Discuss While You Teach

Discussing while you teach is considered as one of the best methods of teaching. It adds elements of interest and makes your teaching more interactive. Also, it provides a chance to students to participate in the classroom teaching and express their point of view in front of the teacher and other students.

A discussion in class involves the written or oral expression of varied points of view. It involves pool of ideas and thoughts which student shares with the class. An effective discussion can be kicked off after a presentation, project or an exam. It definitely helps students to understand the topic better. 

Teacher must make sure that everyone is allowed to participate actively. There shouldn’t be any unfairness and teacher must allot more chances to weak and shy students to express themselves. Also, a teacher must formulate a structure or form for discussions to students.

Things to keep in mind -

Friendly Atmosphere: 
Students must be comfortable in order to share their point of view with everyone. Teachers must make sure to create a friendly atmosphere, where varied opinions are accepted and presented respectfully.

Give Time To Prepare: 
Teachers must give time to students to prepare for the topic. They will be able to participate better and engage well in discussion if they have background and knowledge for the subject.

Regular And Continued Discussions:  
If discussions are held often, students feel more comfortable and understand the method of discussing better. Further, it boosts their confidence level. 

Design Protocol For Discussions: 
Teachers are required to act as a moderator while discussions are on in the class. Designing a protocol for discussions helps teacher to manage the class better.

Make Discussions Interesting: 
If discussions are made interesting it prompts students to speak out and express themselves. Also, it prompts them to speak with one another.

Small Group Discussion:  
Creating small groups of students for discussions is also a great idea. A teacher can create small groups in the class and provide students topics to discuss about.

Discussions In Writing:  
Penning down discussions is important in order to store important points for future reference of the topic. Also, while discussing teachers may use chalkboard to record the key points, ideas and questions.

Assessment:  
After every discussion, teacher must do assessment of the discussions held. Taking feedback from the students greatly helps.

If a subject or topic is taught using this method, one can be sure that student understands and remembers it for long. They grasp the topic well along with its meaning and terms.