I don’t talk much about Kevin Gannon’s favorite class discussion activities. Ganon, the director of the center of the Queen’s University in Charlotina, North Carolina, was inspired by the Complete the Story Game, where players write a line of the story based on the ideas of the previous person. I use a similar game. A concept to promote “silence discussion”.
He divides the class into a group of two or three, and gives the paper with questions. In the past, his prompt asked the student’s specific reading and the causes and results of specific events. Ganon, who also teaches history, says that the question must be answered freely enough to cause conversations between multiple groups.
Each group is given about 5 minutes, write the answer to the prompt on paper and pass it to the next group. The documents continue to rotate until they return to the original group. Next, Gannon encourages the class students to tell what they were surprised, how the conversation changed, and what they got from this activity.
After class, scan the question sheet so that students can use it as a learning guide. He says they will be a “living document.”
A quiet discussion activity is one of the various methods that Ganon can participate in class with peace of mind. Ganon says the student’s mental bandwidth is as small as ever. Because they are anxious and stressed, it is even more difficult to participate in the discussions in regular classes.
“It’s really difficult to be a traditional university student age, and for students, it’s really difficult to understand the value of the university in a way that has been said to be valuable.” Say. “Students’ motivation, desire to take what students want to take” [they see as] I don’t think the students are in the same position in the risk of participating in classes. “
Recent research and reports suggest Don’t participate in class conversations fear To be canceled or out of political beliefs. Studies believe that this is especially true for conservative students, and liberal classmates and professors will punish different opinions.
However, Ganon and other educational experts say that the story is too emphasized. The problem for them is the students’ anxiety and fear of being weak in the class. The students are worried that if they say something wrong, they will be excluded from a friend group. They don’t want to have personal conversations or emotional conversations. They are in class without being ready to participate in a meaningful discussion.
Students should be worried about their mental health, and if they have too many conversations, they should go one step down, but some instructors also miss valuable lessons. A university is the place where students learn the most about other people’s perspectives. Students also acquire important skills that will help you overcome difficult situations after graduation.
In response to the confusion of campuses over the Israel Hamas War and the approach of President Donald Trump’s second administration of President Donald Trump’s second administration continued for one year, lecturers have a safe space to discuss the classrooms that are difficult for students. I’m looking for a way to make. They aim to stop conventional discussion activities and connect with classes at a deeper level so that students can speak with peace of mind.
“It’s not enough to just ask questions or raise problems and say,” What do you think? ” “I need more preparations. Creating an environment where discussions take place needs more work. I need to build a trusting relationship with students. Automatic when students trust us. I can’t think of it. “
Vulnerability is scary
According to Liz Norell, a Deputy Director of the University of Mississippi, most students have experienced some trauma as a pandemic and the aftermath. She added that students usually became reluctant to participate.
At the beginning of the year, Norel always has an awkward silence and empty gaze during the time of discussion. As the age passes, students become more comfortable, but they want to talk only in a small group.
Norel predicts that many students are afraid of being eliminated. She says that the students are worried that they will not be able to make friends if they have different opinions from other members. She added that the Life of Greeks is particularly popular at the University of Mississippi, and students believe that speaking in the classroom could affect social life outside the classroom.
According to Norell, the students remembered that they were isolated during the pandemic and felt that they had left their friends, and they were worried that the same would happen at university.
“If they say that they don’t agree, there is a fear that the efforts to adapt to society will be impaired, but I don’t even know if it’s conscious,” said Norell. Say. “It may be a really dangerous proposal.”
According to Graham Block, an associate professor at Davidson University, North Carolina, students may be worried that they will hurt their friends, especially during discussions on emotional topics and controversial topics.
Block, the conductor of Davidson’s conscientious citizenship initiative, has spoken to many students who are worried that it may be too harmful to take a specific perspective, especially personal identity in class.
Block understands these concerns, and he thinks it is a “heartfelt real thing,” but he says that ignoring difficult conversations may be the most harmful. He says that if you have different opinions about topics that are important for you, students will not be able to learn how to work effectively.
“These conversations are being conducted outside the academic world. Not limited to university campuses,” says Block. “How can students be involved with students, share their perspectives, and acquire the ability and resilience that students can understand their hometown?”
Jeffrey Bernstein, a professor of political science at the University of Estan Michigan and Director of Facarty Development Center, noticed that there was a similar tendency when he proposed a “hypothesis” to classes, especially students.
