ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes 12 principles to guide class discussion, based on the teaching and learning literature. These principles incorporate the ways that student behavior typically impacts discussion, specifically the appropriateness, consistency, breadth, or frequency of student participation, whether in a classroom or online. The chapter describes each of these principles as well as several potential strategies for improving student engagement. The principles include students must be prepared for discussion, must feel safe to express themselves, need good reasons to listen actively and respond well to a variety of structured discussion formats. Students are also doing plenty of preparation work ahead of time to ensure that they thoughtfully prepare their argument before class. Finally, in the fishbowl format, students alternate between active contribution and active listening. Recitation questions ask students to reproduce or say in their own words content that they are supposed to have learned from listening to them or from completing the assigned readings or other homework.
