Teaching Tip #3: How to Structure Your Weekly Discussion Section

Before I get to any further examples of lesson plans, I'm going to pass along a tip about structuring a class that I probably should have made the second Teaching Tip. I like to structure my sessions the same each week, so that there is a comfortable routine for everyone. I have four main components that I find work for me.

1. Attendance and announcements [1-3 minutes]
2. Questions generated by the students about previous weeks, lectures, the reading, assignments, etc. [2-5 minutes]
3. Active discussion of the readings [35-40 minutes]
4. My summary of the important points of the discussion and a preview of what they will be doing the following week and a repeat of any announcements [2-5 minutes]