Facilitating Effective Discussions in STEM Classes

Students are often surprised when they are asked to discuss in a STEM class but discussions – of complicated topics, primary literature and lots of other issues – are a critical part of STEM education. As teachers, it is important to ensure these discussions are purposeful; they may just give students a chance to talk through how they understand content and better apprehend concepts or they may help students understand the nature of knowledge construction in our field or any number of goals in between. In this workshop we will address the concerns around facilitating discussions and develop methods for ensuring discussions meet the class’s goals for students. Additionally, this workshop with discuss strategies to help encourage participation and avoid (as much as possible) blank stares.

Counts toward the CTL Teaching Certificate. Also counts as a follow-up workshop for SAS participants in TA Training.