…needs planning.
Hello all. Welcome to the 107th edition of TEPS Weekly!
In the previous class, Mr Sinha – the Political Science teacher – taught a lesson on the topic “biases” to his class of 50 students. In today’s class, he made groups of 3, wrote “Discuss prejudice” on the board, and asked the groups to write notes as they discussed. There was a noticeable silence for several minutes. Mr Sinha tried to encourage his students by saying, “Share your thoughts with each other!” and “No answer is correct or wrong!” A few students whispered, some groups stayed quiet, and by the end of 35 minutes, every group handed in notes with a few bullet points taken from the textbook! We’ve all seen (or experienced) classroom discussions like this. So, what happened here?
1. Students weren’t sure where to begin: Every discussion needs a hook and a clear goal.
When students don’t know how to start, discussions often fail. This happens when we ask them to “talk about a topic” without giving directions.
For direction, give them a hook and a goal. A hook can be a situation, a story, or a problem—something that helps every student engage with the concept, almost regardless of their academic knowledge.
The goal gives them a reason to think – it should clearly state what they need to analyse, reflect on or form an opinion about and should have a clear connection to the hook.
For example, if Mr Sinha wants students to recognise bias and suggest practical solutions, instead of saying “Discuss prejudice,” he can give a:
Hook: Read this case study of a young man who is being refused a flat in a housing society because of his food preferences.
Goal: You are a member of this housing society. Think about and discuss how this affects the young man and how it affects you. Based on this, discuss how YOU would have dealt with this situation.
By using a real-life situation and a clear task, Mr Sinha gives students a clear starting point and a reason to think deeply.
2. The group was too small and lacked the expertise needed for meaningful discussion: Choose the right group size for the given goal.
Different sizes of groups offer different dynamics. The size of the group depends on the hook and goal.
Due to the nature of the hook and goal, Mr Sinha can conduct a whole-class discussion to ensure that he, as an expert, is facilitating the discussion and that a variety of perspectives and solutions are shared.
3. Students were left to think completely on their own: Scaffold and provide support for an effective discussion
Not every student knows how to contribute to a discussion or is willing to participate in it. This is where the role of the teacher becomes important. The teacher doesn’t have to dominate the discussion, but they should not leave them on their own. The teacher should facilitate.
a. Move from concrete to abstract: A good hook makes students think about concrete examples that are real, visible and directly experienced. Next, they need to think deeply and connect the abstract, bigger idea behind it.
An abstract idea is something that doesn’t have a clear, visible form. For example, prejudice is an abstract concept. Students might have heard the word, but they may not deeply understand how it looks in real life, what causes it, how it affects people, or why it’s difficult to tackle. The brain prefers concrete details to work with — specific events, people, places, and actions. Only when students have enough of these details can they begin to draw inferences, make connections and reason abstractly.
That’s why it’s important to step-by-step move from concrete examples, through resources (newspaper articles, journal entries, testimonials, or short videos), discussion and reflection, toward a deeper, abstract understanding.
Mr Sinha can give students three short articles about how different housing societies responded to prejudice. He can then ask: “What did each society do? What was the same in all three? Did any actions or reactions feel similar?”
Next, he can guide students to think about why people acted that way: “Were they scared, confused, following rules or copying others? Did they know they were being unfair?”
Then, he can help students link this to a bigger idea of prejudice: “What do these stories show us about prejudice? Where else can prejudice happen? How does prejudice affect both the people treated unfairly and those being unfair?”
This pushes students to think deeply about the real examples, empathise, make comparisons and connect them to a bigger idea.
b. Model the discussion: We often assume that students will know how to share meaningful ideas and, more importantly, how to analyse ideas. This is a common mistake, and it is important to show them how to think. For example, Mr Sinha can say, “If I were a housing society member, I’d say, ‘I like the meet-and-greet idea because it helps everyone feel welcome.’” This isn’t about giving the answer. It’s about showing what a thoughtful contribution sounds like.
c. Remove unnecessary load: As the discussion begins, give students sentence frames to help them express their thoughts, like “One reason this happened is…” or “A better way to solve this could be…” or “I disagree with… because…”. These help students enter the discussion and frame their thoughts/opinions with clarity.
d. Make their progress in discussion visible: Even with all this support, students often circle back to the same ideas or lose direction. This is where visual tools help. Use your board or a chart to keep track of the discussion. Make spaces for “Ideas we rejected,” “Possible solutions,” and “Questions still open.” Keep this visible. It acts like a map for the conversation — students can see where they’ve been, where they’re going and what’s still missing.
e. Prompt them: No matter what stage of discussion it is, ask the right questions. Avoid quick, recall-style questions that have one correct answer. Instead, use open-ended questions like, “Why do you think that happened?”, “What would someone else say?”, or “What might happen if we tried this instead?”
Help students see things from different angles. You might say, “We’ve looked at it from the tenant’s side. Now, how would the committee explain their actions?” or “What could have been done earlier to avoid this?”
You can also change the time frame or setting. Ask, “What should happen next?” or “If this solution is implemented, would it impact others in the society?” These shifts keep the discussion fresh and help students build more flexible thinking.
Sometimes, two students will say very different things. Highlight differences in perspectives. Say, “That’s quite different from what Seema said. Let’s look at both views side by side.” This helps students see that disagreement is not a problem. It’s part of thinking deeply together.
4. Only a few students took part; others stayed quiet and just copied the points. Create a safe space—both physical and emotional.
A. Physical safety: Rearrange the classroom to encourage participation
Arrange students in a circle or semi-circle. This setup ensures that everyone can see and hear each other, making eye contact easier. It forms a shared space where students feel heard and get to share with other students, not just to and from the teacher.
Sit or stand next to the students, not in front or apart. This shows that you are part of the conversation, not in charge of it. It also helps students feel more relaxed and more likely to speak without fear of “getting it wrong.”
B. Emotional safety: Set clear norms and support all voices
Make space emotionally by setting simple, clear rules:
“Wait for one person to finish their point. Don’t interrupt…” enforces active listening.
“There are no wrong answers or ideas.” helps reduce fear of judgment.
“Everyone has to share at least two points.” ensures quieter students are not left out.
5. There was no conclusion to the discussion: Set aside adequate time for a clear conclusion that includes students’ opinions.
Announce that the discussion is coming to an end. Ask students to reflect and share final thoughts. Then give them time to reflect individually—they can write down one thing they learned, a question they still have or a connection they made.
Research suggests that teacher summarising helps students feel they’ve made progress. It shows that their ideas mattered and had an impact. So, to conclude, connect all the ideas, acknowledge thoughtful contributions from students and tie everything back to the overall theme.
For example, to conclude, Mr Sinha can say, “Today, we looked at how some housing societies were unfair because of food preferences. You shared helpful ideas like welcome meetings, fair rules, and speaking up. We also discussed how ignoring this can be unfair too. This shows us that prejudice is not always loud and obvious — it can happen in small, everyday ways. But small actions can also help make things better.”
As we’ve seen from Mr Sinha’s session, discussions don’t work on their own. They need more than a topic on the board and an instruction to “talk.” Discussion is a powerful form of active learning. It needs planning. It requires teachers to know their students and the topic, to think about where support is needed, and to plan for it beforehand. When done well, students walk away with a deeper understanding and less fear about speaking up in a discussion.
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Edition: 4.14