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1029 Student Engagement Techniques for Seminars

"The steps students must take to prepare for the discussion encourage them to stay
focused in their reading and not to get more deeply into the source, even if they
initially find it overwhelming or off putting. The structure of the smallgroup
discussion provides even shy and diffident students and nonnative speakers with a
platformtopracticetheirvoice.Additionally,thepassagesthateachstudentreadsare
ones that they found to be most personally relevant and therefore require some
degreeofindividualcommitment."
Tomorrow'sProfessorMsg.#1029StudentEngagementTechniquesforSeminars

Folks:
The posting below looks at some interesting techniques to make seminars more effective. It is from the book,
Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty by Elizabeth F. Barkley. JOSSEYBASS: A Wiley
Imprint www.josseybass.com. The JosseyBass Higher and Adult Education Series. Copyright 2010 by John Wiley &
Sons,Inc.Allrightsreserved.989MarketStreet,SanFrancisco,CA941031741www.josseybass.com
Regards,
RickReis
reis@stanford.edu
UPNEXT:GettingtheMostOutofaResearchConference
Tomorrow'sTeachingandLearning
1,479words
StudentEngagementTechniquesforSeminars

StudentEngagementTechniques(SETs)
THE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (SETs) are fifty fieldtested learning activities that one or more college
teachers have found effective in engaging students. Each SET promotes active learning by requiring students to
participateinactivitiessuchasreading,writing,discussing,problemsolving,orreflecting.EachSETcanalsofoster
motivationbecausemoststudentsfindtheactivitiesinterestingorvaluable.Thetechniquesaredrawnprimarilyfrom
the good practice literature. The format is modeled on the schema developed by K. Patricia Cross and Thomas A.
Angelo in Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs Angelo & Cross, 1993) and continued in Collaborative Learning
Techniques(CoLTsBarkley,Cross,&Major,
2005).
StudentEngagementTechnique#7Seminar
EssentialCharacteristics
_________________________________________________
PrimaryModeCollaborative
ActivityFocusMultiple
DurationofActivitySingleSession
OnlineTransferabilityMedium
________________________________________________
DESCRIPTIONANDPURPOSE
"Seminar"helpsstudentsprepareforandparticipateinanindepth,focused,andmeaningfulsmallgroupdiscussion
ofatext.Inpreparationforclass,studentsreadadocument,markingandprioritizingspecificpassagestheywantto
discusswiththegroup,andwritingashortessayaboutwhattheyreadinresponsetoa
prompt.Studentsbringtheirmarkedupcopiesandessaytoclass,andtheyusetheseastheirtickettoparticipatein
ahighlystructuredsmallgroupdiscussion.
Thestepsstudentsmusttaketoprepareforthediscussionencouragethemtostayfocusedintheirreadingandnotto
getmoredeeplyintothesource,eveniftheyinitiallyfinditoverwhelmingoroffputting.Thestructureofthesmall
groupdiscussionprovidesevenshyanddiffidentstudentsandnonnativespeakerswithaplatformtopracticetheir
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voice.Additionally,thepassagesthateachstudentreadsareonesthattheyfoundtobemostpersonallyrelevantand
thereforerequiresomedegreeofindividualcommitment.
STEPBYSTEPDIRECTIONS
1.Selectatextthatisconceptuallyrich(ajournalpiece,abookchapter,anewspapereditorial)andduplicateitor
provideaPortableDocumentFile(PDF)onlinesothateachstudenthashisorherowncopytomarkup.
2.Craftapromptforawritingassignmentthatconnectstothereadingandwillpreparestudentsforparticipatingin
adiscussion.
3. Create a handout that provides students with directions for both the reading and discussion. Consider
incorporatingExhibit12.3,"IdentifyingGoodSeminarBehaviors."
4. Outside of class, students read the document, marking and then prioritizing the passages that they found to be
mostinteresting,provocative,puzzling,andsoforthandthattheywanttodiscusswiththegroup.Theyalsowritea
briefessayinresponsetotheinstructordevelopedprompt.Thispreparationistheirticketfor
assignmenttoasmallgroup(althoughtheydonotsubmittheessayuntiltheSETisfinished).
5. The teacher forms prepared students into groups of 46. (Either dismiss unprepared students, or allow them to
observeinfishbowlfashion,sittinginchairsoutsideagroup,listeningtothediscussionbutnotparticipating.)
6.Inroundrobinfashion,eachstudentselectsoneofhisorherhighprioritypassages,identifiesit(suchas"page3
paragraph2")sothatothergroupmemberscanfollowalong,readsitaloudtothegroup,andthenbrieflyexplains
whyitwasselected.Theothergroupmemberslistenandtakenotesbutdonotrespond.
7. After every student has contributed, students respond to what they heard from one or two of the other
participants.
8.Studentsenterintoafreeflowingdiscussion,sharingwhattheylearnedorfoundmostmeaningful,andasmuch
aspossibleconnectingtheircommentstospecificpassagesinthetext.
9.Afterdiscussion,studentsaddfurthercomments,reflections,orinsightsasapostscripttotheiressaysandsubmit
themtotheinstructor.
EXAMPLES
IntrotoAmericanLiterature
ProfessorSalInasuses"Seminar"regularlytoprovideastructureforbothdiscussionandindepthanalysisofreading
assignments. For example, as students read John Steinbeck's East of Eden, he organizes a "Seminar" around the
