Student Round Table Pedagogy

Violet Cox, Noelle Isabella, Christine Hamilton, Hilary Sample 

Speech and Hearing Program

College of Sciences and Health Professions 

Student Round Table Pedagogy

This innovative approach incorporated in my teaching highlights the old concept of "Student- learning through discussion and debate."  The purpose of this approach to teaching is to invigorate the stilted traditional lecture format that is so common in university settings and thus remove the element of  boredom from portions of the syllabus that are so heavily draped in facts.   In this approach, groups of students are assigned to research a topic, based on the established course syllabus, and present to the class in a literal round table discussion format. The group has a student leader/moderator who assigns aspects of the topic to each member of the panel.  During the presentation, the role of the moderator is to introduce the panel, briefly outline to the audience (which is comprised of the other class members) the nature of the topic under discussion. Each panel participant responds to issues on the particular aspect of the topic as posed by the moderator. The benefits of the round-table discussion are readily seen as it provides an opportunity for total student engagement. Students also develop a sense of "owning the topic" and in small ways assume the role of experts in the area researched.