I'm having a similar problem to Melissa. Most of my students read the work before class, but they don't engage with each other at all. I've assigned that they pick their favorite piece for each class and come prepared to present it in addition to bringing in two discussion questions. Even when someone does feel like talking, the discussion is more like a series of monologues than an engaging and interesting inspection of the work. No one seems to want to respond to each other at all! I even tell them that they should use this time to talk about the things that interest them instead of me, since I either have to carry the horrible silence after each monologue to further contemplation of the student's idea or to a new place entirely.
Should I create a list of talking points to hand out before they read the work for the week? That seems like it would just go back to what I find interesting, though. If only they would engage with each other, instead of focusing on themselves so much! Argh.
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I am have a similar problem, though I am fairly sure it just relates back to the original problem of attendance and actually doing the work. My students will respond, but no discussion results from the original response, they are all just sitting and waiting until they feel comfortable speaking only to what they want to say. No back and forth, no listening and analyzing what their classmates are saying.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to mess with this issue through our class blog, by requiring two students to post discussion questions and responses to the reading assignments, then asking the rest of the class to address the questions posed. And still, each student writes about their own experience with the reading. This is fine, they are engaging with the text as I would like them to, but once each of them has stated their case, which is good for maybe 10 minutes including the silence between each monologue, I am left with a number of unanswered questions and blank stares.
Any suggestions? I thought the blog would help them begin to engage and analyze the comments of others, maybe if they had time to craft their responses it would be easier for them to open up. But they have yet to do so.