GROUP
DISCUSSION OF ESSAYS and ARTICLES
The
purpose of a group discussion is not to win an argument
or to amuse your classmates. The purpose of a discussion is to
help each group
member explore and discover personal meanings of a text through
interaction
with other people. Much of our everyday talk is made up of
descriptions
in which we seek in one way or another to convey ideas to other
people.
These ideas are usually concerned with what we know. A learning
group
discussion is far more tentative, even halting, in its progress, for it
deals
not with certainty but with search.
Listening to a group discussion, one is likely to hear such
expressions as “it seems to me”, “I think, “I believe”.
Group discussion should not seek to
convince; rather, it should deal with matters unresolved and seek
to help
each member find meanings that did not exist before. (Adapted from A.W. Combs, The Professional
Education of Teachers.)
DISCUSSION
SEQUENCE
Fruitful
discussions do not just happen. They are the
product of concerned cooperative effort on the part of all
participants.
Moreover, discussions
that result in learning have very specific characteristics. In order to
make
our discussions as profitable as possible in this course, we will begin
with a
rather carefully structured set of ground rules. Following these
rules
may be a bit difficult at first, but give yourself a chance to get your
bearings with them. Later in the course, if we choose, we can
modify
them.
In
any learning discussion, communication is the essential
issue, and the type of communication in use at any particular moment
depends on
the nature of understanding of each participant with regard to the
topic at
hand. Sometimes everyone understands a particular topic, in which
case it
need not be discussed. Sometimes nobody understands, in which
case the
group should consult the instructor or the text or else move on if it
is not a
topic of particular importance or interest. More commonly, some
understand a particular issue and others do not. When this is the
situation, those who think they understand may find, while trying to
explain,
that they don’t understand as well as they thought they did. And
by the
same token, those who thought they didn’t understand may find, in the
process
of formulating their question and attempting to pinpoint their
difficulty (that
is, thinking out loud), that they can answer their own question.
Note
that the element in these exchanges is expressing what you
don’t understand. Positive roles in a group help
individuals express what they don’t understand.
The negative roles mentioned below interfere with this
communication
process.
There
are two steps which together can appreciably increase
the quality of learning, and the enjoyment of all group
discussions.
These are thoughtful preparation and organization of the discussion
period. Unless each member is well prepared the group discussion
will
flounder. A Discussion Work Sheet will be required for each
discussion
reading assignment. These work sheets will help you prepare
effectively
for class and allow the instructor to ascertain that you have indeed
done
this. The worksheets are to be prepared before the discussion
period and
handed in at the end of that period. You will often want to add ideas to these worksheets during
the discussions; this is strongly encouraged, but
please use
a different color of ink or lead. The discussion worksheets and
the
organization of the class period will use almost the same sequence so
that
preparation of the class worksheet will facilitate the organization of
the
discussion period. The following steps apply to the group
discussion, and
all but steps I-4, I-5, and III-1 apply to your worksheet preparation
as well.
Organizing a Successful Discussion
** PHASE I – WHAT THE AUTHOR
REALLY SAID
Step 1: Briefly define all important terms and
concepts. This will help insure that participants aren’t talking
past one
another, by using the terms differently from one another.
Step 2: State the author’s general point in your own
words. In 3 or 4 sentences, what is the author basically trying
to get
across? Often there is a subtle point which is more important
than the
most obvious one. Ask yourself “why do I think this article was
assigned?”
Sometimes this question will help put the rest of the worksheet into
perspective.
(Note that this is the 2nd step during discussion, but as
you
prepare your worksheet you may want to do it after step 3.
Be sure to read the entire article before
doing this!)
Step 3: Identify the major themes and key points of the article. Make special note of those which are relevant to the concerns of the course. These will provide the most for discussion. In preparing the worksheet, a point-outline of the article is often an effective way to accomplish this.
Step 4:
Allocate a certain
amount of time for discussion of each major theme. There is never
enough
time to cover everything of interest. Budgeting time before you
begin
helps you pace the discussion so that you make sure you cover the most
important topics.
Step 5:
Discuss major themes
or key points identified in step 3. Emphasize
material which is not readily understood by all group members or which
seems
especially profitable to discuss.
** PHASE
II - WHAT WE THINK
ABOUT WHAT THE AUTHOR SAID
Step 1:
Integrate the
material with other knowledge. This will become increasingly
important as
the course proceeds. As you compare each article or book with
those that have been studied before, you
will be broadening the scope
of your understanding.
Step 2:
Consider possible
applications and implications of the material under discussion.
This will
also become more important as the course proceeds.
Step 3:
Evaluate the
author’s presentation. It is useful to note if an essay is dull
or
unclear, but it is more important to evaluate a given work on the basis
of its
argument. How does the author support his or her position?
Is it
convincing? Why, or why not? In other words, try to isolate
reasons
for reactions you have to each reading, and try to state them as you
can.
** PHASE
III- EVALUATION OF
DISCUSSION
Step 1:
(In class
only.) Evaluate the performance of the group as a whole and the
roles
played by group members. This is a crucial step because it gives
you and
the instructors a check on the degree to which the discussion is
working right.
Roles in a Successful
Discussion
Let’s
consider some of the things which can make
discussions fail or succeed. Many college seminars founder on
rocks such
as these. First, in a discussion, as in everyday life,
participants play
roles. Some roles contribute positively to the group. Other roles interfere with the
individual’s
and group’s goal of learning; we can call such roles dysfunctional or
negative. For example, when an individual plays up his own area
of
special knowledge, often the intent is to divert discussion from an
area in
which he or she feels shaky to one where he or she can shine.
