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Aug 24, 2007 - make a discussion-based class successful. To teach using a discussion-based format requires creating pedagogical links to every aspect of the ...
Q 2007 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 397–403, 2007

Articles s How to Create Successful Discussions in Science Classrooms& Received for publication, August 24, 2007 Neena Grover ‡ From the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

Professors often expect students to have the skills that are necessary to participate in discussions. Students, on the other hand, have been trained to glean information from the lecture format; their prior experiences in discussions are likely to be limited to personal opinions on topics such as stem–cell research or evolution. Sudden changes in expectations are jarring and unwelcome at any stage of life but especially when it affects our performance. Thus, bringing any new pedagogy into the classroom has to come with proper preparation for both the students and the faculty. Here, I present my guidelines for bringing discussions into small classrooms. A great deal of structure and preparation are needed to make a discussion-based class successful. To teach using a discussion-based format requires creating pedagogical links to every aspect of the course. It requires changing not only what we teach but also what we value. Various components that are needed for a successful discussion-based course are outlined here. Keywords: Active learning, discussion-based learning, group work, teaching biochemistry, biochemistry education, teaching pedagogy, collaborative learning, linking research and teaching.

Most science teachers would agree that interactiveteaching methods work better for students in learning and retaining the concepts [1–4]. Much effort has been devoted in the past few decades to develop new teaching approaches with the hope of engaging the students’ minds. In majority of the science curriculum, laboratory work and independent research experiences remain the key active components in science teaching. We use guided work to teach students to read literature, design experiments, and write notebooks. Similarly, we need to develop guidelines to familiarize faculty and students on effectively using new pedagogies. Here, I present my approach to creating a structured environment that leads to effective discussions in a science classroom. Ultimately, mastering these approaches comes from practice, learning from each other, making mistakes, and finally by making the approach our own. In the last 4 years, I have taught 13 biochemistry courses using student-led discussions. The success of this approach lies in preparing students to learn in new ways by using guided work. A structured environment prevents common problems such as nervousness and reluctance, unsubstantial work, or a few aggressive students taking up most of the class time. The approach presented

& s This article contains supplementary material available via the Internet at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/14708175/suppmat. ‡ To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 719389-6433, Fax: 719-389-6182. E-mail: NGrover@coloradocollege. edu. This paper is available on line at http://www.bambed.org

here allows the students to come to class ready to work and learn at a deeper level. When done well, most students leave the class feeling empowered and energized. What does it mean to discuss science concepts? For a good discussion to be possible, students need to understand the difference between discussions and presentations. In addition, they need to be shown a successful discussion (modeling). Various components that are needed to create a successful discussion-based class are discussed below. The discussion-based approach presented here is well suited to small classrooms of about 35 or fewer students. It is possible to envision that this approach can be adapted to teaching larger class by dividing the students into smaller facilitated groups, as shown by the practitioners of the problem-based learning (PBL)1 and others developing similar discussion-based resources [5–8]. It is reasonable to expect that the professors teaching large classes at universities would need teaching assistants and have to train them properly. This method is likely to be a more resource- and time-intensive method than lecturing 50 or 100 students. It is possible that limited resources of large universities simply preclude teaching courses using the format presented here. At a small liberal arts college, most classes are small and after the initial period of preparing and organizing the course, the time and effort required to teach using this format is not different from that required for a good lecture-based class. The key elements for structuring a discussion-based class are presented below.

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The abbreviation used is: PBL, problem-based learning. DOI 10.1002/bambed.123

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BAMBED, Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 397–403, 2007 TABLE I Guidelines for preparing for class

We will discuss each chapter in depth; we will make sure that all the important topics in the chapters are discussed. You are reading the material carefully so that you can fully participate in class discussions. Here are some guidelines for getting ready for class discussions:        

Read the material as if you were presenting it the next day. Pay attention to the side bar notes and figures (and legends) in the textbook. Look at the summary of the key topics at the end of the chapter. Do not just skim through the reading—read carefully! Look up the relevant background material to prepare for the class—you may have to open your general chemistry and organic chemistry textbooks and old class notes. Take good notes. It is important to know what you understand upon reading the chapter. It is even more important to write down things you do not understand. Ask these questions in class. If you do not take notes, you will be reading entire paragraphs from the text to answer questions posed to you. Close your book and look at your notes. What concepts can you talk about based on these notes alone? What are the concepts that do not make much sense? Review your notes and skim through the chapter a few minutes before the class. Participate in the class, this means: ask questions, think aloud, help others in reasoning out the answers, and be actively present in the class. It is OK not to know the answer but it is even better to try to reason it out. Use logic and your prior knowledge. There are no simple answers. All of us will help each other in thinking through the questions and answers. It is also OK to be wrong. Ask me how you are doing and what you can do to improve.

