#  Knowing when to intervene in the student-centered discussion 

 



##  Knowing when to intervene in the student-centered discussion 

Timothy Patrick McCarthy admits that intervening and interjecting in discussions can be an “inelegant art.” If the goal is to have a student-led discussion, then the instructor should mostly let the conversation play out among students. But since the instructor has the end in mind, there are times when he/she should strategically interject to keep the discussion on track. In this video, McCarthy describes the typical pace of his student-led seminar and why he tends to interject more near the end of class.

*Profiled:* [*Timothy Patrick McCarthy*](https://prod-instructionalmoves.drupalsites.harvard.edu/timothy-mccarthy)*, Lecturer on History and Literature, teaches "Stories of Slavery & Freedom" to 16 students at Harvard College.*



 

 

 

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 Classroom Considerations Relevant Research Related Resources 

## Classroom Considerations

 

 

- Note the salient themes and/or unaddressed considerations during discussions and jump in strategically to offer further explanation
- Allocate enough time toward the end of the class or discussion to provide closure, clarify lingering misconceptions, and/or float final, big picture considerations to, as McCarthy puts it, “keep the fire burning”



 



 

 

 

## Relevant Research

 

 

- One study finds that students’ overall performance improves when direct instruction soon follows peer interaction, a balanced approach to teaching proves beneficial across student ability levels ([Smith et al., 2011](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364100))
- A comparative study indicates that classrooms regularly employing teacher-student dialogue help foster for students critical thinking skills and deeper understanding of material ([Nicol & Boyle, 2010](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0307507032000122297))



 



 

 

 

## Related Resources

 

 

- Princeton University’s McGraw Center for Teaching & Learning shares ideas for [“What to Do When Class Discussion Stalls”](https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/node/1271)
- Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning shares [“Techniques for Responding”](https://docs.google.com/document/d/10dGrYyZ34YyUeDONEcDKbcZan8eytzcfn43FOm8ChKU/edit) to student contributions



 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ McCarthy, Timothy ](/instructors/mccarthy-timothy)
- [ Facilitating Discussions ](/modules/facilitating-discussions)
- [ Balancing and Pacing the Discussion ](/moves/balancing-and-pacing-discussion)
- [ How do I plan and manage student-centered discussions that achieve my learning goals? ](/sub-modules/how-do-i-plan-and-manage-student-centered-discussions-achieve-my-learning-goals)
- [ Harvard College ](/school/harvard-college)