Consider the conditions under which students will feel the most comfortable freely participating in a discussion. This likely includes setting some ground rules (e.g., what kinds of speech are not acceptable, how you expect students to address each other). You can do this as part of a clear statement at the beginning of the class and then reiterate these ground rules throughout the semester. Some sample statements might include:

1. • We will address each other directly and respectfully, using preferred names and terms of address, and making eye contact (if that is a culturally accepted practice for you, or one that you are comfortable and able to do).
   • All of us have a “right to silence.” If you do not want to speak, no one will force you to.
   • Offhand and dismissive comments like “that’s so dumb,” or eye-rolls are signs of disrespect and demean the quality of our discussions. 
   • Your effective participation in a meaningful discussion includes both speaking and listening. Consider carefully the balance of those activities. 

Rich discussion requires preparation, so you’ll want to ensure that students come to that discussion with a suitable amount of prior work completed. Rather than just asking students to “read and be ready to discuss” a text or topic, try offering students more probing reading questions to guide their reading and preparation (after Preskill, 1999):

1. • Epistemological questions probe how an author comes to know or believe something to be true
   • Experiential questions help the student review the text through the lens of their relevant personal experiences
   • Communicative questions ask how the author conveys meaning and whether the forms clarify or confuse
   • Political questions ask how the work serves to represent certain interests and challenge others

Either during class, or as a post-class assignment, provide students with an opportunity to reflect on how the discussion advanced their understanding, or challenged ideas for them. This can be done as a writing assignment, as part of an ungraded journal assignment, or on Canvas as a discussion board. Ask students to be specific in their reflections, not just about the content but about the participation of themselves and others. You can use questions like:

1. 1. Did anyone change your mind on this topic? Who and how?
   2. What is one new idea or approach you learned from this discussion? Who contributed it?
   3. Do you feel that your participation in this discussion advanced anyone else’s understanding of the topic?
   4. How would you prepare differently for a future discussion? 

These kinds of questions set a common foundation but don’t lead to much exchange between students. Consider using exploratory questions as a way to gauge student preparation and to determine the pace and level of the discussion going forward. 

Example: What are the primary components of a club sandwich?

Challenge and relational questions allow students to go back to a source material or text with greater nuance, interpretation, or criticism. Ensure that students have a text or source material in front of them (digital or physical) to best support their ability to engage with these questions and each other. Students should expect to make direct reference to a text or material during this type of discussion (e.g. “the author offers some evidence on page 145, but does not provide any additional sources to support this conclusion”) 

Example: How do common Philadelphia cheesesteak orders by tourists differ from common Philadelphia cheesesteak orders from locals? What might account for the difference in toppings or cheese?

Example: How do recipes for tuna salad differ between the midwest and northeastern US regions? What ingredients are the same, and which can vary? Are there any hyper regional variations?  

Many of these questions start with “Why?” and may lead to speculation and can take a discussion into areas that you did not expect. Ask students to center their speculations and ideas on sources and evidence if speculative discussions start to run too far from the materials at hand. If your desired discussion type is conversation, these diagnostic questions can help surface common ways of seeing the world among your students and can be the final step in your discussion.

Example: Why do politician’s regional sandwich orders produce such strong feelings among both supporters and critics? What do you think is at the heart of arguments over things like putting french fries in sandwiches, or Cheez Wiz versus Provolone as a cheesesteak topping? What is really at stake here?  

This is the final step in a deliberative discussion, but not necessarily an element of a formal seminar discussion or a more informal conversation. 

Example: We are welcoming guests to Newark for lunch. What is the sandwich that we must offer them as an example of our regional cuisine?

Discussions frequently provide opportunities for you as an instructor to assess student comprehension of source material and causal questions can help you probe the extent of your students’ understandings on a given topic. Asking students to discuss how two events are related, for example, will help demonstrate the way that students are placing new knowledge into a broader framework. 

Example: What historical events or geographical circumstances led to the divergent development of Pastrami in New York and Smoked Meat in Montreal? How did the immigration and acculturation experience of these two sets of urban Jewish populations lead to similar, but slightly different, deli sandwich cultures?

Even the most carefully crafted discussion prompts can occasionally stagnate. To help reinvigorate a discussion that has stalled out, or to course-correct a seminar where just one viewpoint has come to dominate, consider hypotheticals. These questions encourage students to think creatively, but also necessitate the temporary suspension of disbelief. 

Example: Visitors from another country that is very different from the United States have come to Newark and are curious to learn more about American food culture, particularly common lunch foods. How would you explain what a sandwich is to someone who is completely unfamiliar with American food culture?

