DISCUSSIONS

CONTENTS: Thorough review of the need for balance in classroom discussions of professor and student voices. Common causes for lack of balance are given, and also some suggestions for improvement.

SOURCE: NTLF Library (http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/suppmat/83brook.htm): Excerpt from Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms by Stephen Brookfield and Stephen Preskill. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999). Adapted June 1999.

Note: Below are selected portions of the Brookfield/Preskill excerpt. See NTLF site for complete excerpt.

In this chapter we turn our attention to the roles, responsibilities and actions of the discussion leader. If students are going to feel that discussion invites them to develop and express their ideas in an unpressured way, then the discussion leader must find a way to teach that is neither too dominant nor too reserved. Although discussion leaders sometimes interject new material or introduce leading viewpoints from current scholarship, this should be done as sparingly, dialogically and concisely as possible. As we stress in chapter (3) lectures can be delivered in a way that discourages students from merely echoing the views of the teacher. Teachers should share their knowledge and understanding in discussion only to help students to gain a personal and critical perspective on what is learned, not to show off in front of them.

At the same time, the leader should not be so reticent that the students lack any basis for understanding new ideas, or are constantly attempting to second-guess her outlook and beliefs. Democratically inclined teachers are frequently silent in discussion, curbing the compulsion to say all they would like to say in the interests of promoting engagement and participation. Still, they do have a responsibility to teach - to guide the process of conversation, to invite student involvement, to express a point of view, to foster critical commentary, and to model the dispositions of democratic discussion. Whether actually speaking or not, discussion leaders must remain highly alert and active, constantly on the lookout for ways to encourage students to contribute and to help them make comments that respond to their classmates' observations. No matter how sensitive or careful we are as teachers, however, the problems of speaking too much or too little, too forcefully or too tentatively, are always there.

Before going any further though we wish to issue one strong caveat. We believe that achieving the perfect balance of teacher to student talk is impossible. We can never achieve a point of exact equilibrium where everyone in the group feels we are speaking for just the right amount of time. However, we do think it is possible to be closer to, or further away from, this ideal position. Our voices can definitely be more or less out of balance. This chapter will examine some of the assumptions and practices that help teachers keep their voice more, rather than less, in balance.

WHEN TEACHERS SAY TOO MUCH

One of the authors of this book is known for being an especially passionate teacher. His eagerness to share his knowledge and to stimulate lively exchanges of ideas is evidenced in his loud and enthusiastic voice and excited, even zealous, reactions to his students' contributions. Many of his students profess to enjoy this sort of teaching, favorably citing in course evaluations his enthusiasm and obvious love of subject matter. In recent years, however, it has come to his attention (thanks to information gained from the CIQ) that although this kind of teaching is appreciated by some, it tends to discourage the participation of others. They are intimidated by his loud, brash manner and are inhibited by an enthusiasm that strikes them as forced or artificial. They also find it difficult to contribute their views because the discussion moves too quickly or because the teacher seems intent on filling up all the available talking space by reacting to virtually every student comment.

This example goes right to the heart of the problem of when discussion leaders' voices are out of balance. In many cases, teachers dominate quite unintentionally and with the approval and collusion of students. They receive praise from many students for exercising a high degree of control over what and how they learn. This kind of control emerges instinctively and naturally, without much reflection or scrutiny. Teachers teach the way they were taught, and often their best classroom experiences were dominated by the presence of highly charismatic and passionate teachers. Such teachers offer high entertainment value, are greatly prized and frequently expect their students to emulate them. They are less focused on helping students develop their own understanding of the subject matter, and rarely willing to share the spotlight with others in the classroom . . .

WHEN TEACHERS SAY TOO LITTLE

In general, this is a much less common problem than that of teachers saying too much. The professional socialization of teachers and the expectations of students make it far more likely that teachers will dominate classroom discussions than that they will withdraw from them. Still there is sometimes a tendency among teachers striving to encourage greater participation among students to become overly passive. Teachers who are excessively reserved can cause students to feel that they are losing their intellectual bearings. This badly undermines the inclination to learn and leads students to become obsessed with second-guessing the instructor's beliefs. This can be discouraged by teachers being forthright about their intellectual positions and ideological stances. But there is one major proviso to this. When sharing our ideas with students we must model a rigorous critical scrutiny of them. Students must see us consistently applying the same standards of critical analysis to our own ideas as we expect them to apply to theirs . . .

