Ground rules of discussion

Although it may seem like an overly formal step, I have found it very helpful to have students set "rules of engagement" to guide how they will participate and contribute to discussions in both on-campus and online courses. I have students answer questions like:

• What is our definition of a respectful, balanced discussion?
  
• How will we determine in what order people speak?
  
• How do we feel about interrupting?
  
• What should we do if someone dominates the discussion?
  
• What should we do if we don't hear from everyone in the room?
  
• What should we do if we discuss something controversial or uncomfortable?
  
• What should we do if someone says something we don't like?
  

Working together the students develop their rules of engagement to guide our discussions. This is a formal document that everyone in the class agrees to. We review it often, and make adjustments when needed.

This activity helps students reflect on their own discussion habits, makes it clear to everyone what is expected during discussions, and empowers students to stick up for themselves and others when one of the rules is violated (e.g., someone dominates the discussion or keeps interrupting others). It also gives students a chance to practice being in a discussion before they have to participate in a discussion covering a course topic, allowing them to become more comfortable with their peers and the discussion format.

Preparing for guest speakers

I think it is nice to have guest speakers in my classes because they offer different perspectives on topics, and are often much better equipped than I am to talk about how things happen and work in the professional world for which the students are preparing.

However, I have found that it can also lead to a lost opportunity if students don't prepare ahead of time. Guests are only with us for a limited amount of time, and they are coming to class on their own time as a service to the community of practice. It is no fun for guests to feel that their time and expertise is not appreciated. So, I have students prepare in one of two ways:

1. Prepare the top 5 questions. I usually have students work in teams of 3-4 to come up with a list of 3 questions they would like the guest to address. I collect the questions, compile them into one master list, and give them back to the students. Then I have the students create categories of questions. I have them reflect on whether the questions are best addressed by this particular guest, or better addressed by someone else or via another resource. This reflective activity usually leads to us eliminating several questions. The students then vote for their top 3 questions. I track the vote on the board. Often this vote narrows it down to the top 5 questions. If not, then I ask for volunteers to defend why we should select a particular question, or why we should drop it. Once we have the 5 questions, we forward them to the guest.
   
   
2. Determine the topic. Sometimes it makes more sense to interview a guest instead of asking her or him to prepare a presentation. When this is the case, I ask students to determine a focused topic that is shared with the guest in advance. Then, we do a similar activity as #1 where students develop their interview questions. They also select 1-3 students who will serve as the interviewers.
   

The added bonus of having the students prepare, is that we can share our questions/main topic with the guest speaker in advance, helping the guest prepare for her or his time with us.

Jazzing up your syllabus

Recently I read a great article called The Promising Syllabus from James Lang, who writes a column for the Chronicle of Higher Education. This article got me thinking about my syllabi: what I include, the order of content, the number of "professor says 'no'" statements, and so on. Bottom line, it made me realize why I hate going over the syllabus the first night of class...boring, irrelevant, pessimistic. How can I write a syllabus that gets students -- and me -- excited about the course?

One strategy I have used is to start with a recent position announcement for a job that students would be interested in. Then, I use the position announcement to describe what we will do in the course, and how the course activities will help them prepare to apply for positions like the ones in the announcement. Here is an example:


Another example is to start the syllabus with vignettes or questions that grab students' attention, and then go on to describe how the course will help students address the challenges presented in the vignettes or answer the questions posed. Here is an example: