Discussion Leader Session

Taimi OlsenAssociate Director

Tennessee Teaching and Learning CenterAugust 8-9, 2011

The Tenn TLC:

The Tennessee Teaching and Learning Center

Faculty Transforming, Leading, and Creating engaged student learning

Email us at: tenntlc@utk.edu www.tenntlc.utk.edu

Follow our blog at tenntlc.blogspot.com!

Learning outcomes:

• To build community through common reading.

• To establish their identity as UT first year students.

• To connect with the Ready for the World enhancement program.

• To experience a college-level group discussion for the first time.

Remember what you were like when you were 18?

Activity One: Warm Up

On your paper, write some thoughts for two minutes:

Is it okay to take and use something from someone if it didn’t hurt them and if it had the opportunity to benefit all humanity? This could be stories, thoughts, physical or intellectual products) for the benefit of others?

Take 5 Minutes: Pair up, introduce yourself, and share your thoughts with your partner. These thoughts will be the basis for further discussion.

Follow-up question (optional)

How does this happen in the book, and what other examples can you think of where people have used another's intellectual products to produce something for themselves?

If your students are participating, you could move on to whole group discussion.

Creating a Quick Debate• You need a clear question which is phrased in a way

that provokes a yes / no response (with the possibility of a ‘maybe’ response as well!)

• Students hear the question, then divide into two teams. There are some options that could work better if you have good attendance*

• They are given a brief amount of time to prepare opening remarks.

• Then, allow each team to give opening remarks and each team a chance to respond.

• Make sure everyone knows the time limit• Determine who will judge.

DebateStay in your role as a student.Set up a short debate between two tables. Prepare for a few minutes, then start. Ask for a volunteer from the tables to be a judge. One table is affirmative and the other is negative. Take 5 minutes to prepare your answer to the following question:

Does Rebecca Skloot exploit the Lacks?

Whole Class DiscussionAs you reach the last third of class (or perhaps

earlier), and you have done enough activities that every student has gotten involved, You can move class into general discussion from this point with some assurance that everyone who wants to contribute will talk.

Take a minute and look at the LOM Faculty Guide. Also, review the TennTLC publication on guided discussion.Questions?

Dismissing ClassBefore you dismiss—and certainly before you sound like

you are dismissing (a sure sign that they tune out and pack up)—ask students to answer three questions on a card. This brings closure to their thoughts:

1. What did you think about today?2. What point was most interesting?3. What is one comment you wanted to add but didn’t?

They should turn these in to you—they don’t need to be signed. Before they do, ask for a few people to volunteer to read their answers! Then you can thank them and send them out the door with best wishes.

Dismissing Class

• Give them some suggestions for getting involved in volunteer work at UT

• Team Vols: http://web.utk.edu/~teamvols/

• Visit “Volunteers Rock the World” to get ideas: http://www.utk.edu/readyfortheworld/rock/

• Visit the Volunteer Fair this fall.

Thank you for attending and for filling out the assessment.

The PowerPoint and handouts are linked off of the LOM Faculty webpage: http://tenntlc.wordpress.com/life-of-the-mind/

You may contact me at tolsen@utk.edu