Promoting and rewarding large group discussion

So I've run into this one again. I have classes who've been practicing ordering information into certain utilitarian categories (Knowledge, Knowledge Applied, Analysis, Evaluation), but it's all been in writing, and I want now to have them try out the spoken version. Partly this is for feedback, partly it's for fun. Mostly it's for making the categories more accessible by exercising them in a faster, less formal fashion. So we have presentations and class discussions.

Now, generating an environment where volunteered words are welcomed, used, celebrated, and sometimes assessed, takes time. And the rules are not easy to know if the teacher isn't clear beforehand. So what works? I find whole class discussion hit and miss. Either the students have the confidence already or they don't. Some classes positively stifle one another. Most classes have a handful of the willing and a mass of the silent.

I suppose I know a few things. For instance, physical environment has an effect. A class seated in rows of fixed lecture hall seating is less conducive to round table style talk. Something less easy to guage is don't ask questions the students can't answer. You might not know what those questions are until the room goes silent. But still, what promotes active discussion?

If you're going to use discussion regularly, what are the stages you have to go through with the class before they know and possibly want to join in with what's expected?

I try to keep it incredibly limited. Maybe at the beginning for a couple of minutes with short answers or at the end after they've already done a lot of discussion and pretty much know what they are going to say. You can usually get something if it's super easy, but I don't find it useful for conversations. If you use it a lot you end up with the strong students dominating and the majority of the class getting bored

One of the things that I always tell students at the beginning of the conversation courses I do is that when I was at uni people didn't usually want to speak out in front of everyone in our own languages...

What's the alternative? I want the students to be able to take control of a topic and handle it in public. The classes have focused a lot in the past on private control, which is to say writing. Now I want some shared development. The same control method ("the four skills") but deployed in an environment that tests them differently.

Maybe just keep it short, I guess. I can't seem to avoid asking questions of the whole class or wanting the whole class to sometimes take part as a unit.

I always have the productive activities in small groups, start off with me giving them some info and instructions, then they work on preparing something in small teams, then change the groups and move them on to the productive task. This is obviously harder if they are at fixed desks, but you can make them talk to the people behind them, on the other side etc

It can work having the whole class chatting if they are a good class, but I think it's pretty unnatural to talk in large groups without some 'performance' aspect to it

Break them into small groups and assign roles so they have a clear example of what to do. For example:
1) Leader - their job is to make sure the conversation is progressing, and something to share is accomplished
2) Researcher - their job is to use their phone or book to find relevant material
3) Recorder - their job is to write down what others say and submit it to the....
4) Reporter - they will give little updates as assigned, and present the whole shabang when finished

Then if you have an idea for what types of outcome you are looking for create a rubric and put it on the projector/distribute it via QQ, w/e. For example, if you are going to run a case study put some boxes up on the board that say:
1) What is the issue?
2) What is the context for the problem?
3) What taught concepts can you link to this problem?
4) What predictions can you make?
5) Propose three solutions.
6) Prepare 2 questions to ask other groups after you present.

If it fits your teaching style consider using Class Dojo. If you have it linked with your laptop you can use your phone and "reward" or "punish" whomever deserves it, and if it's not shown on the projector at the time create some interest in who was singled out as the program will audibly "bling" or "gong" them.

Why? I find open-ended activities only slightly less chaotic compared to herding cats. It can go from more structured to less structured far more easily than vice versa.

I like the small groups with roles for individual members if we have a case study to appraise together. But how about in presentation scenarios, when for instance one team is making a presentation and are at least in theory supposed to lead some discussion afterward? With university class groups that have been together for a year or more already, there's a certain amount of leeway accorded the presenters, and they seem to cope reasonably well with being left stranded up on the teaching platform. I have to stir the pot a lot, but discussion can develop.

I like the small groups with roles for individual members if we have a case study to appraise together. But how about in presentation scenarios, when for instance one team is making a presentation and are at least in theory supposed to lead some discussion afterward? With university class groups that have been together for a year or more already, there's a certain amount of leeway accorded the presenters, and they seem to cope reasonably well with being left stranded up on the teaching platform. I have to stir the pot a lot, but discussion can develop.

Sounds like a good job for the reporter to me. The reporters who aren't presenting are to listen and prepare one question for the group who has just finished presenting.

During class discussion where in theory the presenting team is leading the discussion, if the discussion begins to sag, I've taken to calling on audience teams by team name. This usually ends up in me leading the discussion, but, at least the one time I've done it so far, it seems to have the informal effect of calling on a team's reporter. I may or may not formalise this process as time goes by. It certainly resulted in better discussion last time.