As we look to our students as aspiring higher education leaders, we may find opportunities for them to lead in the classroom. I recently read an Inside Higher Ed article about a Harvard University professor who experimented with this idea to give students greater agency of their learning.
Richard J. Light, professor of teaching and learning in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, required students to facilitate with a partner two 30-minute class discussions. He determined his students needed some structure, so he provided a few prompts to encourage critical thinking of readings and topics. Below are some general feedback themes that students expressed to Dr. Light.
Key findings
- Several students (not all) wrote that they learned or polished two valuable skills because of this seminar format. One skill was learning how to lead a constructive group discussion. A second skill students brought up was learning how to work effectively with a colleague to achieve good outcomes.
- Many students in this second seminar format wrote in their course evaluations that they expected to use the skills they learned in this seminar to become more effective members of their classroom communities in later classes.
Adapting to your MSHE course
- Considering the pace and length of an 8- or 10-week quarter, assign a pair to one 30-minute class discussion. Student feedback across all courses suggests they are still very much interested in your lecture and insight as an expert practitioner/researcher.
- Map discussion prompts to course learning objectives and relevance to topics at hand. Students seek clear rationale on why they do something in class.
- Using a pre-class survey, gauge levels of experience and knowledge students have about discussion topics. This will help you build an equitable approach to how much support you give and how much challenge you place on students for this kind of activity.
If you have questions or want to add ideas, contact Chris Neary to set up a chat.