Suggestions Suggestion 66. Using students' writing assignments as the basis for discussion. An engineering professor identifies several key questions or issues which are given to students a week or two before they are to be discussed.
Students prepare written responses of no more than one typewritten double-spaced page.
As a result of writing their answers, students come to class well prepared to discuss the material. Their written responses are turned in at the beginning of the period and are subsequently graded, as is their participation in the discussion of the topic. A history professor uses a similar strategy. In the first week of class he gives a few short writing assignments, each of which can be completed in one or two short paragraphs. Assigning a specific topic to write about helps students prepare for the discussion.