Brookfield's “Discussion as a Way of Teaching”

Brookfield had many interesting and useful ideas on how to have a proper discussion in class. Something I found interesting was that in “circle of voices,” it is said that while going around in a small group and participating by random may seem more relaxed than a fixed order, the opposite is true. Instead of students having to worry about when they will talk, the student will already know when they will say something, so they can concentrate more on what they will eventually say when it is their time to speak or they can listen to their peers more intently.

“Hatful of quotes is a nice idea to get students engaged in a particular quote, and for students to think of original things about a quote, but I think having more than two students having to say something original about a quote is a little much, they will more than likely simply repeat what was already said, so I think a nice variety of quotes is essential for this activity.

One of my favorite activities by Brookfield is “Rotating Stations.” My master-teacher at my placement school always talks about how important it is for there to be movement in the classroom, a chance for students to physically move their body. Students are then more engaged. “Rotating Stations” lets students move around, as well as still let students work in small groups. On top of that, students are still able to interact with the whole class and see outside ideas other than their own, and I love that about this activity.

Apart from specific activities, something I struggle with when I teach a class is keeping the discussion going. It never seems to last long. Brookfield offered numerous questions to ask students so that discussion is not short, and that will come in handy in the future.