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Discussion encourages independent thinking and listening. The student identifies and assesses problems, forms reasoned interpretations and reaches/tests conclusions. Therefore, the alternating of questions, listening and response is conducted to carry out critical/intelligent thinking (necessary for cognitive development).
Independent thinking
Independent thinking
Frees students from undue deference to others’ viewpoints. The student:
gathers and presents data
sifts through evidence
thinks about structure/framework for evidence
formulates fruitful questions
forms hypotheses
tests those hypotheses, leading to more data gathering
Listening
Listening
Attending to what is said – and how it is said. It require simultaneous focusing on several different channels and is focused, critical, comprehensive, strategic and requires much energy (to absorb, organize and store information). Listening attends to:
Substantive content
Tone of speaker’s voice (while tone may be discernable online, it is less evident in written form)
The perspective from which she/he speaks
The degree of authenticity or confidence projected or invoked
The speaker’s emotional attachment to ideas
In addition, listening requires a continuous stream of strategic decisions (and a lot of energy) to:
Decide whether to concentrate on hearing the next words or process the last message
Reflect on ideas being communicated
Evaluate their validity
Derive implications from them
Or, to pursue some other thought they inspire
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