At the start of most classes, we will review one or two topics that were covered during the prior week in ENGL 1181. These discussions will be run by a different student each week. You will sign up for a specific class period and then lead the review session for that class. I expect these will take about 15 minutes.
Sign up for a topic and date. We will do this in class toward the beginning of the semester. If you miss that class, it's your responsibility to reach out to me to sign up for a discussion lead date/topic.
Attend the ENGL 1181 class or classes that cover the topic you'll be leading discussion on.
Typically, the topic will be covered in 1181 the week before we review the topic in ENGL 1170.
Pay attention and take notes so that you remember what was covered.
Write a list of discussion questions for your classmates to reinforce the topic(s). Aim for around 8-10 open-ended questions.
Submit the written list of questions to Canvas before your class discussion lead.
Ask one question at a time and give your classmates enough time to think about and then discuss the topic. Help your classmates continue to discuss each topic by asking follow-up questions and prompting for
I'll jump in if necessary, but ideally, the concepts and discussions will be primarily student-driven during these review sessions.
See below for more detailed instructions, grading criteria, and make-up work.
Use your notes from the ENGL 1181 class and/or any readings that also covered the topic to write your questions.
Do not use Google, ChatGPT, etc. to create these questions. We're reviewing specifically what we covered in ENGL 1181 and/or assigned readings. The internet may have different ideas, definitions, or coverage of these topics.
Write open-ended questions.
Open-ended questions allow for deeper and varying answers to a question.
Example of open-ended questions: What are some of the benefits to annotating readings? What are some different ways students can annotate their readings and how can these different ways help students?
Open-ended questions, like above, allow for more than one response and also allow for a deeper discussion of the concepts.
Example of closed questions: Should students annotate their readings?
Closed questions, like above, are yes/no questions or questions that have short and fixed responses that won't support effective discussion
Once a concept has been discussed, consider asking some questions that allow your classmates to consider how these concepts can connect to writing in college, other college work/projects/etc., writing in the workplace or their lives, etc.
Create back-up and follow-up questions.
If the question you want to ask is a closed question, add a follow-up part to the question to allow for better discussion.
For example: What does annotating mean? (closed question) And what are some of the benefits to annotating readings? (open-ended follow-up question).
While some follow-up questions may not be able to be planned for (you may need to come up with them during discussion), it helps to have an idea of some you can ask for the various questions.
Create some backup questions. These can help if your classmates are struggling with getting into a deeper and more meaningful discussion of the topic or if one of your questions doesn't work well.
Do not ask right vs. wrong questions. These kinds of questions are often closed questions, but make sure that the questions can have multiple "right" answers. Questions should support discussion, instead of assessing learning (i.e. don't "test" the class, try to support deeper learning through discussion).
To lead the discussion effectively:
Bring a copy of the questions you plan to ask, along with any notes to yourself and backup questions.
Ask one question at a time (or a question plus follow-up if they go together).
Give your classmates time to think and answer. Silence in the classroom can be uncomfortable, but it's important to give people time to process.
Doodle or write notes to yourself if you need help being comfortable with the pauses :-)
Get more than one response per question. Prompt your classmates to continue discussing. The goal of these discussions is to add more depth and understanding to these topics. If we get one answer and move on, the discussion will remain shallow.
Ask follow-up questions to keep the discussion going and prompt deeper responses.
Have some prompting responses ready to support the discussion such as:
"What else can we add to that?" (to prompt more discussion from others)
"Can you explain more about that?" (if a response was short or if you're unclear about what they mean)
"Could you provide an example?" or "Can anyone provide an example?"
Ideally, the questions don't have right vs. wrong responses and are open to nuance. That said, occasionally one of your classmates might not understand a concept or might not be clearly explaining what they mean. If that happens, try one of the following responses:
Rephrase their response to ensure you understood the response.
"Can you explain more about what you mean by [insert point here]?"
"Can you give an example?"
If the response is off-topic to your question (i.e. they are answering a different question than what was asked):
Acknowledge their response by thanking them, and then state something like "let's hold on to that in a minute and come back to it."
Jot down the idea if you need help remembering. Then after your question is discussed, go back to this topic/point and open it up for further discussion.
You will be graded on the following criteria:
Discussion questions are open-ended and prompt a discussion of the meaningful discussion of the assigned topic.
Discussion is led in a way that supports student discussion and allows other students time to think and respond.
Discussion is led in a way that supports getting more than one response per question.
Follow-up questions and prompting questions are asked as needed.
Responses are generally acknowledged and treated with respect.
Discussion questions are submitted in Canvas before the start of class.
✓+ (3/3): Above criteria is met.
✓ (2/3): One of the above criteria is missing, such as questions are not open-ended, questions are facilitated in a way that quickly moves on after one response, etc.
✓- (1/3): Two or three of the above criteria are missing.
No Credit (0/3): Discussion
If you miss your discussion lead day due to illness, emergency, etc., you must reach out to reschedule. There will be limited opportunities to make up this assignment, so make every attempt to complete this assignment on time (this will involve being present for the 1181 class(es) that covers the topic and in 1170 on the discussion lead day).