Seven Key Benefits of Discussions
For teachers leading discussions among high school and college age students, participation, not information transfer, should be the primary goal. I propose seven important skills and habits that participating in discussions helps students acquire and hone: listening, thinking, understanding, speaking, showing charity, self-reflecting, and building self-confidence.
Listening. Participating in discussions vastly improves a student’s ability to listen. A common problem that often derails a discussion is poor listening. Rather than interacting with others or the question at hand, students interject unrelated comments. For example, an interesting thought may excite a student, who then feels compelled to share it even if the thought is counter to the direction of the discussion. This student has failed to listen to the conversation as a conversation and is treating the discussion as an opportunity to make comments. This is the opposite of listening. Listening is an active exercise in which students try to understand what others are talking about and how what they are saying addresses the conversation in a meaningful way. Since other students may be having a hard time communicating their thoughts, listening becomes vital. When students are encouraged to participate with others in the conversation at hand, they learn how important listening is. When they are listened to by others, they begin to copy that behavior. This sort of listening is a transformative skill for all of life.
Thinking. Students who participate in a discussion are clearly engaged in thinking. They are trying to figure something out. They are organizing their thoughts. They are ruminating on the text and the words of others. When students are participating, they are actively involved and their brains are working. The process is far more beneficial than passive listening. It is an opportunity to make the material their own.
Understanding. Participating in discussion is also the best path toward understanding. Thoughts I have generated on my own always stick with me far better than those offered by others. Indeed, another person’s thought will never really be my own until I incorporate it into my existing frame of thinking, which entails a great deal of active mental work. Participating in a discussion gives students the time and encouragement to do that work. New or confusing ideas need to be processed, not absorbed. Rarely will a student have time to do that processing during a lecture. While the lecture is by far the most efficient framework for presenting information, it is not a good method for having ideas sink in and become incorporated into a student’s framework.
Speaking. We all have ideas in our heads that we attempt to communicate, but often the words don’t come out right. Discussion about new or complex ideas is a great place for students to gently learn when their communication needs work. For example, a poorly articulated idea often mystifies the rest of the class. The student that presented the idea realizes that something is missing and seeks to clarify. The desire to be understood is a powerful motivation to persevere. Making mistakes and forging new paths leads to self-correction, the best way to improve. After repeated experiences and trials, the student will begin to learn how to speak in a way that others understand.
Showing charity. Speaking in a group involves emotional and intellectual risk. When I make a statement, I put something of myself on the table. Others can take that little piece of me and treat it however they want—with kindness and charity or criticism and scorn. Since students who participate in discussion open themselves up, they are in a position to learn, in a public and powerful way, the golden rule. If they criticize or scorn someone else, they, in turn, are inviting others to criticize them. Thus, the risk involved in participation engenders charity toward others. Of course, participation is no silver bullet. If conflict arises, teachers often must find ways to address it outside of class.
Self-reflecting. Discussing a book of high literary and philosophical merit raises important questions. If the book is from a different time and culture, the ideas presented often challenge student beliefs and prompt self-reflection. The invitation to reflect in a discussion is particularly effective for a variety of reasons. First, there are few other opportunities in our culture for students to think about important questions. Second, self-reflection prompted by a book can be less confrontational than a challenge raised by a teacher, parent, or peer, since disagreement with a book does not create interpersonal conflict. Third, participating in a discussion about important questions gives the student ample time to reflect in private and seek out advice. Thus, students who are actively thinking in a discussion are given the golden opportunity to probe important issues and questions. Self-reflection is a rare and valuable habit to develop in our search for truth, as Jesus’ statement exemplifies: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Building self-confidence. A student who does not participate in a conversation nearly always lacks confidence. The student is afraid of something. While it may take time and gentle encouragement for students to move past their fears, it is well worth the effort. They begin the process by watching. But the real benefit comes when they begin to participate. Having an opportunity to practice speaking with others and having some success is key to building self-confidence.
The benefits of discussion that I have described are of inestimable value to our students. These skills and habits will set students up for a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, and they will radically set them apart from peers who have not acquired them.
Three Obstacles to Student Participation
To realize the seven key benefits of discussions, it is important to get everyone involved. However, students face a number of inherent obstacles that can make engaging them in discussion difficult. The three most important of these are reticence/fear, inexperience, and lethargy.
Reticence/fear is the most significant obstacle students face. Students are reticent for all sorts of reasons. They may be shy. They may fear getting the “wrong” answer. They may worry about social standing, especially if it is not “cool” to speak up in a discussion. They may be rebelling against expectations or a particular person. They may believe that their thoughts are ill formed or not “smart” enough. While some students can’t wait to speak up, others show remarkable reticence that takes time and effort to overcome.
Inexperience is another obstacle students face. They may be completely unfamiliar with how to discuss. If they have spent their lives in classes where the teacher and the books give them all of the answers, the idea of an open discussion does not come naturally. It does not occur to them that they are in charge. Without examples, they may simply lack a knowledge of the expectations and rules.
Lethargy is the third obstacle students may face. Some students, unfortunately, are lazy. Participating in discussion is hard work. Like practicing sports, it takes a great deal of time and effort to improve. If students lack motivation to do the hard work, then they will refrain from participating, especially given that there is a world of relationships and entertainment to distract them.
The beauty of well-run discussions is that as soon as students begin to participate, the obstacles begin to go away. Discussion encourages discussion. They begin to experience the exhilaration of working shoulder to shoulder with others to figure something out. They feel affirmed by the respect shown to them when their answers and thoughts are taken seriously. They begin to address the heady and important questions that really matter. And they begin to build a community of friends with whom they can be vulnerable. These aspects of discussion can bring students a lot of joy and satisfaction. It is a far more engaging way to learn.
Featured image used courtesy of Gutenberg College
