#  Facilitating Discussions 

 



##  Facilitating Discussions 

Powerful class discussions may seem natural, even spontaneous, but they are typically the result of careful planning, clear intentions, and concrete strategies. From the physical layout of a classroom to the skillful wording of that genuinely provocative question, pedagogic considerations abound. Although facilitators’ styles can range from subtle to direct, effective instructors tend to strike a balance between organic conversation and focused discourse.

Facilitating Discussions videos are organized into three submodules: Framing the Discussion, Balancing and Pacing, and Responding to Students. Classroom footage, student testimonials, and interviews with featured faculty present a range of moves designed to lead more thought-provoking, equitable, structured, student-centered discussions.



 

 

 

       ![Banner](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_28_10__1920x685/public/instructionalmoves/files/03_facilitating_discussions2_copy-2.jpg?itok=FJZC8i8C) 

 

 



 

 



 

   ![icon framing the discussion](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/instructionalmoves/files/icon_framing.png?itok=ZD2i3z1G) 

 



 

 [### Framing the Discussion

 ](/framing-discussion)Learn to delineate discussion boundaries, develop discussions more purposefully, and design discussion-based activities that get at deeper meaning



 

 

   ![icon](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/instructionalmoves/files/icon_balancing_01.png?itok=5geDuBEI) 

 



 

 [### Balancing and Pacing

 ](/balancing-pacing)Learn to expand and diversify participation while developing a heightened sensitivity to discussions’ broader trajectories



 

 

   ![Icon Responding to Students](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/instructionalmoves/files/icon_responding.png?itok=TiLKaPUu) 

 



 

 [### Responding to Students

 ](/responding-students)Learn to address and manage student contributions while rethinking how to use your own voice more purposefully



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

##  Featured Faculty 

 



  [### Gretchen Brion-Meisels

 ](/gretchen-brion-meisels)Instructor

Lecturer on Education

**Course details:**

"Partnering with Youth on Educational Research and Practice"; Harvard Graduate School of Education; 30 students

**Relevant quote:**

*"My goal for the class is that we will grapple with hard questions that come up when you try to partner with youth…I want us to grapple with questions that are authentically hard for everyone in the room."*



 

   ![Brion-Meisels portrait](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/instructionalmoves/files/brionmeisels_headshot_new.png?itok=r2D-NwHG) 

 

 

 

  [### Jane Mansbridge

 ](/jane-mansbridge)Instructor

Charles F. Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Value

**Course details:**

"Democratic Theory"; Harvard Kennedy School of Government; 30 students

**Relevant quote:**

*"When we produce something, we take ownership of it, we care more about it, and we invest ourselves in it further. So even when you’re just producing words in a class, they’re* your *words."*



 

   ![J. Mansbridge](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/instructionalmoves/files/mansbridge_headshot.png?itok=nK0aHCAC) 

 

 

 

  [### Timothy Patrick McCarthy

 ](/timothy-mccarthy)Instructor

Lecturer on History and Literature

**Course details:**

"Stories of Slavery & Freedom"; Harvard College; 16 students

**Relevant quote:**

*"There’s never going to be a perfect class where I can just fade into the background, and students can all talk amongst themselves. But the best classes are those that get closest to that."*



 

   ![T. McCarthy](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/instructionalmoves/files/mccarthy_headshot.jpg?itok=fZQ_gePw) 

 

 

 

  [### Todd Rakoff

 ](/todd-rakoff)Instructor

Byrne Professor of Administrative Law

**Course details:**

"*Legislation & Regulation*"; Harvard Law School; 80 students

**Relevant quote:**

*"I want students to build bridges from what they can do now to what is on the opposite shore. With some students, you can build the bridge pretty far back from the shore, for some you've got to get very close to it, and for others you have to say, 'Here's what the middle of the river looks like.'"*



 

   ![T. Rakoff](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/instructionalmoves/files/rakoff_headshot.png?itok=TvOHfODG) 

 

 

 

  [### Christina “V” Villarreal

 ](https://instructionalmoves.gse.harvard.edu/christina-villarreal)Instructor

Lecturer on Education

**Course details:**

"Ethnic Studies"; Harvard Graduate School of Education; 23 students

**Relevant quote:**

*"The work of teachers is making a thousand mental calculations at any given moment. It's oftentimes kind of like the role of a conductor, but there's no wrong notes in a classroom. There can be dissonant notes."*



 

   ![C. Villarreal](/sites/g/files/omnuum10466/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/instructionalmoves/files/villarreal_headshot.png?itok=Pp1iz2Fr)