Add a 10-15 minute discussion of a teaching topic to your next meeting.
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Why use a Mini Discussion
Short discussions focused on teaching and learning can be a great way to start a team or department meeting by:
- Getting everyone’s voice into the room
- Creating shared time for talking about teaching and learning
- Easing attendees into thinking about a topic in a low-stakes way
How to use a Mini Discussion
- Pick one Mini Discussion below that’s relevant for your group.
- Schedule 15 minutes for conversation in your next group meeting.
- During your meeting, spend 10 minutes in small group or pair discussion. Spend 5 minutes sharing out with the larger group.
Get help facilitating a Mini Discussion
Our staff provide facilitation tips based on your group’s goals and members, or we can join your meeting to facilitate a Mini Discussion. Fill our our request form to get help facilitating.
Choose a Discussion Theme
Each theme below contains several Mini Discussions. Use one Mini Discussion during your next meeting or consider the questions on your own.
Theme 1: Classroom Conflict and Challenging Conversations
Discuss insights from our L&S colleagues on managing challenging discussions, addressing sensitive topics, and creating spaces where all students feel valued and heard.
Theme 2: Supporting Student Connections
Research shows that helping students make personal connections with instructors, peers, and course content can help them feel like they belong.
Theme 3: Structuring Your Course Inclusively
A well-structured course can help all students, and particularly students from marginalized backgrounds, navigate and understand your course content and expectations.
Theme 4: Refreshing Your Course Content
Discuss ways to update course content and include a variety of perspectives and examples in your course to help students connect course material to their own experiences and goals.
Theme 5: Recruiting Student Motivation
Consider strategies from research literature, L&S students, and other L&S instructors for helping students identify, develop, and sustain motivation.
Theme 6: Adding Active Learning
Consider philosophies and strategies for active learning that align with your teaching and support student learning.
Theme 7: Supporting First-Year Students
Explore steps to help first-year students transition to new ways of learning and form community with their peers.
Share Your Feedback
After you’ve tried a Mini Discussion, let us know how it went. Your feedback will help us improve and develop new topics.