A good class discussion has many voices, with participation from many different students. However, speaking in front of an entire class can be intimidating for students. You can offer other opportunities for students to contribute, such as participating in pairs or small group discussions, or through writing.

As an instructor, you will need to pay attention to group dynamics, including but not limited to: those who express minority opinions, dominant or intimidating participants, and the balance of who gets to speak. For more on thoughtfully managing group dynamics, please also see our resources on Engaging Viewpoint Diversity and Fostering Community and Belonging.

Some strategies to encourage broad participation include:

3-hands up: Ask for three students to raise their hands to volunteer to share. For the next question, ask for three different students to volunteer.

Calling on small groups or pairs to share: Giving students time to work and form ideas within a small group first can help them feel more comfortable sharing their ideas with the larger group.

Assign roles in small groups (e.g. notetaker, reporter, questioner, listener, summarizer): To encourage students to take different roles throughout the semester, you could start with a creative approach to assigning roles. For example, you could ask the person with the largest pet in the group to plan to report out, or the person with the closest birthday to be the notetaker on a particular day.

Step up, step back: Remind students of the principle of ‘step up, step back.’ Ask them to self-assess – do they need to ‘step back’ in the discussions more often, or ‘step up’ more? If you notice some students are dominating the discussion, you may want to talk to them privately outside of class, express your appreciation for their contributions, but ask them to ‘step-back’ more or encourage others to participate.

Warm calling: Warm calling is different from cold calling in that students have some advanced notice that they will be called on in class. This could include telling students in advance that everyone will be asked to share an idea. There could be rotating class roles on a schedule. Or, as you circulate among groups as an instructor, you could ask certain students if they would be willing to share their work or their ideas when you bring the class together as a whole group.

Cold calling: Calling on students randomly can be stressful, but can be effective in some contexts. If you do use cold calling, you should start it from the beginning of the semester and explain why and how you will use this method. Find a way to make it random (pulling name cards or numbers) so that it does not seem that you are singling out certain people. Also, give students a way to pass or ask to be called on later or another day.

Index card shuffle: Ask students to anonymously write an idea, question, or example on an index card. Collect the cards, shuffle them, and hand them out so that students receive a card that is not their own. Ask students to share or add to what is written on their card.

Going around the circle: In small classes, you may want to have activities where you go around the room and everyone speaks. Options for this might include asking everyone to find and read a quotation from the reading they liked, or ask a question that they have. Some students have trouble jumping into a discussion and do better if everyone is given a chance to speak in order. Give students a chance to opt-out of speaking if they’d like.

Move the furniture or change the groups: Consider rearranging the room or changing up groups. Sometimes switching the arrangement of furniture or where people sit can cue different behaviors. If students tend to work in the same groups, and some of these groups have patterns where one person dominates the conversation, try counting off or assigning groups. Or, introduce movement, and ask student groups to stand and work at a whiteboard or large piece of poster paper.

If no one is talking or the discussion is lagging: First, check to see that the question is clear. You can ask students to spend a few minutes writing and thinking and then open the question again, and/or ask them to discuss in pairs or small groups before bringing the class back together.

Avoiding ping-pong discussions: Often class discussions seem like a ping-pong game where the teacher serves the ball and students try to hit it back. There is a tendency for students to address the instructor, rather than each other and to try to say things that win praise from the teacher. If an instructor responds in detail to each student's comment or answer, this can start to seem more like an interactive lecture, rather than a true discussion. Some strategies to de-center yourself as an instructor include:

• Removing yourself from the discussion. For example, putting students into small groups, or appointing a rotation of student discussion leaders.
• Reminding students that you would like them to respond and build on each other’s comments. Clarify if they need to raise their hand first or if the discussion can be more free-flowing.
• Posing questions that ask students to respond to each other. For example, “Interesting, what do others think of that idea?” or “I’m curious how others feel about this subject.”
• Limit your responses to saying “Mmm hmm, or thank you,” rather than giving a long response to each student. Staying silent is another option, as the group waits for someone else to add to the discussion. 

References and Further Reading:

Eberly Center, Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation (2024) Discussions. Carnegie Mellon.

Davis, B. G. (1993) Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brookfield, S. D. and S. Preskill. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.