"Discussion as a Way of Teaching" Response

Stephen Brookfield's article "Discussion as a Way of Teaching" was an extremely interesting and helpful article for me.  I believe that this article could be very helpful for a lot of future and current teachers.  It explains how teachers can bring more discussion into the classroom.  As a student, and a future teacher, I find discussion to be one of the most important aspects to learning.  Not only does it make learning more fun and exciting, it also helps to promote further and better ideas for everyone. Hearing ideas from peers furthers the learning process and helps students to expand on the subject that they are learning. Personally, I love the idea "hatful of quotes" that Brookfield brought up in the article.  I have never seen this done, so I think it would be really interesting to try with my students.  Often times, the same few students are the ones who are raising their hands and participating in discussion, while the more shy students sit back and listen.  This activity would give every student a chance to say something, even if it just something short. I think this is a great way to hear from everyone, without taking students too far out of their comfort zone. 

Another part of this article that really stood out to me was the section on class participation.  Most teachers save some part of the grading scale to class participation, but what does class participation really mean?  This article helps to lay out the guidelines for good participation and I think this is important to utilize and know in my own classroom. Classroom participation does not just mean showing up to class, it means being engaged in the work, the discussions, and the other students ideas. It is important for all students to know the guidelines for classroom participation because not only is part of their grade, it is part of their learning and their success. I could see myself using the guidelines that Brookfield has laid out in my own classroom.  I would want the rules to be hung up for all students to see.  I think this could really help make classroom discussions more successful.