Using discussions - why bother?

 If the learner is asking questions of other learners, challenging ideas, presenting and evaluating each others' arguments, that is learning through discussion.  Deeper learning spaces are where “students learn a great deal by explaining their ideas to others and by participating in activities in which they can learn from their peers” (Boud, 2001, p. 3).

It is here they can develop the skills to communicate and exchange information and ideas clearly, coherently and effectively,  negotiate and influence through communication and engagement and collaborate responsibly and ethically with individuals and teams (Graduate Profile Attributes 4.1, 4.2 and  4.3). 

Discussion - both face to face and online - requires students to reason, analyse and make decisions based on their knowledge and understanding of a matter. Problem solving, language development, inference generating and critical thinking are higher-level activities related to both cognitivist and constructivist theories of learning. 

Development of these skills is supported synchronously by in-class and tutorial discussions or live Zoom sessions, and asynchronously through Canvas aspects such as the Discussions forum and Piazza.  This module will concentrate primarily on the smart use of Piazza and Canvas, but also suggest how in-class discussion can be used to create a Community of Inquiry in Law teaching.