Part 2: In the Classroom

Leading a Seminar

The Seminar Leader's Role

One of the most important elements in running a successful seminar is the personal approach of the leader; the leader's attitude can affect the dynamics of the group and, consequently, the level and quality of participation. You may recall from your own undergraduate experience that the best seminars or tutorials were the ones lead by an interested and spirited teaching assistant. On the other hand, nothing could be more uncomfortable or awkward than a seminar leader who could not draw his or her students into discussion. Keep in mind that, in many cases, the seminar is a new and uncomfortable situation for students; if a student musters the courage to express a thought – it should not be dismissed or ridiculed. A good seminar leader builds trust by being open to student ideas, while at the same time encouraging students to approach themes and problems from multiple perspectives.

The Many Roles Played by a Successful Seminar Leader:

an initiator, who gets things started quickly and effectively
a task classifier, who previews events in the discussion to clarify the goals of the session or set its direction
a questioner, to provide the general direction of the discussion
an evaluator, who asks questions or makes comments to set the standards of the interaction
a summariser, who recounts the group's progress
an encourager, who elicits participation from all members and does not allow a few to dominate
a supporter and cheerleader, who provides positive feedback and enthusiasm

Preparation

Teaching assistants often take the preparation for seminars too lightly, especially when they feel that the material is familiar. Begin by reviewing the material to be discussed so that you are prepared to answer any questions that may arise. Try to shape the material to meet your students' goals and interests. What perspectives and background material are useful to increase the students' awareness of the reading or lecture? To ensure a successful discussion, give students a set of questions or themes to explore as they cover the material and make sure they do their homework by having pop quizzes or reading reviews.

Shaping a Seminar to Meet Course Goals

Seminar groups are typically organised to either review the material covered in the lectures or to extend or enhance the lecture material – or both. If the intent of the group is a review, the role of the leader will be much closer to that of the lecturer. Typically, you will have to cover in one session what the lecturer covered in two or three. Concentrate on theme highlights, arguments, and significant examples. In the same session, you will probably want to leave room for questions about the material and ask students about the progress of their own work.

More commonly, the seminar is intended to enhance the students’ awareness of the underlying themes and problems of the lecture material through discussion and further reading. For instance, where can the reading be placed in the current historiography? What is meant by historiography? Does the course instructor agree with the author? Is the argument or evidence controversial? Students should be encouraged to think critically rather than simply memorise or regurgitate the material.

Structuring a Seminar or Tutorial

Seminars can be structured around group discussion of lectures or readings, student oral presentations, or small-group discussions or exercises.

Facilitating Group Discussion

There are a number of ways to facilitate or guarantee student participation in a seminar situation. To begin, you could go around the room and ask each student to say one thing they liked, disliked, found confusing, found interesting etc. about the reading. You could have them collectively come up with key words or ideas from the readings and explain their meaning. You can ask your students to prepare one or two questions based upon the current lecture or reading. The seminar leader can then use the best or most common questions as the basis for discussion. If the class is an introductory course, you could alternatively have students make note of the lecture or reading’s basic thesis and have them explain at least one fact or example that the author used to make his or her argument. You could have them fill out a reading sheet, which could include the topic and thesis of the reading, as well as the sources used in the reading and a critical evaluation of the article’s usefulness. Finally, one of the surest ways to promote student participation is to provide them with two or three questions to explore while reading an article or listening to a lecture. Tell them that they may be called upon to answer the questions during the next class.

Questions: A Seminar Leader's Most Useful Teaching Aid

Used by a skilled leader, a question can exploit the full potential of the learning experience and make the seminar a treat for students and leader alike. There are different types of questions:

factual questions ask for specific information, usually beginning with who, what, where, or when
divergent questions have no right or wrong answers and are used to promote possibilities to be explored
probing questions are used in a series to elaborate upon or clarify a student's response or understanding
higher order questions go beyond the mere recall of information and require more analysis from the student

Focussing the discussion

In order to focus a seminar discussion, begin with questions that will evoke specific answers. Start at the most elementary level and then build upon the students’ knowledge and understanding of the material. If students begin to make remarks out of context, respond to an aspect of the remarks that will lead back to the main subject. In order to avoid unduly alienating students, let them know that their comments can be discussed after class or during office hours. When there are lulls in the discussion, summarise points to remind the group of the material already covered.

Expanding the discussion

If you feel that the students are exhibiting a good basic understanding of the material, you can expand the discussion by introducing a divergent question: e.g. did the author's feminist leanings influence her depiction of nineteenth-century criminal justice? Ask for guesses and encourage students to explain their reasoning. Brainstorming can also be one of the most effective ways to draw all students into a discussion. In order to avoid overly controlling the session, keep out of the discussion as much as possible and invite and allow the students to interact with each other. Intercede only when the discussion begins to dwindle or when a student tries to dominate or side-track the session.

Dealing with Silence

Periods of silence can be the most difficult and awkward aspect of teaching seminars-for professors, teaching assistants, and students alike. However, although it may be uncomfortable, wait for an answer. Students need the time to think before they answer and you should allow them to do so. Waiting also provides some of the slower responding students the time to respond and gives you a better opportunity to bring in more respondents. The more verbal students will likely speak simply to fill the silence.

