Class Discussion: Purpose and Protocol

You are bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to this course. In fact, you are the most important resource for your fellow participants. That’s why your thoughtful, timely, and professional participation in group discussions is critical to the success of the course.

Most of the activities for any given week include a discussion. For these discussions, you are expected to both post your response and respond to 2 colleagues. If you just post a personal response the question, and fail to respond to your colleagues, both you and your peers lose out on the learning that happens through communication

The point of this discussion is to help you articulate and refine your own thoughts. We encourage you to respond thoughtfully and critically – even to disagree (though professionally) – with your colleagues.

Guidelines for good online discussions

When posting your own answer to a question

• Read the question carefully.
• Respond to all parts of the question posed.
• When the activity involves a reading, video, or other resource, refer specifically to that resource. Quote or paraphrase liberally. This isn’t just so you “prove” that you’ve done the work, but also because it helps others to understand and gain new insight into the same work.
• Give specific examples from your own practice whenever possible (and ethical). Your own experiences are so valuable to the group!
• Do it early, do it often. Each activity has a timeframe. If you post too late, many of your colleagues won’t have the chance to respond to you, and you lose out on the feedback.

When responding to a colleague’s post

• Respond directly to the original post. Quoting is a very effective way to do this, e.g.:
  
  You wrote, “In my experience, judges have no idea what it’s like to be in my clients’ shoes.” I totally agree! Just the other day…
• Be courteous and professional. We encourage you to be critical and disagree, but do so in a way that respects the other person. For example:
  
  You said that legal aid has really lost sight of its core values. I think there is merit to that view. At the same time, I’ve found that…
• Engage the substance of the post itself. Show that you have read and tried to understand the other person’s statement. Some ways you can do this include:
  • Analysis: Clarify or summarize what the other person has written.
  • Synthesis: Reorganize the other person’s ideas to introduce a new perspective or propose an alternative.
  • Evaluation: Draw a conclusion or judgment from the other person’s statement.
• Final thoughts on discussions (for now)

This discussion process is reflective – as you engage in it, think about how what you are writing to and hearing from your peers transfers to your daily work.