WHAT MAKES EFFECTIVE GROUP DISCUSSION

Four essential skills for effective group discussions are:

Asking questions- The key to all effective group discussion is framing the question in a manner that encourages participation of all members, and addresses the issues at hand. Recognizing and using non-verbal cues. Using active listening skills. Students need to be educated to value all contributions and allow for diversity in responses. Respect-all members are valued. WHEATLEY Recording the group's work. Other factors that are worthy of consideration are the group's physical configuration, for example a circle, arc, indoors v's outdoors, gender balance, diversity of participants- including age, experience, background, cultural interest and so on. The teacher will model observe and intervene if required. THINK/PAIR/SHARE- Better to pair randomly Group Discussion = Riot/Chaos- a time waster Recommended Reading: BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER-By Tony Featherstone