This is a
typical way for students to attempt to make brownie points with the
teacher,
while camouflaging their area of ignorance. Similar to this is
dominating
behavior, when one or more participants consistently hold the floor
without
giving others who may be less aggressive a chance to speak. Sometimes
seminars
consist of a series of monologues; each participant saying his piece,
but none
listening to others or responding to what others say. If some
participants are particularly aggressive or competitive, this may well
intimidate others into silence, leaving their questions unanswered and
their
potentially valuable comments unheard. If some participants are
consistently silent, particularly if they are also inattentive or
visibly
uninvolved in the discussion, this often dampens the discussion as a
whole as
the more active participants feel a burden of excessive
responsibility.
Horsing around and joking can be valuable ways of releasing the tension
that
sometimes builds up in learning discussions, but carried too far they
serve
only to sidetrack the group from the issues at hand. Making
apologies for
one’s self, or one’s preparation, or one’s point of view can also be
ways of
avoiding the difficulties of the material under discussion, and
participants
should try to avoid introducing their questions and comments with
lengthy
monologues along these lines. These are just some of the kinds of
behavior which can hinder learning, and the group as a whole must seek
to
control their occurrence by referring back to the ground rules.
Positive Roles
Let’s now consider the roles played by group members that are necessary
and
positive in their contribution to group process. For a group to
work, for
discussion to be fruitful, all of these roles must be performed by one
or
another member- but not always the same member. Each participant
should
be performing most or all of the necessary roles at one time or
another.
We can think of these roles or activities as being of three
types: roles
which facilitate the tasks of discussing specific topics, roles which
facilitate the overall tasks of the group, and roles which help
maintain a
cooperative and open atmosphere in the group.
Type 1: Roles which contribute to the fruitful
discussion of a particular topic include activities such as
a)
Initiating: Breaking
as initial or interim silence by introducing a possible topic for group
consideration. Sometimes people are reluctant to do this for fear
of
being viewed by others as an eager beaver or as a status-speaker, but
it must
be done for discussion to get off the ground. (Roles b-f often serve to initiate as well as continue discussion
of a topic.)
b)
Asking for and giving
information
c)
Asking for and for
giving reactions
d)
Restating in your own words
another person’s comment and giving examples. This gives feedback to
the
speaker that he had adequately communicated what he had in mind.
e) Comparing
Ideas. The
purpose of the group discussion is to develop personal
understanding.
This calls for kicking ideas around, testing them, examining and
comparing
them. This is the best accomplished when members are willing to
express
their own beliefs and feelings freely on the one hand, even when they
are
unsure about them, and to listen respectively and sympathetically to
others
people’s ideas. In doing this it is valuable to state how you
agree and
disagree with each other and why.
f)
Clarifying, synthesizing and
summarizing. When many ideas have been offered about a
topic, the group
may find itself in a complicated tangle. Clarifying the
underlying
issues, synthesizing and summarizing what has been said helps provide
closure a
way of getting out of the tangle and on to the next topic or step. Recognizing when to move on to the next topic
can be a key contribution to a good discussion.
Type 2: Two
roles essential to the
process of group discussion are
g) Gatekeeping: Gatekeeping is a
kind of verbal traffic management. A
person play this role momentarily attempts to spread participation by
encouraging those who have not recently spoken to share their thoughts
and
questions. Gatekeeping
is also necessary when several persons wish to speak at once. At such times, encouraging the less assertive
members to continue first will often facilitate communication. Gatekeeping also
helps the group move efficiently from one topic to the next and through
the
steps of the discussion process.
h) Timekeeping: This is a
special kind of gatekeeping, sometimes
best handled
by choosing a timekeeper for the day’s discussion.
If the group is to keep within the time
budget it has allowed itself, someone must be responsible for keeping
track of
the time and warning other members when the time allotted for
discussion of a
particular discussion is nearly up.
Type 3: Three roles that contribute to the
overall climate of learning
are
i) Sponsoring
and Encouraging: These are important in maintaining a relaxed
and
accepting atmosphere in which all members feel free to ask questions
and
respond to others. Be as sympathetic and
understanding of other people’s views as you can, and if you disagree,
say so,
but avoid doing so in a belligerent of threatening way.
Encourage nonparticipants
tactfully in a
way that demonstrates the sincerity of your interest in their views. Be sure to take time to compliment each other
for especially good ideas, helpful explanations, or other positive
contributions.
j) Listening: This is as
essential a part of successful communication as speaking, and is often
neglected in everyday life. You can
practice this by trying to formulate in your own mind or stating out
loud the
gist of what a previous speaker has been saying before
adding your own contribution. This is
what is involved in responding to
other people and building common understandings – and what is lost when
each
participant simply waits for his turn to speak his own mind. It is also the difference between merely
participating and interacting.
k) Group tension-relieving: When
discussions become deadly serious, disagreements become intense, or
frustrations rise, it is valuable if someone can cut the tension with a
joke or
diverting remark that can relax the group.
Too much of this can be a way of avoiding the difficulties of
the task
at hand, but in moderation it will help the group to continue more
comfortably
with the assignment.
These
Discussion Guidelines
were adapted from guidelines distributed at a workshop on effective
teaching by
Craig Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Biology at