Moreover, great emphasis is placed on
creating a classroom environment that
encourages students to interact with one another.The teacher also encourages cooperative
learning and emphasizes the need for students to
engage in meaningful dialogue.Although the teacher initiates the activity, he
or she does not assume a leadership role but
rather participates as a member of the group, and
everyone adheres to the guidelines for acceptable
discussion behavior.- 107 -
 The list that follows contains a set of basic
skills that most experts in human communication
would agree are necessary for participants to be
successful in a large-group classroom discussion.On the contrary, an effective plan
for discussion must provide only the organizing
framework to ensure meaningful and productive
dialogue.If a teacher wishes to create for students the
same sense of satisfaction or completion
achieved by the TV writer, then that teacher
must learn how to use planned endings, or
closure, skillfully.Research in the psychology of learning
indicates that learning increases when teachers
make a conscious effort to help students organize
the information presented to them and perceive
relationships based on that information.To determine what can be learned from a
completed laboratory experiment, an extended
research project, or a meaningful field trip.To explore the similarities and differences of
various environments.Most experts in group dynamics agree that one
of the keys to preparing for successful classroom
discussion is the ability of the teacher to create
an atmosphere of trust among students and
between teacher and students.Before
you implement your plan for conducting a
discussion, be certain to include time for
familiarizing your students with the skills needed
to participate effectively in an open group
discussion.Before you begin doing this, you should take
time to familiarize yourself with the kind of
organizing framework an experienced teacher
might use for planning a successful discussion:
1- Have a goal (objective) in mind to serve as
a guideline for what students are expected
to learn.3- Prepare the materials to be used; that is,
readings, DVDs, or Web sites to be
explored, list of discussion questions.Discussion serves several important purposes
as a vehicle for involving students in learning:
1- Students acquire new knowledge.2- Develop a clear statement of the content to
be covered; that is, concepts to be
developed or issues to be explored.4- Formulate a set of procedures or guidelines
for participation.To end a skill-building activity, such as
practicing basic functions in arithmetic.The constructivist views the teacher, for the
most part, as a facilitator.The teacher provides
learning situations in which students have an
opportunity to conceptualize for themselves and
create their own understandings.That is why
dialogue, or classroom discussion, is being
viewed as one of the most important learning
situations teachers can use to help students create
knowledge for themselves.Successful completion of
these questions meets the objective of the
learning activity.- 106 -
Preparing Students for a Discussion:
 Although learning how to plan for a
successful discussion is extremely important, it
is just as important to know how to prepare
students to participate effectively in discussion.Ensuring meaningful
discussion requires the same care you give to
planning an entire lesson.- 108 -
 This does not mean that the outcome of a
discussion is something one should predict or
predetermine.5- Create a means to evaluate discussion
results through written homework,
classroom activity, testing, or observation
of student response to oral questions.Closure is a term used to refer to those
actions or statements by teachers that are
designed to help students bring things together in
their own minds, to make sense out of what has
been going on during the course of the lesson.To reinforce the presentation of a guest
speaker.A planned discussion is one that permits
open interaction between student and student as
well as between teacher and student.- 104 -
Exercise (3):
 The following questions are designed to
determine your knowledge and
comprehension level.Students must be made to feel that the
classroom is a safe place to express their ideas
and feelings without running the risk of being
embarrassed or ridiculed.Many teachers make the mistake of thinking
that students are born with the ability to
communicate effectively in an open discussion.Students must learn the basic skills required
to participate effectively in a discussion.Study the list carefully before initiating your first
classroom discussion.5- Learn to cooperate for the purpose of
seeking solutions to the problem at hand.7- Learn to stay focused on the issue and
avoid irrelevant comments, questions, or
stories.Planning a Discussion:
 Although good discussion can evolve
spontaneously, there is no guarantee this will
happen on a regular basis.- 110 -
When to Use a Planned Ending:
 Now that the planned ending has been
defined and its purposes explained, you are
ready to focus specifically on when the teacher
uses it in the course of the lesson.This is the
function of both planned beginnings and planned
endings.To end a long unit of work that the class might
be studying, such as animals, plants, or atom
structure.To consolidate learning of a new concept or
principle.To consolidate learning experiences on a field
trip.2- They learn to express clearly their own
ideas or views.- 103 -
3- They learn to evaluate their own thinking
and the thinking of others.4- They learn to reflect on ideas different
from their own.5- They learn to share personal opinions.Examples of when to use discussion
?To compare different solutions to the same
problem.1- Define in your own words the term planned
discussion.2- State three specific purposes for using
planned discussion in a lesson.- 105 -
3- Describe briefly three different situations
in which you would use a planned
discussion in your lessons.This is just not true.1- Listen respectfully even if you disagree
with what is being said.4- Learn to take responsibility for getting a
task done.6- Learn to listen critically.An effective lesson plan will
usually indicate where the students will be going,
how they will get there, and how they will know
when they have arrived.Making certain that students know when they
have arrived is the result of the skillful teacher's
use of the planned ending.Examples of when to use a planned ending
?To follow up a homework assignment
reviewed in class.To end a laboratory exercise.??..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2- Learn to avoid interrupting others when
they are speaking.3- Learn to keep an open mind to different
points of view.8- Learn how to come to a common
understanding to which all can agree.- 109 -
Third: What Is a Planned Ending?Another way to look at the planned ending is
to compare it to the paper-and-pencil process of
lesson planning.The role of the teacher is to plan a lesson so
that it begins and ends in such a way as to
involve the students in learning.???????- 111 -
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