Provide a Rationale Often we assume that the students will see the value of what we are doing in the classroom once they have participated in a given exercise. In my experience, the pedagogical reasons that make discussions a good method for learning should be shared with students explicitly. I briefly present some literature on learning, memory, and cognition to explain to students my reasons for using a discussion-based approach [4, 9–15]. Students come into science courses expecting lectures. They have developed skills for being successful in a traditional-style course, and hence, it is reasonable for them to be apprehensive of new approaches. Students should be given an opportunity to ask questions about the approach or to leave the course. The goals for the course should be clearly defined both in the syllabus and during the first day of the course. The fear of using a new approach should be allayed as much as possible (this aspect gets easier with experience). The grading scheme presented on the first day should parallel the pedagogical reasoning if students are to take the approach seriously, and it should be clearly written in the syllabus. Once the class has been taught in this format a few times, the incoming students may expect a discussion-based approach but should be provided with the same introduction. Students do not have to ‘‘buy into’’ the approach at this stage and most will not. It is healthy for students to be skeptical.

What is Discussion? Successful discussions require that the students understand the difference between a presentation and a discussion. A presentation is a recitation of facts by the presenter (such as a lecturer) whereas a discussion involves posing questions that will allow the relevant topics to emerge for further inquiry. Often the professors themselves blur these boundaries. Students do not see science classes as being amenable to discussions. Most students have never participated in a discussion on a science topic. We generally consider discussions appropriate when various opinions are possible; thus, topics such as protein folding are con-

sidered an unlikely discussion material. Students leading discussion need to be taught to frame questions such that the protein folding becomes a discussion topic. Students need to be taught to ask questions that require input from the other students. In a safe classroom environment such an exchange becomes routine and leads to greater interactions between the students and the professor. Students often become genuinely curious and ask surprisingly insightful questions.

Leading and Participating in Discussions For discussions to be successful, students have to learn to lead discussions and participate in them. Students have to be provided with expectations and guidelines (Tables I and II) to be successful in these endeavors. Guidelines provided to the students for participating in the discussion are presented in Table I, and those for leading discussion are presented in Table II. These guidelines are discussed with the students on the first day of the course and are included with the syllabus. Preparing to lead a discussion is stressful for the students; it also takes a significant amount of time. Students should be taught to read carefully and to ask relevant questions. Students should be reassured that the questions they ask do not have to be profound but should ideally lead to discussions of topics covered in the textbooks or literature articles. Professor should help students with these preparations especially in the beginning of the course. The professor can meet with the student groups for a few minutes to identify the main topics and could provide some informal information about a few key questions. Professor should reassure students that he or she would help the students in asking and answering questions. It is preferable to start these discussions on easier topics (earlier chapters), so that the students can become familiar with their role in leading and participating in discussions. It is very important that these early discussions are thorough and provide a strong link to their prior knowledge. For example, a discussion of amino acid can be linked to the various concepts such

