By Valerie Harmon

Definition- a meeting for an exchange of ideas in some arena; guided debate or discussion of concepts

Description- preset objectives are set by the instructor. The instructor works as a facilitator or as a participant discussing the assigned topic/concepts with the students

Social Learning Theory-

If you want to change an individual’s behavior

you must change their role models and social experiences. Learning is interactive and

tends to occur in a social context.

1. Students can share their unique experiences ongiven topic in an open forum

2. Students can provide positive reinforcement to other students in a non-threatening group environment

3. Students are more likely to absorb the material being taught when information is reinforced by a group of peers

Classroom

Online

Post conference in clinical

Learning resource centers

Involves all students Encourages active student engagement Promotes critical thinking Peer Sharing Cooperative learning Creates a supportive environment for

mutual inquiry Little preparation time required by teacher Does not require additional supplies

Students must have adequate knowledge for active discussion

Some students are over talkative, while others are shy

Students may be challenging of other students opinions

May require a lot of student preparation time

Difficult to do with a large class size Time consuming

Facilitator may have create a specific list of questions if students are having trouble with the topic

If the discussion groups are having trouble staying focused, behavioral objectives may need to be altered to be more specific

If the climate is one in which attitudes about learning are negative the faculty must change the climate. They can do this by responding and reinforcing student successes.

Require a written product from student group activities and

grade it. Over the course these grades are incorporated into a

class participation grade

Put a tick mark next to student names each time they speak

to encourage quantity of responses.

Require groups to keep a log of their discussions then have

each student write a summary the topics they discussed .

Discussions can be evaluated indirectly through exam

questions and written assignments that reflect class

discussions and activities.

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Thomas, K. (1998). Clinical and Nursing Staff Development. Lippincott:

Philadelphia, PA.

Van Hoozer, H., Bratton, B., Ostmoe, P., Weinholtz, D., Craft, M., Gjerde, C., &

Albanese, M. (1987). The Teaching Process: Theory and Practice in Nursing.

Appleton-Century-Crofts: Norwalk, CT.