the students to summarize progress and what
now needs to be done helps them in learning.
Another common barrier to good discussion is the instructors tendency to tell students
the answer before the students have developed an answer or meaning for themselves. The
instructor should always leave enough time for students to think before giving out the answer.
Of course, teachers can sometimes save time by tying things together or stating a
generalization that is emerging. But all too often they do this before the students are ready for
it.
When you oppose a students opinion, you should be careful not to overwhelm the
student with the force of the criticism. Your objective is to initiate a discussion, not stifle it
(Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011). Give students an opportunity to respond to criticisms,
examining the point of sight that was matched. Above all, avoid personal criticism of students
(Davis, 1993).
And possibly the most common barrier is our own discomfort. We are not dispensing
knowledge and we are not in control of it. It is very easy to slip back into our old methods of
teaching (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011).

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WHAT TO DO ABOUT NONPARTICIPANTS?

In most classes there are always some students who talk too much, and others who
never volunteer. What can the teacher do?
Unluckily, most scholars are used to being passive recipients in class. Some of your
scholars may come from cultures whose norms discourage speaking in the classroom
(Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011). To assist students become participants, try to create an
anticipation of participation in the discussion section. You can start to do this in the first
meeting of the course by defining the functions of various aspects of the course and
explaining why discussion is valuable. In addition to this initial structuring, however, you
must continually work to increase the students awareness of the values of participation.
Participation is not an end in itself. For many purposes widespread participation may be of
great importance; for others it may be detrimental. But you want to create an atmosphere in
which an important contribution is not lost because the person with the necessary idea did not
feel confident enough to express it (Barkley, 2010).
What keeps a student from talking? There are many reasons - boredom, lack of
knowledge, habits of passivity, cultural norms, but most common is the fear of being
embarrassed. When one is surrounded by strangers, when one does not know how judgmental
these strangers may be, when one is afraid of the instructors response, the safest thing to do is
to stay quiet.
What can reduce this fear?

Getting familiarized is one way to help. Once students know that they are among
friends, they can risk expressing themselves (Davis, 1993). If they know that at least

one classmate supports his/her idea, the risk will be reduced.

Asking students to take a couple of minutes to write out their initial answers to a
question can help (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011). If a student has already written an
answer, the time for speaking is much less than answering when asked to give an
answer immediately.

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Rewarding contributors at least with a smile helps encourage participation even if

the contribution has to be developed or corrected. Calling students by name
encourages freer communication. Seating is also important. Rooms with seating in a

circle helps much (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011).

Asking general questions that have no wrong answers. For example, you can ask,
Whats your opinion about this? or How does this look to you? as a first step in
analysis of a problem (Barkley, 2010).

Even applying all of these techniques will still not make every student an active, verbal
participant. Two group techniques can help us with that:

Buzz Groups

Buzz groups are a cooperative learning technique consisting in the formation of small
discussion groups with the aim of developing a specific task (generating ides, problem solving
etc.). Buzz groups allow covering the discussion about different views referred to the same
study themes, maximizing the possibilities of division of the members of the group. Later the
initial introduction of the project to be evolved, big groups are split into smaller groups,
among three and six students. Each group selects a spokesperson to inform the rest of the
groups about the results of the discussion of their group (Boudreau, 2015).

The Inner Circle or Fishbowl

The inner circle is another technique which is using the classroom design as the tool. It is
basically saying that at the next class meeting you are going to have a class within a class,
with some of the students (6 to 15) acting as the discussion group and the others as observers.
If the classroom has movable chairs, you can then arrange the seating in the form of
concentric circles (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011). You will see that students who are normally
silent will talk more because they feel the increased sense of responsibility as members of the
inner circle.

CONCLUSION

Teaching by discussion differs from lecturing because you never know what is going
to happen. Sometimes this can be anxiety-producing, at times frustrating, but more often
exhilarating. It provides constant challenges and opportunities for both the instructor and the

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students to learn and grow. When you can listen for several minutes without intervening, you
will have succeeded.
REFERENCES

Svinicki, M. & McKeachie, W.J. (2011). Facilitating Discussion: Posing Problems, Listening,
Questioning. In McKeachie's Teaching Tips (pp. 44-47). Belmont, CA, USA: Wadswort.
Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dees, J. (2010, March 28). How to Get Students to Participate in Class Discussions. Retrieved
May 09, 2016, from http://www.thereligionteacher.com/how-to-get-students-to-participate-inclass-discussions/
Barkley, E.F. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Boudreau, D. (2015.). How Do I Use Buzz Groups in Training? Retrieved May 10, 2016,
from http://thetrainingworld.com/articles/buzz.htm

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