Discussion as a Way of Teaching by Stephen Brookfield

I have always loved discussions/debates centered around sharing ideas and opinions in a respectful and educational setting. In the almost five years I have spent in college the classes I feel I have learned the most in and remember the most material from, have been those which based a lot of the learning on classroom discussions. I have a passion for sharing my ideas and hearing how they differ from other peoples ideas, I find myself often playing the "devil's advocate" because I think there is always a shred of truth and validity in every side of the equation.

Yet as I read Stephen Brookfield's article about teaching students through different classroom discussions I found myself lost in the wide variety of methods presented and how I could apply them to my current group of middle school students.  I kept asking myself how a group  6th, 7th and 8th graders would respond to this? How could I avoid the Discussion from Hell scenario with Gary and still encourage participation? Where in my units of instruction would I place a classroom-based discussion? How do I encourage my young students to think for themselves and not just repeat the ideas and opinions of their parents?

As a student teacher, I am still learning how to answer those questions and I will probably never have a completely fool-proof response. However, as a teaching candidate and student, there were a few approaches I would personally respond to and feel could be implemented in my classrooms:

1. Critical Debate: I really like the idea of making each student think about and present information on both sides of the debate because it forces them to break the "us vs. them" mentality. It's easy for a person to come up with a million reasons why their opinion is the best one, but I think the best way for students to learn is to force them to question why they think that way and whether the opposite side is just a right.
2. Snowballing: This idea would be great in a class where there is a mix of introverted students and extroverted ones because it gives each student plenty of time to develop their thoughts and opportunities for students to encourage each other to participate. It also helps avoid the pitfall of having a few students dominate the class.
3. Newsprint: I could see myself using this in my classrooms the most because it combines speaking and writing, so more voices can be heard and students who don't like to share out loud and still have their opinions represented. It also allows students to really process what was discussed because they can see it in writing and are actually paying attention to what is being shared instead of what they are going to say next.
4. Questionnaire: I love this approach because it gives teachers feedback on how each student felt during a discussion, which gives us a chance to improve our teaching and improve the class experience.

Overall the article had a lot to offer, and I will definitely be discussing with my mentor teacher ways be can bring more discussion into the classroom. However, the article also highlighted for me areas of my teaching where I still need to grow, and that the best way I can add a piece of myself into my work is by knowing my students and always putting their needs and skills first.