In a deliberative discussion, priority questions can help break stalemates. In a seminar or conversation, they can highlight common values or priorities within a group.

Example: What are three most important condiments that you feel can improve any sandwich?

Asking students to provide a summary of a discussion is an important final step in bringing an effective discussion to a close, regardless of the type of discussion. This can be done orally or in writing. It can also be done individually or as a group. If you are engaging in deliberative discussion, consider having the entire group generate a synthesis collectively or have them discuss the proposed synthesis itself until a collective approval is reached. For a seminar, individual synthesis (undertaken at the end of a discussion, or as reflective homework) can be an important tool for student self-assessment.

Some students experience discomfort in participating in open discussions while others can dominate the space. It can be helpful to provide all students with some additional support to spur them into more engaging conversation and encourage more balanced participation. 

These stems (adapted from Steven Brookfield, The Skillful Teacher, p. 126-7) can be used to help students feel more comfortable participating in a discussion or to support discussion throughout the semester when student focus or preparation lags.

1. What most struck me about the text we read to prepare for the discussion today is…
2. The question that I’d most like to ask the author of the text is…
3. The idea I most take issue with is…
4. The most crucial point in last week’s lecture was…
5. The part of the lecture/ text that I felt made most sense to me was…
6. The part of the lecture/text that I felt was most confusing was…

When discussing challenging or difficult subjects, laying ground rules or agreements for participation is essential. As Nancy Thomas outlines: “The goal of establishing agreements is not consensus but rather exploration and reasoning. Setting agreements is one way to exchange perspectives and explore why a particular agreement might work for one person and not another” (Thomas, 2019, p.5). Thomas also stresses that students should understand that they all share responsibility for the quality of the discussion.

Some additional ideas to consider when establishing ground rules include:

• Refrain from using broad collective terms like “those people” or “everyone knows”
• No ad hominem attacks are permitted. Disagreement occurs but personal attacks should be off limits.
• Seek understanding, not judgment

When discussing “hot topics,” consider carefully if you want to share your own stance on a subject or if you wish instead to withhold this information from students. While there is no correct approach, there are important considerations on each side. In politically charged environments, most faculty choose not to disclose their own political leanings to students (Thomas, 2019). However, other faculty argue that not sharing one’s own position on a morally contentious issue is an, “abrogation of the teacher’s role as an equal participant in the learning process and may be perceived as clinical or even disingenuous,” (Bielby, 2003, p.374). Bielby concedes, however, that stating your position as a faculty member can have a chilling effect on discussion, silencing those students who disagree. Therefore, he advocates for an initial position of neutrality in order to allow the student perspectives to shape the conversation first. Only when problems emerge (such as a discussion becoming overwhelmingly one-sided) or when a student seeks the instructor’s perspective should one’s viewpoint be shared. 

Whether or not to disclose one’s personal beliefs in the context of a challenging issue is a matter of some controversy, and disciplinary norms vary widely. If you are unsure about the prevailing practices within your department or discipline, seek out colleagues to gauge their perspectives. 

First, determine who the audience is for your assessment of this discussion. If you are seeking to assess the effectiveness of a discussion for yourself, in order to determine if it is a valuable teaching practice to continue, your assessment methods may be very simple. If you are seeking to formally assess the individual performance of students for a grade, you may require a rubric. Below are some ways to assess discussion, ranging from least labor intensive, to most labor intensive.

• Count the unique number of discussion participants in any given class session. Keeping a tally in your own notes can help you judge the overall level of student participation from class session to class session.
• Create and share self-assessment rubrics for students. You can ask students to reflect on their own participation both as speakers and active listeners and include content-specific criteria as appropriate. Collecting these at the end of the discussion session will provide insight into how engaged your students were throughout the session. 
• Distribute a post-discussion content quiz. If you are seeking to measure how well a discussion has helped students solidify their knowledge about course content, offer a short quiz based on the topics and ideas, as well as the conclusions reached through discussion, to assess their progress towards your learning goals. 
• Provide time for In-your-own-words synthesis writing. Especially useful in the context of a seminar discussion, prioritize student synthesis as part of your assessment. Review student writing for course credit a few times per semester. 
• Assign student-written discussion logs or journals. Requiring students to keep a discussion log or journal throughout the semester is a more intensive option than occasional synthesis writing but it can support practices of self-reflection more effectively through extended practice and feedback. 
• Seek out peer (faculty) observation. If discussion of any kind is a signature element of your teaching practice, you may want to ask a colleague to sit in and formally observe a discussion session. Ask your colleague to take detailed notes and prepare them to focus their observation on the skills you hope students will demonstrate during a discussion. A rubric may also be helpful in this situation.