399 TABLE II Guidelines for leading discussions Each group is encouraged to meet with me to determine the key discussion points. You are expected to divide up the material equally amongst yourselves. You will only lead discussions on your sections. It is better for everyone in the group to read all the material carefully; then you can help each other in class. If possible, meet as a group before the class to briefly discuss the questions that you are going to ask in class; your group members can help you if they know what you were planning. Discussion Leader: As a discussion leader, you should know the material well. You will not understand everything (but even people with all the experience in the world do not.) Make sure that you read the sections you are responsible for a few times VERY carefully. Write down the questions that you may ask. Remember, I will help you in leading the discussion. Your role is to LEAD the discussion and NOT to lecture. To accomplish this:  Ask questions to the class about your section. It is important to know what the main points were. You job is to make sure that at the end of the discussion we covered all the main points. Do not rush through the material. We want everyone in class to have the time to absorb the material.  The questions you ask do not have to be profound. For example, you can ask some one to give an example of polar amino acid and then ask the next person to talk about why this amino acid may be polar. When relevant, asks questions about what experiments may have been done to prove a particular point. Do not start with long preambles.  Ask students to use the chalkboard as much as possible—it will make the material easier to visualize.  Have a sense of order in which you are going to cover the topics and the questions that you are going to ask.  Give the class time to think about the question. Sometimes, people have a greater difficulty in answering questions that are too specific or too broad. It is OK to rephrase the question.  It is OK to say, ‘‘I didn’t understand such and such thing in this section, could someone explain this to me.’’  Do not hesitate to put someone on the spot by specifically asking them the question. It does not reflect on that person’s abilities, you are helping them to be a part of the discussion (and they are getting participation points.)  It is best to develop a system when asking questions. Go around the table and ask everyone one question. This way you are not putting any particular person on spot and you (and the class) do not have to think about who is getting the next question. Similarly, when discussing multiple things at once, delegate the task. Ask different people to put different aspects on the board. For example, ask multiple people to go to the board to draw various steps of a reaction mechanism. You are likely to have less time for your section than you planned. It is better to be prepared for more time rather than less! I will help you to speed up or slow down in asking questions. I will also help you in asking questions that link the concepts to previous classes or to the material we have not seen yet.

as pH, pKa, Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, thermodynamics, kinetics, stereochemistry, resonance, and functions of amino acids. Such metaconnections are not easily made by the students and have to be introduced by the professor. Comprehensive discussions on topics that students should already be familiar with will motivate students to review the material before coming to class; it immediately demonstrates the value of a discussionbased format. It also provides instant feedback to the professor about students’ prior knowledge on the subject matter. Students are also likely to retain the concepts better when challenged to link the new information to their prior knowledge (constructivist model of learning). Hence, the role of the professor in this format is to deepen the discussion by bringing in both the new and old concepts. Every student should be expected to participate in class discussions everyday; however, not everyone can lead a discussion on the given day. In my classes, sitting quietly and listening intently is not considered sufficient participation.

Modeling Discussion It is important to show students examples of good discussions. One of the most important aspects of successful discussion is to learn to let the students ask a significant number of questions. This is especially important during the first few days of discussion when students are learning to lead and participate in discussions. If needed, the professor can lead the initial discussion; this should only be done once with an explicit intent of modeling. It is, however, preferable to work with a group to model the

method of leading the discussion. This put the emphasis on student-led classroom from the very beginning. However, this does not mean that the professor is sitting quietly and letting the discussion go on—he or she is an active participant in class, leading the discussion in the right direction.

Professor’s Role Learning is a complex process. It requires using prior knowledge to build frameworks within which the new knowledge is incorporated. Learning is more than reading and understanding the assigned material and being able to repeat it. Students are not likely to identify the key concepts or carefully examine their own prior knowledge. Thus, a well-led discussion should reinforce the role of professor as a facilitator in this learning. Professors have to continuously assess learning and lead the students to examine their hypotheses. The professor has to listen carefully to ask probing questions, to rephrase questions, to lead students to examine their prior knowledge, to direct the discussion to right concepts, to bring in novel ideas and connections into the class, to ensure that everyone in the class is preparing, participating, and learning the material, and to give lectures on certain topics. It is preferable to give short lectures (minilectures) of 10–15 minutes or less. If done with restraint, professors should talk for about one third of the class time. Lecture-only classes have trained the students to expect the professor to be talking 100% of the time. Thus, the students in a discussion-based class do not notice the extent of participation by the professor. In this model, the professor is not in front of the class and is not the

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only one writing on the chalkboard. However, certain topics, such as enzyme kinetics, may require lectures depending on the level of course and the background of the students. Lecture-only days (when anticipated ahead of time) should be marked on the syllabus to differentiate them from primarily student-led discussion days. One of the key roles of the professor is to strike a balance between allowing students to share their reasoning while also keeping the class from going down the path of faulty logic. Students’ fear of learning through discussions comes partially from their belief that will be (unintentionally) misled by their fellow students; students believe that they would leave the course without learning the ‘‘correct’’ answers. The professor has to know when and how to interject with alternate questions or to tell students why the logic they have used is incorrect without humiliating the students. The professor’s strengths in directing the discussions are crucial to building student confidence in this format and in the professor’s abilities to manage the classroom, both of which are crucial to the success of a discussion-based course.

