PAUL LECLERC
CCRI FACULTY RESOURCE FORUM
Facilitating Student Interaction: The Dialogue
Reading-Discussion Exercise
In this exercise I assign a philosophical dialogue to be read
for a specific date. The assigned dialogue typically treats a controversial
issue in ethics or philosophy of religion that the class has studied. In
class, I ask for volunteers or assign particular students to read the parts
of characters participating in the dialogue. I adopt the role of
moderator-facilitator. The students—those reading parts and anyone with
something to contribute (question, comment, objection, counterargument,
etc.)—are given a flexible procedural framework to facilitate critical
discussion as the subject matter warrants. As moderator, I interpret the
development of our discussion, provide brief background elaboration as
needed, and interject critical questions on the dialogue and on our class
interaction based on it. In general, I promote a critical, civil, and
constructive exchange among the students. In this context, I will often call
upon specific students to respond to another student’s question or comment.
This classroom exercise enables the students to directly debate and explore
philosophical issues in a structured manner. They gain a sense of the pros
and cons of particular philosophical positions and of the general art of
well-reasoned discussion, both from the textual dialogue and its structured
extension in our class dialogue.
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