Discussion Section Advice
(by Colleen Hynes)

Although you might have more than enough to do in your discussion sections, some of you might be interested in some ideas to get discussion going. It’s always a good idea to start class off by asking for questions about the lecture whether your professor has requested that you do so or not. Those questions might start discussion. If not, try some of the ideas listed below and check out the list of additional suggestions compiled by Todd Onderdonk. (Those additional suggestions are appended below.)

1. At the beginning of class, have everyone write down 2-3 items that they would like to discuss. These can be aspects of lecture that might have been confusing or simply ideas that they would like their classmates to react to. You can also have small groups formulate questions and then present them to the class for discussion.
2. Come up with a list of discussion topics or questions from issues raised in the lecture or from your own reading and research. Divide students into small groups and have them discussion the questions. Circulate around the room to listen to their discussion and jump in where necessary. Reconvene as a large group and allow the groups to interact with each other.
3. Free write: have students do a 5 minute timed free write during which they have to write non-stop about the texts you’ve been reading, their reactions to lecture, items they’re interested in, etc. They don’t need to turn it in, but it will provide everyone with a jumping off point for discussion.
4. Choose themes that have been presented in lecture (for example, if you are reading Frankenstein you might choose Romanticism, Orientalism, Mary Shelley’s biography, etc.) and have small groups find evidence of one of the themes in the reading. Have them present their findings to the whole class and allow everyone to take notes on particular passages—those notes might be particularly useful on exams.
5. Practice a close reading exercise, first by modeling close reading, then by having the students close read a particular passage. This can also be done in groups and is especially useful if close reading is encouraged by the professor or is likely to appear on exams. See Alyssa Harad’s guide to close reading, which gives three clear steps to teaching close reading.
6. Divide the class into groups of three. Have each student take a role: 1) first comment 2) first response 3) page/line finder. They can then either discuss the elements of the text that they find interesting based on lecture and their own reading, or you can provide a few questions or themes to get them started. When they find a topic they should jot down page or line numbers that support their discussion. After a few minutes (you can circulate to listen to how discussion is going) return to the larger group. You (the TA) will remove yourself completely from discussion. They’ll probably initially clam up, but once they get rolling this is a great technique. Those people who are first comment are responsible for getting things started, first responders must keep the discussion going and page/line finders have to point their classmates to textual evidence. Of course no one needs to stay in the role they’ve chosen. If there’s a lull in conversation, call on a first comment person to jump in. Don’t be afraid of a few awkward silences—I’ve had some of my best class discussions using this technique. You can take notes and then summarize discussion and clarify points at the end of class.
7. If need be, you can always keep track of contributions to discussion. Tell the class you’ll be marking down the number of comments they make for participation.
8. If you plan to use small groups, sometimes it’s a good idea to put the class into a semi-permanent group early on. Then when you have small group discussions people can immediately move into their assigned group and develop a certain comfort level with those classmates. After a few weeks switch the groups up so everyone hears new voices. You can do this as often as you find useful.
9. When you have a sense of what themes your prof might include on an exam, help the students out by making lists of instances of those themes pulled directly from the text. They can do this in small groups and then convene and share with the class (have them write them on the board) or you can do one or two a week and put them up yourself as students call them out. Then model how you’d create an essay, with thesis and textual support, using the information they’ve gathered. You can also have them do a 10 minute free write or a journal to be turned in during next discussion to help them practice for the exam and with processing what they’re learning in writing.
10. Evidence, evidence, evidence! Some students love to share their opinions about literature, or simply to contradict their 316K prof or TA, often without any evidence. I always explain to students that although it’s great when they react strongly or connect emotionally with a text, they need to provide evidence to support their argument from the text itself, not just how it makes them “feel.” Have students practice finding textual evidence, either through close-reading or focusing on passages your prof has emphasized in class. Not only will it help them write stronger essays, it will also help with identification passages if they’re included on exams.