Group Work Students working in small groups are important for the success of this pedagogy. Much research is available on setting up successful group work that can be utilized in setting up a discussion-based course [16–20]. In my experience, students working with their peers are more effective in disseminating information, feel less inhibited, and have more confidence. A group of students are also more likely to follow the guidelines set by the instructor. Group size of three is ideal; group of six or more students are not as effective. I find that three groups, of three students each, are the easiest to work with but rarely does one have an opportunity to have a class size of nine students. I have found it difficult to keep track of more than 10 groups at a time (about 30–35 students). However, the number of groups and size depends on the difficult of the task and students’ abilities and prior training. It is desirable to set up permanent groups for the duration of the course. In my experience, it is best to randomly assign groups members. If students’ abilities are known ahead of time, they can be selected based on their background, abilities, and interest to form heterogeneous or homogeneous groups. Women and minority students should preferably be in groups with at least one other women or minority students; in my experience, all male groups do not work as well. For this approach to be successful, research available on setting up successful group work has to be learned. The group size and the difficulty of tasks assigned have to be carefully correlated. An occasional dysfunctional group should be expected and may require some creative troubleshooting.

Organizing Assignments The discussion-based portion of the class should be organized at the onset and should be clearly marked on

the syllabus. Groups should be formed on the first day of the course. The topics for which the students are leading the discussion should be assigned early in the course. One of the hardest tasks is to determine the right amount of discussion material to assign per group without having met the students. The work assigned per group should be such that each member of the group has a reasonable workload. For all discussion-based assignments, the entire class has to read all the material, thus appropriate preparation time should be taken into account. Too little or too much work will make the class difficult to manage. The assignment sheets, detailing all the assignments and the groups responsible for leading discussion, should be provided to the entire class before the beginning of the first discussion.

Division of Labor It is best to assign the discussion topics to the groups instead of individual students. The groups can then be instructed to divide the topics among themselves. The entire group may lose points if this is not done equitably. The group members are expected to prepare the sections thoroughly that they are responsible for. Depending on the difficulty of the topic, group can be required to meet before class to discuss the material with their group members and to generate a list of potential questions. It is reasonable to meet with each group for a few minutes to discuss the main concepts in their readings. This also ensures that the students are dividing the work equitably and encourages them to work with each other outside the class. Students should also be warned that they may not get equal amount of time during the class discussions, as certain topics take more time than the others.

Timing the Discussions It is important to use the discussion format from the beginning of the course. Adding discussions in the middle of the course is more difficult, as students are likely to resist new approaches once they have become comfortable with the initial format of the course. Discussionbased format works best if most of the course is taught using this and other complementary approaches (discussed below). Introducing students to too many methods in one class is pedagogically more difficult.

Discussion Format All students are required to read all the material before coming to the class. Students from the group leading the discussion start by asking questions on a given topic. The questions asked are not meant to be profound or weighty but have to cover the concepts. Students are asked to define terms, draw appropriate molecules and schemes on the board, derive equations, explain the figures, and relate their prior knowledge to the concept being discussed. The person asking the questions is encouraged to follow a defined pattern in which he or she is asking questions. For example, the questions can

401 go around the table. Asking fellow students to answer questions is equivalent to putting them on a spot, a difficult task for students. However, after the first few sessions, the discussion process becomes easier and more predictable. Having structure speeds up the process and also helps to reduce students’ anxiety. In small groups, students can be given flexibility to develop their own structures. Occasional reminders about the participation points allow students to be more inclusive. Also, students are told, even expected, to help each other in answering questions. The professor should not provide the answers or rephrase the questions too quickly or the students become dependent on the professor. It is especially important that the professor does not take over the discussion if students are not participating. Professor should help the group leading discussion by helping them to narrow or broaden the scope of the questions being asked. Professor should, however, ask the relevant background questions that students are not likely to generate. The professor should also summarize the key concepts generated from a discussion. At the end of the discussion period, the professor should summarize the main learning points of the day.