themeofimmigrationandAmericanliterature,andasksstudentstomarkupthetextaswellaswritabriefessayin
responsetotheprompt"WhenSamandhiswifeLizaimmigratetoAmerica,whatisitfromthe'oldcountry'thatthey
bringwiththem,andwhy?HowdoeslivinginAmericachangethem,andtheirchildren?Whatarethechallengesand
theopportunitiesAmericapresentstothe
family?
CulturalAnthropology
To help students explore anthropological perspectives on contemporary issues, this professor decided to use
"Seminar" to have his students discuss a think piece on the challenges Bhutan, an isolated Himalayan Buddhist
kingdom,facesasitopenstotheWesternworld.Sheaskedstudentstoreadthroughthearticleandmarkitcarefully,
payingspecialattentiontothetopicsofpoliticalorganization,language,kinship,religions,andsocialinequalitythat
theywerestudyinginclass.Shealsoaskedstudenttowriteresponsestoeachofthe
followingquestions:
Identifythreeexamplestheauthorprovidesonhowtradition
andchangenowcoalesceinBhutan.
Discussthreeconcernsaculturalanthropologistmighthave
regardingtheimpactofwesternizationontraditionalBhutaneseculture.
Students used their markedup articles and their written assignment as the basis for smallgroup discussions. The
teacherbelievedthattheactivityhelpeddeepenstudents'graspoftheconcepts,theories,and
methodsusedintheclass,andbyfocusingonthechallengesBhutanwasfacingrightnow,thattheactivityhelped
givethecoursecontemporaryrelevance.
ONLINEIMPLEMENTATION
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This technique is designed for a facetoface environment. However, the basic steps can be adapted for an online
class.ForthereadingstageofthisSET,studentscantakenotesonspecificpassagesandwritetheessayandthen
submit these as an assignment. After submission, students can be assigned to a group to participate in an online
discussion. To implement the SET without adaptation, students could scan and upload their markedup documents
andtalk"inthemoment"usingsynchronoustoolssuchasteleconferencingorchat
sessionsbutthesemodificationsarecumbersomeandprobablynotworththeeffort.
OBSERVATIONSANDADVICE
Moststudentswillneedguidanceonhowtoreadcriticallyandhowtocontributeeffectivelytothediscussion.Suggest
tostudentsthatastheyread,theykeepinmindthefollowingthreequestionsandunderlineappropriatepassagesor
makecommentsinthemargins:
1.Whatdoesthetextsay?(Sticktostraightforwardfacts.)
2.Whatdoesthetextmean?(Lookfortheconceptsorinterpretationsbehindtheexactwordsorinferencesbetween
thelines.)
3.Whyisthisimportant?(Shareyourpersonalanalysis,reaction,orevaluation.)
To prepare students for good discussion, consider reviewing with them Exhibit 12.3, "Identifying Good Seminar
Behaviors."
EXHIBIT12.3.
IDENTIFYINGGOODSEMINARBEHAVIORS
Whenassessingseminarbehaviorsonecanask,Howdoesapersoncontributetotheseminar?Towhatdegreedoes
heorsheengageinthefollowingthreekindsofbehaviors?
A.Introducesubstantivepoints:Asubstantivepointisonethatis
clearlyaresultofthoughtfulreadingandthinkingabouttheassigned
textandbecomesthefocusforgroupexplorationlastingseveral
minutes.
*Identifyessentialissuesorquestionsthetextisdiscussing.
*Pointtotheauthor'smainhypotheses,claims,andsupportingargumentsandevidence.
*Pointtoimportantpassagesthatneedtobeunderstood.
*Explainthecomplexitiesfacedinexploringthistext.
*Describepassagesthatarepersonallymeaningfulorconnectedtosomesharedexperience.
B.Deepenthediscussion:Helptheseminarprocesswithindividual
contributionsthatleadthegrouptodiscovernewinsightsand
understandingofassignedreadings.
*Provideadditionalsupportivequotesexplainrelevanceaskclarifyingquestions.
*Sharethethoughtprocessthatwaspersonallyusedindevelopinganidea.
*Paraphrasewhattheauthormeansinaspecificpassag
*Summarizetheargumentsbeingpresented.
*Identifysimilaritiesanddifferencesinpositionsbeingargued.
*Challengeanideaorpresentanalternativeinterpretation.
*Connectideasfromseveralparticipantsorfromothertextsthegrouphasread.
*Formulateinsightfulquestionsthatsparkgroupresponse.
*Introducepersonalexperiencesthatilluminatethetextforothers.
C.Facilitategroupexploration:Focusonwhatthegroupis
accomplishingmorethatonindividualstudents'performance.
*Helptoidentifythegoalsandformatforthegroupprocess.
*Keepthegroupontask.
*Focusgroupbacktothetext.
*Summarizeforthegroupwhathasbeendiscussed.
*Bringclosuretoonepointandmakeatransitiontoanewone.
*Paraphrasesomeone'scomments,identifywhatyoudon'tunderstand,and/orformulateaspecificquestion
askingforclairification.
*Encouragenonparticipantsbybeingalerttowhowantstospeak,or
whohasn'tspoken,andhelpthemgetthefloor.
*Indicatesupportbyrespondingtoaperson'sideas,orcomplimentingthem.
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*Showactivelisteningbymeansofnonverbalcueslikeeyecontact,nods,andsmiles.
*Becomeawarewhendominatingthediscussionandthenmodifybehavior.
*Defuseatensemomentwithuseofhumor.
Source:UsedbypermissionofJimHarnish.
KEYRESOURCE
Harnish,J.(2008).Whatisaseminar?Seminarprocesstoencourage
participationandlistening.Identifyinggoodseminarbehaviors.
HandoutsdistributedatCollaborativeLearningConferenceII:Working
Together,LearningTogether,EverettCommunity
College,Everett,WA,February2223.

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