ABSTRACT
Successful interactive teaching demands more than asking the right questions. Preparations for an interactive discussion begin with the teacher's identification of the big ideas. Big ideas are often derived from key curriculum concepts. Students are able to grasp their meanings through focused investigative activities and interactive discussions. Productive examinations and interactive discussions enable students to comprehend, at deeper levels, the meanings of these big ideas. "Small" ideas focus on bits and pieces of information and are based primarily on facts rather than issues of significance. A value judgment or a biased point of view may be implied. The teacher is always the best judge of how much time is allotted to the curriculum task, to the group work, to the interactive discussion and to the follow-up – keeping in mind that there is never enough time to do justice to all the issues, never enough time to discuss all the materials, and never enough time to teach everything.