of these reactions, the coenzymes, and connections to each other and other metabolic pathways. This also allows the students to remember the key points of citric acid cycle, instead of seeing it as a series of reactions that do not make sense. If citric acid cycle discussion is done well, students should be able to recognize parallels in b-oxidation of fatty acids without much difficulty. I have given students a group quiz on b-oxidation of fatty acid after teaching citric acid cycle and followed it by another discussion. Often times the order in which the topics are presented in the textbook is not quite what is needed for a discussion-based format. Thus, the ideas that go together have to be discussed together. For example, I discuss interconversion of b-keto acids to amino acids starting in the first week of the course. The groundwork for these complex discussions has to be laid early and becomes easier with experience. The discussion on complex topics comes after the students are already familiar with the class format and hence, varying the format of discussion, or blending in a little bit of presentation with discussion, is appropriate.

Feedback on Discussion Using Complementary Approaches Certain topics, such as bioenergetics, kinetics, and binding isotherms, may be difficult for students to simply read and grasp. For such topics, it is important that the students are given time to process the information. I often use group-problem sets or homework assignments before starting discussions (supplementary materials); it allows the students a chance to review the fundamental concepts involved and provides them a chance to seek help from each other or from me before we begin discussing the related topics. More contemporary approaches, such as e-journaling or web-based assignments, can also be used to prepare students for in-class work on difficult concepts.

Discussion of Complex Topics Certain topics require creative methods of discussion. For example, when discussing glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, each individual reaction (and its reverse reaction) can be assigned to a group who researches it further and compiles the information for other students (with the help of the professor); subsequently, individual reactions and the complete story of glycolysis and its reverse, gluconeogenesis, can be discussed by putting all the reactions on the boards (or posters) simultaneously. Topics that do not seem amenable to discussion, such as metabolic pathways, actually provide a fertile ground for discussion if the students are directed with proper assignments and reading materials with the key learning goals in mind. For example, when covering citric acid cycle, various groups can be assigned decarboxylation reaction, hydration and dehydration reactions, or reactions that increase or decrease the carbon chain. Then a rich discussion can be conducted about the order

It is important to remember that the students try to please the professor. The success or failure of discussion is dependent on students’ perception of professor’s expectations. Thus, it is important to make sure that the students are given feedback on what is working and what is not early on in the course. Students should be given feedback on their ability to ask questions, solicit answers from each other, go to the board, and know when to ‘‘jump in.’’ Students who participate too much or too little should be alerted early in the process before their behavior sets in. Sharing participation grades with individual students and rewarding good discussion behavior with compliments also helps to shape the discussion environment. If the professor can let students provide answers, whether correct or incorrect, it allows the students to become comfortable with sharing their ideas. Encouraging students to help each other in answering questions also builds a cohesive and friendly environment.

Grading Students assess the value of any assigned task based on the grades associated with it. To ensure that the students take the preparation and discussion portion of the class seriously, it should be assigned significant credit. If majority of class is based on discussions, then this work should be equivalent to at least one traditional exam and should make a significant impact on their final grades. Thus, expectations and grading schemes should be clear to the students. Periodically, students should be given feedback on the discussion portion of their grades. Students who are not performing adequately should be informed early and given concrete suggestions for improvement. Students who are too aggressive or too shy also need guidance. Their efforts to improve should

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be encouraged and rewarded. Informal in-class encouragement and recognition for a good discussion or participation is a quick method for providing feedback to the entire class. This step is especially important if the discussions are not going well. The professor should record grades for the participation and the preparation portion of the class routinely. I assign 10% of the class grade for careful reading of the material and leading discussions. Another 10% of the grades are assigned for in-class participation. I take brief notes on students’ in-class participation. Students are often given an unannounced short quiz before the beginning the class to measure their preparation levels. This ensures that the students review their notes before class. Students notice when the professor takes participation and preparation seriously and respond by coming prepared.