For example, Mr. Bernstein stated that in response to the aftermath of the 2024 election, many political experts were wondering if the Democratic Party was too biased toward some problems, such as transgender rights. 。 This is an attractive theme, but it is much more difficult for students to speak because they can directly influence their students and colleagues.
Bernstein also feels that it has become more difficult to discuss abortion and other issues, especially since the Supreme Court abandoned the Law -to -Wade case.
“Many of the issues that may be discussed in the hypothesis are actually very realistic,” says Bernstein. “People do not want to discuss very personal issues based on hypotheses.”
According to David Goubler, a professor at the University of Iowa, some students are coming to college without being ready to participate in complex discussions. In Iowa, students are still experienced in spending disproportionate time on online learning. He says he doesn’t know how to speak during class.
This created what he called the “preparation gap”. It is highly likely that students in high -income households have special support such as individual guidance before entering university. Gwubler says that non -wealthy friends are not used to speaking in class and do not understand the value of discussions in class.
According to Ganon of Queens University, students could be even weaker due to lack of preparation. They are worried that they will be ashamed.
“”[Participating] I feel the risk, “Ganon says. “It’s not always because my colleagues don’t agree with me, but what should I do if I was wrong, or if I couldn’t say it?” Students who are not so confident in their studies have a hard time. He added that there was a trend.
Classroom as a safe space
Norel of the University of Mississippi says that it may be difficult for teachers to promote relationships with students. With the reduction of higher education as a whole, many of today’s faculty and staff have been burned out due to overwork. Building relationships with students may seem like additional emotional labor.
“I feel like” Well, this is not my job. “I am here because I know chemistry, philosophy, and psychology, why am I now a social connection? Do you have to have it? ” “We all have experienced the weight of the world in various ways, which makes everything difficult.”
However, improving class discussion does not mean that it is not necessary to completely review the syllabus. Many instructors incorporate small changes into the class so that students can feel more comfortable.
Norel may use activities similar to chair games. The students must walk around the room and instruct them to quit, and have a high touch with someone nearby and talk for two minutes. She says that the noise of the room will increase for each round.
Gobler of Iowa University has set a low risk conversation to reassure students. He starts a class by asking questions about his favorite place to have lunch outside the campus, the best books read that year, or the programs he are watching that year.
“I understand that it is a place where students can speak during class, especially at an early stage, and this is a place where you can demonstrate everything in class, and it is not a place that is automatically evaluated by obtaining the correct answer. Gwubler says what the professor does, to establish that environment.
In order to have a deeper conversation, Nick Rongo, director of the Dialogue, Contents, and Democratic Labs at Lord Island’s Providence University, is a lecturer to create a community learning agreement that sets basic rules for class discussions. I propose. This also includes the promise not to share the contents spoken outside. classroom.
Goblar sets a strict border, especially for political topics. Last year, before discussing the parent Palestine protests in the class, he explained the content of the conversation and the overview of the topics. He avoided the students to talk about their opinions, but instead instructed to focus on freedom of speech, student protest, and university administrators.
“This is not a class to solve the Middle East crisis,” he told the students.
As a whole, Gwubler says that the instructor needs to clarify his expectations for his participation early so that students can understand the value of discussions in the class. At the beginning of the semester, he recommends the students to think about their educational experience. Before each class, I will explain what to achieve on that day and how the lesson leads to the overall goal of the course.
Ganon of Queens University asks students how to learn, experience in specific topics, and what they can participate in class comfortably. Sometimes this is done in a small group, and sometimes the students fill out the form anonymously.
“We can do things in cooperation, the more we can do that the students are investing in the process and actually contributing to the guidance of the process, the more they can trust the process. Will be high, “says Ganon.
Some instructors are trusted by pointing out the difficult times or explaining their work habits in detail. For example, Norel tells students that they tend to finish their work just before the deadline. She does not defend the postponement. She explains her process in the context that there are various ways to accomplish work.
Norel added that this approach is not suitable for everyone. Young teachers and colored teachers may not feel comfortably comfortable in the class.
“However, as long as we can see us as humans, not the perfect person, we expect them to be perfect, and we can make room for those who are not perfect, it will take a long time. Norel says. This is a way for students to take off their armor and create safety and conditions that can be a little relaxed. “
