How do you cultivate good class discussions?

[Peter Goertzen]

I recently wrote a blog post about cultivating class discussions, and thought I’d start a thread for asking questions and sharing ideas on this subject.

What have you found helpful for promoting good discussions?

[KENDALL MYERS]

Carefully venturing into territory that is a bit of controversial can be an effective way to elicit a response from students.  Proposing a view that is incorrect and playfully making a case for it can help students pull in the direction that you want them to pull.

[Jonas Sauder]

One approach to stimulating class discussion is to discuss a loaded quote, such as this one by economist J.K. Galbraith,
“Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s just the opposite.”
Discussion can be guided to include several focuses (not necessarily in sequence), including…
What do its key terms actually mean?
What point is the speaker making? Can you expand upon his point of view by explaining what you think he is saying by this quote? Do you think he favors one over the other? Is he being cynical or is he helping us to see more clearly? What historical examples might he offer to support this statement?
Do both systems inherently produce exploitation–or is the exploitation a result of the men in the system?
Can you offer a revision of this statement that supports your view and give some historical examples to support your revision?

[Jonas Sauder]

Earlier posts on this thread suggested ideas for prompting discussions. As the year winds down, I wonder if anyone out there has a brief story to share regarding an actual discussion that went well. What prompted the discussion, and what was memorable about it?
For example, one 7th/8th grade class, having read a selection about rock climbing, agreed that it’s normal and OK for youth to be invigorated by risk-taking. But deciding when taking a risk becomes foolish, reckless, or presumptuous is difficult.
What lively discussion do you have to share?

[Author]

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