Room Organization An effective discussion requires the students to be seated around a table so that they can see each other. In a large class, say 40 students, it is best to divide them into two groups of 20 (table groups). Note that the large groups per table (table groups) are different from the small groups (of three to four students) assigned to lead discussions. In this format, different small groups will be leading the discussions on the same topic per table, and this portion should go into the preclass planning. The professor in this class will then be walking back and forth between tables. The more table groups there are, the more difficult it is for one professor to participate in all the discussions. Hence, depending on the complexity of the topics, it is important to decide how one professor is going to make sure everyone is learning; it may require help from additional faculty, graduate students, or senior undergraduate students. It is possible that for certain topics, the professor will have to meet with different table groups at separate times. My classes generally do not have more than 35 students and hence, I have managed to use this approach without additional resources. However, practitioners of PBL have generated resources for large classroom that may be applicable for discussions in a large classroom.

Evaluation of Group Work Group work is an important component of successful discussions. Therefore, it is important that the students evaluate themselves and their teammates for their preparation, participation, presentation, and responsibility. Students can also comment on the overall strengths and weakness of each group member. I do this once early and once toward the end of the course. If a group is not functioning properly, it becomes clear in early evaluation, and intervention is possible. Groups can be encouraged to establish consequences for various missteps on the first day. In large classes, students must set group rules at the beginning of the course and develop a list of consequences. Again, literature on PBL provides resources in this area.

Examinations Any graded work in the course, including the examinations, should fit within the framework of pedagogical relevance established early in the class. If the students participate in class discussions, quizzes, and prepare well for the course, they should be well prepared for traditional exams. To assess any higher-level learning, students should be tested on questions that require applications of the material to novel contexts. An occasional traditional exam or quiz may allow students to develop confidence in their ability; however, other evaluation methods should also be used. For example, examinations can have an individual and a group component. One strategy involves giving an individual examination first and then using select questions from the same examination for a group portion. Open book exams are also a good pedagogical fit. In my experience, everyday preparation and discussion of the material allows the students to learn small number of topics daily eliminating the need for last minute ‘‘cramming.’’ In summary, success of a discussion-based approach depends on establishing a structured learning environment wherein the rules are clearly spelled out. Allowing the students to work in small groups ensures better quality of work. Consistent feedback allows both the professor and the students to monitor their progress. Ultimately, the success of students in learning using new pedagogical approaches depends on careful preparation and providing students with sufficient tools to succeed under this new approach.

Potential Pitfalls A discussion-based approach to teaching is not for all—each teacher has to choose a teaching style that fits his or her strengths. However, it is likely that most of us can be successful in using the discussion-based approach if we are willing to experiment. Problems that can be anticipated and hence avoided are as follows: students should not be allowed to merely talk or present if the expectations are to discuss the material. The professor needs to know the material and interconnections of topics very well to lead effective discussions and should not leave the control of the classroom to the students. Professors should not repeat the readings but deepen the students’ understanding of the material. Students should feel challenged in the classroom and should begin to think about the concepts and not merely be worried about the approach. If students are given too much work and the professor is not managing the classroom or the material, the approach is bound to fail. It is easy to try the approach once or twice and decide that it does not work. I would recommend that the people look for improvements in the students’ understanding of key concepts and incorporate discussions on earlier and easier topics first. Mastering the art of using discussion will require practice.

403 Class Evaluation Students are generally reluctant to move away from the tried-and-true lecture-based approach. It is very important to prepare students for any new approach and to carefully manage the classroom environment. The first level of assessment is to monitor students’ success on traditional examinations. However, a more complex evaluation needs to be performed to learn about the depth of understanding, links to prior knowledge, students’ perception of learning, students’ ability to retain the material, students’ ability to apply their learning to new situations, etc. In my courses, additional assessments were performed using questionnaires at the end of the course, by soliciting anonymous and confidential letters to department chair, and by asking departmental colleagues to assess student’s abilities in various categories. The assessments show that the students are skeptical about the approach in the beginning but by the end of the course are surprised that they learned the material using this new format. Most students report that they enjoyed interactive learning and feel confident about the content knowledge. Students are able to perform well on traditional and nontraditional exams. As students become familiar with the approach, they start putting in greater numbers of hours into preparing for class and their level of preparation and participation improves. Many students report that this was the first class in which they learned to read the textbook. Students find the everyday preparation for the course stressful and time consuming but report that they learn the material more regularly rather than waiting for the examinations. Most importantly, students ‘‘learn to learn’’ the material. At the end of the course, students say that they would prefer more lectures, as the preparation for the class requires too much work. However, in course evaluations, they do not remember the lectures that were given during the course. Students appreciate group work and enjoy teaching and learning from their peers. Even students that did not work well together develop an appreciation for group work. Most students realize the importance of group work and consider it an important skill for the job market. Students report being well prepared for professional exams and other upper-level courses. Surprisingly, majority of students also report being well prepared for unrelated courses; this could be attributed to the improvement in their confidence levels. Students who take more than one discussion-based course show substantial improvement in their ability to lead and participate in discussions. Other professors report that these students are better at preparing for class, active in class participation, and are good group members. Overall, in my assessment, the advantages of using a discussion-based approach far outweigh the learning curve required to master the approach. The approach I

