Supporting Peer-to-Peer Dynamics in Group Discussions

Having 18 students sitting around a table together with the expectation that they participate in a high-level discussion can be challenging. Most students in EPS literature classes have a strong background and relatively high confidence participating in Harkness discussions especially in the higher grades.  This comes from a strong foundation in discussion built in the middle school.    It’s easy to assume that students in class are prepared and excited to share their opinions with their peers and in the past, I’ve often jumped into informal Harkness discussions regularly.

A few years ago, I was approached by a sophomore who told me that engaging in these larger discussions was extremely challenging and that ultimately they would rather receive no credit than participate.  It reminded me that, for some students, there can be much under the surface even though they appear willing to engage in the discussion.

This led me to take some steps to help all students, especially students that were reticent to participate, to be more confident engaging in, and able to benefit from, peer-led discussions in the class.

Example 1.
Instead of simply assigning pages and asking students to annotate on some assignments I’ve been more specific in terms of what to look for and expect in the reading.  Then I provide places for students to upload their focused questions and comments before we discuss in class.

This screen shot shows a reading guide with questions for students to think about and upload for discussion related to reading the Sound and the Fury.