Student Presentations

As an alternative to group discussion in the seminar, you can have individual students prepare weekly oral presentations on select themes, topics, or on the readings for that week. Each seminar session will then revolve around one or two presentations followed by a question or discussion period.

Small-Group Discussions

Some seminar leaders find that students are more willing to participate and become involved in debates if the class is divided into smaller groups. You could, for instance, have individual groups deal with specific questions that can be reviewed by the entire class at the end of the period.

Dealing with Problems in the Seminar

The Quiet Student

It is easy to overlook the silence of some students when there is an abundance of contributions by three or four others. Getting a quiet student to speak requires patience and understanding: do not force the individual to speak by putting him or her on the spot. Draw shy students into the group discussion by asking for comments on the reading material from each student, as suggested in the earlier section. This practice will give the quiet student an opportunity to express ideas in a less threatening situation. When you ask questions of the group, wait until the slow responders are ready before you ask someone to answer, it may be that they just need a little more time to think or act. Look for non-verbal clues that the shy student has something to say. Finally, if you break up the group into smaller groups, it will be more difficult for the student to hide and it will likely be easier for him or her to speak in front of fewer people.

The Domineering Student

There will always be one or two students who try to dominate the discussion. Try to turn their comments into a topic of discussion for the entire class. You can also acknowledge these students’ comments by noting that they deserve more time than is available for discussion and suggest that they be taken up after class or in office hours. As a final resort, speak privately with the student and illicit his or her assistance in drawing out responses from the less vocal students. Let him or her know that they have made a valuable contribution to seminar, but that they tend to intimidate more reserved students.

The Disruptive Student

If a student is being deliberately disruptive there are several ways you might approach the problem. You can make a general announcement in class that you are not impressed by the behaviour of class members. For example, say that onstant tardiness is one thing, but disrupting the class by making a noisy entrance is unfair to other students and interrupts your lecture presentation. If you speak privately with these students, remind them that they are not forced to attend your class, or learn, but that they do have an obligation to not ruin the experience for others. Avoid arguments and keep your course professor updated if problems continue.

Safety in the Classroom

Creating a positive classroom environment will ultimately be the best way of ensuring safety in your classroom. However, no matter how many preventative measures you take, you still may run into seriously disruptive students, or students who threaten your safety, as well as that of the class. When dealing with students who become seriously agitated to the point of yelling in class, there are many ways you can help to diffuse the situation. Do not engage in a yelling match with the person; allow the person to vent, actively listen to them by looking at them, being sincerely interested in what they are saying, and, after they have vented, asking questions of clarification. Acknowledge the feelings of the individual. Set limits and explain clearly what behaviours are unacceptable (for example, you will not speak to them until they lower their voice). Hopefully the student will calm down and, if prompted by something in the course, you can incorporate it into the course as a learning experience. If the individual simply will not calm down, you may have to call campus security. After such an incident it is useful to debrief with the class as a whole, and let your course director/department know what happened. You may want to take a workshop in conflict resolution to learn techniques in more detail – your university likely offers them.

If a threat has been made against you, immediately go to your course director. The proper course of action will likely vary between universities, as will the university bodies that get involved (such as the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Office of Student Conduct, etc.). If you don’t feel like your department is advocating for you in the proper way, be proactive – contact people in higher positions of authority, and call on your union for help. You should never feel unsafe going to class. If you feel that the university as a whole is not dealing with it or taking it seriously, call the police. In the very unlikely event that a student should bring a weapon into class, it is important to remain calm. If you don’t, your students won’t. While we can’t offer much in the way of advice if this happens, one tip could prove helpful. At the beginning of the course, choose one or two students to agree to sit by the door every class and carry the number for security (York University, for example, has little cards with all the relevant phone numbers on them). In the event where physical safety is threatened this student could perhaps get out of the room and call for help. It is important, however, to remember that while this may be possible in a large lecture hall, it likely will not in a small tutorial seminar room. Again, check to see if your university offers workshops about safety in the classroom, and if they don’t, perhaps you can suggest it.

What about the Zinger Question?

No matter how well prepared you are, there will always be questions you cannot answer. Use the occasion as a mutual learning experience between teacher and student. You can redirect the question to a student or ask the class to discuss it. If this does not resolve the question, ask the questioner to bring an answer to class the following week. You can also simply say that you do not have an answer at present but you will for next class. Any of these approaches will maintain class interest and, more importantly, faith in your credibility.

What if you run out of material early?

What do you do when your lecture or discussion ends too early? The easiest solution is to recap the main points of the session and introduce your next lesson. You can also ask students if they have any questions about the lectures, exams, or writing assignments. If there is no response, let your students know that you have prepared a quick quiz to determine their progress in the course to date. When all else fails, let the class leave early-they will appreciate the free time. Do not, however, make it a common practice. students to convince you to change their marks simply because they are extremely upset.