Group Discussion
Before You Start:
Before reviewing the Optimization and Redesign sections for ideas about making changes to your activity, review the Activity Meta-objectives section and make sure the meta objectives of the activity you have chosen (in this case, Group Discussions) are well aligned with the learning outcome of your lesson, and that the activity was, in the first place, the best choice for supporting your students in accomplishing your lesson outcome(s).
Activity Description
Group Discussion is an experiential learning activity that involves students as collaborators in their learning through various forms such as structured prompts to informal conversations. Group Discussions can focus on applications of the material from lecture and theories, can clarify and expand on lecture material, work through problems, assist with assignments, answer student questions, and provide time for informal or casual interactions as well.
Activity Meta-Objectives
What is the activity good at accomplishing and how does it accomplish that?
Below is a list of some of the things you can accomplish with your students using this active learning technique. Before making changes to the technique, check (and add to) all that the Group Discussion activity is contributing to your students’ learning experience and make sure you maintain those through the changes that you are making.
- Creates opportunities to network and improve communication, critical thinking, analysis, and evaluative skills through arguments and counter arguments.
- Fosters the development of teamwork, leadership, confidence and respect for peers, and in-depth understanding of course content.
- Encourages participation through providing a forum for students to interact with each other and the instructor and offers opportunities for learners to refine prior learning and construct new learning.
- Helps students gain confidence and mastery over core concepts through peer support
- Promotes sharing knowledge and different perspectives in a dynamic and meaningful exchange to generate ideas and solutions and to correct misconceptions.
- Others?
Optimizing for Accessibility
Prepare to Discuss:
- Discussion can be prompted by instructor or student questions.
- If the discussion is instructor-prompted, make sure the goals and expectations of the activity are aligned with the learning outcomes of your lesson.
- If the discussion is generated through student questions, make sure to keep the discussion in alignment with the learning outcomes of the lesson.
- Design discussion prompts/questions that are properly scaffolded and aligned with the outcomes of the lesson. Start with questions that only require a one or two word answer, and then continue with questions that need more analysis and thought.
- Let the students know the purpose of the discussion and what you expect from their contributions (how will they be assessed? What kind of guidelines should they follow?)
- If possible, share the discussion topic and all the instructions in advance and let students know that they will be engaging in a discussion activity.
- Clarify expectations around student participation.
- Let students know how much time they have to complete the discussion and offer time cues to let them know how much time they have left.
During Discussion:
- Actively guide the discussion through facilitating (i.e. modeling contributions, giving feedback, affirming students, asking for other student reactions, etc.).
- If you have TAs guiding the discussion, make sure they are clear about their role and responsibility as a discussion facilitators or moderators). Make sure they have discussion prompts and make sure they have the necessary training to be able to keep the discussion on task.
- Validate responses by recording them in writing or paraphrasing them. (Note: You can record student responses directly on PPT for better visibility)
- For large classes, students can share back by posting key points or responses to pre-assigned questions on an online platform (during or after the class).
Debrief/Reflection:
- To wrap up the discussion activity, ask students to share back the summary of their discussion or key points. Or have them make connections to other concepts previously taught in the classroom.
- Finally, instruct students to reflect on the discussion either by highlighting 1 or 2 key takeaway points. You could collect these in written form or ask for students to share orally. If the students are sharing orally make sure to take notes for students on a flipchart on or a powerpoint slide so that everyone can see those takeaway points.
Redesign Process Guide
Step 1: Identify essential components
Identify the components/aspects of the Group Discussion activity that are essential for learners to meet the learning outcomes of the lesson.
- How does Group Discussion help learners meet the learning outcomes of the lesson?
Step 2: Identify obstacles
- Which parts of these essential components/aspects are an obstacle for this learner?
Step 3: redesign to remove obstacles
- How can we redesign these essential components to remove the obstacle for the learner but still equally support them to meet the LO of the lesson?
An example of applying this process
Using activity meta objectives to redesign for temporary accommodation:
Below is an example of a redesigned Group Discussion activity while maintaining the activity’s meta objectives. I encourage you to engage in the same process to redesign this activity for other accommodation needs.
This redesign removes the requirement to speak in order to participate in the Group Discussion activity, making it more accessible for students with speech disability, certain social anxieties, or who need more time to process and plan responses before sharing them. The redesign incorporates a variety of tools to collect and display responses from students and assigns different roles to students for the discussion, therefore, it might be more accessible for a number of other students as well (e.g. hard of hearing).
Process:
Step 1: Identify essential components
- Which parts of the Group Discussion activity are essential for learners to meet the learning outcome(s) (LOs) of the lesson?
Response: In this example all meta-objectives of Group Discussion, listed above are essential for student learning.
Step 2: Identify obstacles
- Which parts or aspects of the essential components are an obstacle for this student?
Response: All aspects of the Group Discussion activity that involve verbal communication are an obstacle to learning for this learner.
Step 3: redesign to remove obstacles
Take necessary steps to redesign these essential components to remove the obstacle for the learner but still support them in meeting the LO of the lesson:
The aim of this redesign is to not rely on verbal communication when it isn’t essential to student learning and modify to provide alternative ways of meeting the learning outcome.
Here is how to do Group Discussion in a written format:
Below is what you can do in addition to what is listed above under Optimizing for Accessibility in order to accommodate students speech disability, certain social anxieties, or who need more time to process and plan responses before sharing them
Pre-Discussion:
- As before, select prompts and questions that align with the lesson and are properly scaffolded.
- Provide as much information about the activity as possible, prior to class.
- Create anonymous discussion boards, polls, surveys, quizzes, open response, etc. using online tools such as mentimeter or google slides. (This change will allow for students to participate and submit responses or key takeaways without feeling as nervous and without having to speak.)
Discussion:
- Providing alternative ways to participate in the discussion: Assign roles to particular students such as summarizer, note taker, timekeeper, etc.
- Take notes on slides or some place that students will be able to access at a later time.
- Write and rephrase important points and questions from the discussion (or ask the note taker to do so.)
- You can use online discussion tools to help students get ideas on the board prior to class, and then ask for learners to expand on points that were given anonymously during the class. (This could be another open ended anonymous question or students could answer verbally.)
- Another alternative for a fully non-verbal way to plan a discussion is to provide a discussion topic for all students, have them discuss in an inline forum in small groups of 4-5, and assign each student to a different key concept and invite them to contribute to the discussion using that kep concept.
Reflection:
- Ask students to reflect on the discussion as listed under the Optimizing for Accessibility section. However this time they should share their key takeaway points or lingering questions on the online tool (anonymous) or on a discussion board on the course management system.
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Now It’s Your Turn
Choose and click on one of the Learner Scenarios below, go through the process of redesigning the Think, Pair, Share activity in order to accommodate the learner. The aim is to fully engage and support this learner to meet the LO(s) of your lesson while not removing any support from your other learners.
Post your response in the comment box.
Scenario 1
You have a learner in your workshop/class who is visually impaired.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 2
You have a learner in your workshop/class who is deaf.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 3
You have a learner in your workshop/class with severe social anxiety.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 4
You have a learner in your workshop/classroom who is in a wheel chair.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 5
You have a learner in your workshop/class with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 6
You have a learner in your workshop/class with auditory processing disorder.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?