have presented here has worked well in my courses. Undoubtedly, the approach will need to be adapted for each person’s teaching style. Also, the ideas present here are probably commonsense ideas that other experienced teachers may have already developed. As a new teacher, it took many years of making mistakes before I could recognize what works. I did not find articles discussing details of setting up a discussion-based science classroom and hope my ideas will help others start discussions in their classrooms more easily. REFERENCES [1] J. W. Moore (2002) Teaching as research, J. Chem. Educ. 79, 535. [2] J. Cooper (1990) Cooperative learning and college teaching: Tips from the trenches, Teach. Prof. 4, 1–2. [3] H. B. White (2004) Problem-based learning and undergraduate research, Biochem. Mol. Biol. Educ. 32, 49. [4] J. D. Bransford, A. L. Brown, L. L. Cocking (1999) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, National Academy Press, Washington, DC. [5] D. E. Allen, H. B. White III (2001) Undergraduate group facilitators to meet the challenges of managing multiple PBL groups, in The Power of Problem-based Learning: A Practical ‘How To’ For Teaching Undergraduate Courses in Any Discipline (B. Duch, S. Groh, and D. E. Allen, eds.) Chapter 8, pp. 79–94, Stylus, Sterling, VA. [6] N. King, D. E. Allen, H. B. White (2001) Groups in action, video vignettes for triggering discussions: On bringing out the best in groups: http://www.udel.edu/pbl/groups-in-action. [7] S. D. Brookfield, S. Preskill (1999) Discussion as a Way of Teaching: Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. [8] C. R. Christiansen, D. A. Garvin, A. Sweet (1991) Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. [9] R. E. Slavin (1983) When does cooperative learning increase student achievement? Psychol. Bull. 94, 429–445. [10] S. Carey, R. Gelman (1991) The Epigenesis of Mind: Essays on Biology and Cognition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ. [11] J. L. McClelland, B. L. McNaughton, R. C. O’Reilly (1995) Why there are complementary learning systems in hippocampus and neocortex: Insights from the successes and failures of connectionist models of learning and memory, Psychol. Rev. 102, 419–447. [12] D. A. Norman (1980) Twelve issues for cognitive science, Cognit. Sci. 4, 1–32. [13] A. L. Brown (1975) The Development of Memory: Knowing, Knowing About Knowing, and Knowing How to Know (H. W. Reese, ed.), Academic Press, New York. [14] R. B. Barr, J. Tagg (1995) From teaching to learning—A new paradigm for undergraduate education, Change November/December, 13–25. [15] A. L. Brown, J. C. Campione (1994) Guided Discovery in a Community of Learners (K. McGilly, ed.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. [16] B. G. Davis (1993) Tools for Teaching, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. [17] B. A. Connery (1988) Group work and collaborative writing, Teach Davis 14, 2–4. (Publication of the Teaching Resources Center, University of California at Davis) [18] A. Goodsell, M. Maher, V. Tinto (eds.) (1992) Collaborative Learning: A Sourcebook for Higher Education, University Park: National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania. [19] W. Rau, B. S. Heyl (1990) Humanizing the college classrooms: collaborative learning and social organization among students, Teach. Sociol. 18, 141–155. [20] D. W. Johnson, R. T. Johnson, K. A. Smith (1991) Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity. ASHE-FRIC Higher Education Report No. 4, School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University, Washington, DC.