NEITHER DOMINANCE NOR ABSENCE: Some Suggestions

Avoid Impromptu Lecturettes
Many, perhaps even most, teachers in discussion-oriented classrooms think nothing of interrupting conversation to launch into a ten or fifteen oration on a topic that emerges from the group's exchange. This impulse to deliver impromptu monologues should be avoided at all costs. Because they are extemporaneous they sometimes tend to be bad lectures. It takes a great deal of skill to lecture dialogically in the manner described by Shor (1993). You must be well versed in the subject of the discussion, have listened very carefully to what students have said, and be able to draft an outline of your comments in your head while still facilitating the discussion.

Impromptu lecturettes also interrupt the flow of the conversation, inhibiting some students and intimidating others. If you want to address a point that arises in discussion control the impulse to respond at length and instead make a note to yourself that you will deal with it later. Carry a notebook around to jot down your reactions to the discussion, so you can organize your thoughts for a presentation of these reactions at a more appropriate time. Incidentally, in calling on teachers to avoid impromptu lecturettes, we want to repeat that we are not saying they should refrain entirely from participation. Intervention is sometimes necessary to move the discussion going, but it should be in as protracted a form as possible.

Use critical incident questionnaires.
As we have shown throughout the book, the CIQ is a useful way to get information about classroom process. If students think the leader is dominating discussion, or staying too removed, they will say so in the CIQ. Since the CIQ is anonymous it is the likeliest source of frank information about your dominance or reticence. But even in the CIQ students are sometimes reluctant to be critical of their instructor. Just because the CIQ indicates nothing about your voice being out of balance doesn't guarantee that at some level this problem doesn't exist.

Videotape your teaching
Having their practice videotaped feels artificial to some teachers who freeze as soon as the VCR record button is pressed. If you're someone who can't stand to look at a video recording of yourself, an audio recording will probably do just as well. The point is to be able to see or hear for yourself how much you control the course of discussion, or how much you remove yourself from the exchange of ideas. Look for the relative percentages of student-to-student talk and teacher-to-student talk. Watch out for those times when you interrupt or stall conversational momentum. Are there moments when your reluctance to intervene actually prevents students from keeping the discussion going or from making sense of difficult concepts. When does your silence strengthen the interchange and when does it get in the way of constructive engagement?

Keep track of who participates
Another tactic that may work in cases in where you fear you are dominating is to maintain a written record of who speaks. This keeps you so busy that you are less prone to excessive participation. It also alerts you to how many students speak between your own comments. If you like to intervene try making one comment of your own for every four of five that students make. Of course, how much you participate depends not just on the number of students who get involved but also on the thoughtfulness and continuity of their collective deliberations. Interestingly, one of the residual benefits of this strategy is that a permanent record of the class's discussion is created which you can analyze to improve subsequent discussions . . .

CONCLUSION

Balance is one of the keys to good discussion. When one or two people dominate the exchange of ideas, then the benefits for the whole group are greatly diminished. Similarly, when groups identifiable by gender, race, class, or ideology completely withdraw from the discussion, then the range of ideas being explored is greatly reduced. Of course exact balance is impossible, but attention to who's speaking and who isn't is one of the crucial elements in making discussion work. The teacher's first concern, however, should center on her own patterns of participation and how these are contributing to, or detracting from, the efforts of students to deliberate together. Here is a checklist of questions to keep in mind as you continue the struggle to keep your voice in balance.

1. Is my participation preventing students who want to speak from making a contribution? Have I interrupted students in mid-sentence?

2. Have I made more comments than all of the other students combined? Do I respond to every student who speaks? Do students pause before responding to each other because they expect me to make a comment after every student speaks?

3. Am I sticking to my preset agenda for discussion despite alternative suggestions and even resistance from my students?

4. Are my teaching practices in discussion consistent with my goals for the class?

5. Am I discouraging student participation because I think the students lack knowledge or experience?

6. Is the discussion faltering because of my own lack of participation?

7. Does the discussion lack focus because I have contributed so little?

8. Have I interjected any comments that help students see how their ideas are related?

9. In general, what am I doing to build continuity and a sense of collaborative engagement?

10. What am I doing to assess and evaluate the degree to which my voice is in balance in discussion?