I agree with E.K.G., whatever works. In my observations this semester I have come to the conclusion that there are as many different styles of instruction as there are instructors. Beleave it or not there are instructors out there with years of experience that still cringe at the thought of standing in fromt of a class full of students who hang on their every other word.
Some people come alive when they instruct, others just stay alive, almost.
Those instructors that seem to have the best results, at least as far as class participation and understanding is concerned, are those that not only chalange their students to think, but to learn how to expand their thoughts on paper. We seem to be having quite a bit of disscussion on the mechanics of writing and the teaching of those mechanics, but what about the process of thinking. For many students the prospect of having an independent thought that needs to be expanded into an essay that revolves around that thought is just short of having a tooth pulled with no pain killer on their fun meter. On the other hand, if their instructor is the type who creates a classroom setting where independent thought is not only taught, but celebrated, than chances are that the students involved in the process will feel free to write. From my observations this semester, that freedom gained form the students realization that they have the ability to think and expand that thought into wriiting that other people are interested in reading, equals at least six tours of duty on the platform of pontification.