13031

13031

General Session - Conference Presentation and Interactive Activity Only (40 minutes, no formal paper)

Barbara Fennema, Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, barbara.fennema@franklin.edu Lou Anne Manning, Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio, louanne.manning@franklin.edu
 * Hitting the Mark – Create Questions that Generate Critical Thinking Discussions **

How often have you been teaching a class and the discussions have fallen flat? Students are not engaged or the discussion ends quickly without much depth or critical thinking. All too often discussions are lifeless and drudgery for both the students and instructor.

Academic discussions, both online and on ground, should stimulate students to think deeply, using critical thinking skills, about the content and be engaged in a Socratic discussions with their classmates. Effective discussions should require students to think critically about the content from multiple viewpoints, examine relationships among concepts, construct an argument to support a position, and reflect on the implications and consequences of the position in a global perspective.

Presenters will deliver information about effective discussion questions, criteria to evaluate questions, and strategies for establishing an environment to stimulate dynamic and challenging discussions.

Participants will be asked to bring discussion questions to the session they are currently using in their classes. Participants will use the criteria provided to evaluate their questions and modify as needed in order to create discussion questions that generate critical thinking.

//Interactivity // During the delivery of the information, participants will be engaged through polls, questions, and interactive media. Participants will collaboratively review and discuss sample discussion questions. Applying the knowledge obtained during the presentation, the participants will be given a few minutes to evaluate and modify their discussion question(s) to create questions that generate critical thinking. Selected participants will be asked to share their question using the whiteboard and provide an argument to support why their discussion question will stimulate critical thinking. The rest of the group will apply the criteria to provide constructive feedback using the chat area.

All Audiences Critical-Thinking Socratic Discussions