Types of Questions You Can Ask for Discussion 

Open-ended (reactions)

Information-seeking (give us some facts)

Diagnostic (analyze)

Testing (can you support that point with evidence?)

Challenging (how would you account for evidence that contradicts your view?)

Action (what else could a historical character have done? What would you have done?)

Priority (which factor was more important?)

Sequence (clarify the chronological order of events)

Predictions (based on what we've read so far, what do you think is going to happen next?)

Hypothetical (what would have happened if some factor had been different? If some individual had done this or that?)

Extension (implications of some historical truth for current affairs)

Generalization (based on the evidence we've discussed why did these people act as they did?)

Summary (what are the most important points?)

Taking Notes on Readings

Notes in the Margins - As you read, take some notes in the margins. A typology of marginal notes that will help you make good contributions to the class discussions.

Questions: seeking clarification, for discussion, further research or information

Identify key terms/points/claims.

Summaries

Definitions

Connections, parallels: to other readings, classes, or whatever

Labels: to help you see the structure of the document and find information later.

Note tensions or contradictions or dichotomies.

Respond to or disagree with the author. Make counter claims. Note alternative views.

Diagrams

Identify good examples.

Even if you are on the quieter side, you can still contribute to a Harkness discussion. Consider the following ways to build and find your voice.

1. Know that your contributions are valuable and valued.  Edward Harkness did not contribute the money to fund the purchase of seminar tables so that "Harkness Warriors" could speak endlessly.  The more people with different ways of looking at the world contribute to a discussion, the richer and more productive that discussion will be. If you don't believe it, read this article.

2. Prepare well.  Do the reading.  Be an active reader.  Try to anticipate questions that will be posed about the reading.  Read with an eye to finding information in the readings that is relevant to those questions.  Underline and highlight so you can find that information in class. 

3. Ask clarifying questions.  Identify concepts in the readings that need clarification.  If you have a question about it, chances are that other students will too.  Take the opportunity to ask for clarification, especially at the start of class.  During the discussion you can also ask peers to repeat something or explain it further.

4. Be active in small groups.  Teachers will often begin a class by asking students to work in pairs or small groups for the very reason that it gives quieter students a chance to speak.  Make sure you take this opportunity.  And ask to present your small group's findings to the whole class.

5. During the discussion, you should always have your books open, scanning for passages relevant to the conversation.  When I see quiet students staring into the middle distance instead of look at the readings, I assume they are tuning out.  

6. Read passages. If the teacher asks for someone to volunteer to read a passage, step up. 

7. Use eye contact and body language to signal that you are ready to speak so that more talkative students will know to yield. If they aren't yielding in those situations, talk to your teacher.

8. Write.  When I started at Exeter, I could not get myself to speak at faculty meetings. It was too intimidating.  On the rare occasions when I did raise my hand to speak I would practically start hyperventilating, and whatever came out of my mouth was fairly incoherent.  So then, on a few occasions when I saw an issue on the agenda that I cared about I would write down my thoughts ahead of time.  I never read from my prepared remarks, but I found that I was less nervous about speaking and better able to express myself, because I had clarified my thinking, or maybe just figured out what I wanted to say.  If you have trouble speaking in class, do some writing about the readings and you may find it easier to express yourself in class.

If you are a more talkative Harkness student, or even a Harkness warrior, you can help quieter students get into the conversation.

1. Self monitor. Be aware of how much you are talking, how much others are or aren’t talking, and make sure you are not taking up more than your share of the air time. Look around the table before you speak, to see if there are others trying to get in.

2. Allow silences if you’ve talked a lot. There are some students who need a bit of a pause before they will jump in.

3. Don’t call on a student who has been quiet or “put them on the spot.”

4. Notice when other students' facial expression or body language indicates that they seem to have something to say but may be reluctant, and invite them in with “were you trying to say something?” or maybe just an encouraging glance, or at the very least by holding back from making your own comment in that moment.

5. Use names. "Calling someone by name -- recognizing an idea they had from a previous class or a few minutes ago -- affirms their presence. This can be really helpful as a way for involving quieter students after small group work -- if students can acknowledge great ideas that emerged and give credit to others. I ask them to put their names with questions on the board when we begin class like that so they can refer to one another's questions using names. Students who are most aware of the layers in this strategy are able to draw quieter students in this way."*

6. Always yield to quieter students. If you are about to add your fourth comment of the day, and a quieter student tries to speak at the same time, always yield. Of course this requires you to self monitor (see #1).

7. Be an encouraging partner. When the teacher begins a class with students working in small groups, this is often done to warm up the quiet kids. So when it’s time to present to the class, let your quieter partner be the one to present your findings.

8. Be selective about introducing information from outside of the readings. This can be intimating to students who to not have access to the same information. The discussion should be based mostly on information all the participants have access to.

*Quoted: Patty Burke Hickey