Additional Tips on Leading Discussions Compiled from TAs (by Todd Onderdonk)

Tips for generating discussion/engagement:

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.)

Notes on TA-ing for 316K

In teaching we began with the assumption that every student at some level is capable of engaging the text at hand. One of my colleagues after having had a series of poor discussion sections, drew the conclusion that his students were lazy or stupid, decided that there was no point in trying to cultivate discussion and proceeded to lecture most of his discussion section. We may sympathized with the problem but, being a democratically minded, cannot but assume that such students have been failed in their literary education by someone, and it is irresponsible to contribute further to that failing. So, we must insist on taking responsibility. If students are not talking in class, we have to get them talking, using the carrot (making the discussion more lively) and the stick (participation grades). The alternative is to tacitly accept that most of our students are innately ill suited to the study of literature.

On most days that your discussion section meets, you will be required to bring in a focused response (FR), which should be about one page long. FRs can be typed or written (legibly!) by hand. Your TA will use these focused responses as a resource during discussion--you may be called on during class to read or summarize what you have written. The focused responses will also help your TA know that you have done the assigned reading, thus minimizing the need for surprises quizzes--hooray!