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A. Teaching Methods
Discussion – Which parts of this workbook make your
brain work harder?
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Tip #1
Using open ended questions is a good way
to encourage discussion and thinking. It takes
intention and practice to be able to form open
ended questions, so here are some suggestions.
Questions phrased as, “Is this happening?”
or “Which is better?” often lead to answers that
are closed: Yes/No, Either this or that
Instead, consider prompts such as:
What do you notice about…?
What do you already know about…?
How does it relate to…?
How could you learn more about…?
Which is better and why?
Do you agree or disagree, and what did
you consider to reach that decision?
For example Instead of asking, “Are there
noxious weeds in this field?” which prompts a
yes/no answer, you could phrase a question
as “What do you notice about weeds in
this field?” This prompts more contextual
considerations. Notice that the process will be
slower than one generated by a yes/no answer,
and that’s ok. We want to give the brain time to
tackle the information and build new pathways.
Tip #2
To give quieter participants a chance to have
their voices heard, a useful technique is the
Write-Pair-Share exercise.
Write:
Ask an open-ended question and
give participants about a minute to write
something down. This time allows people time
to craft a response so that they are not having
to think on their feet.
Pair:
Ask participants to find one or two
others to share their answers with and have a
brief discussion.
Share:
Ask each group to share the main
points that they discussed with the full group.
Note: this method is active and participatory,
and it can take less than 5 minutes!