Guiding discussions

In academic education, a discussion is an important way to learn from each other. By engaging in a discussion, students gain new insights and learn that a topic has multiple sides to it.

But how can you get students to actively participate in a group discussion? In this course, you experiment with different working methods to stimulate discussions and you practice giving instructions. You will also gain insight into the way you communicate when students are engaged in a discussion.

Course details

In this session, you will mainly practice your skills by moderating discussions between colleagues.
We do this by means of various activating work forms. You give each other feedback on the way you give instructions and communicate.

The purpose of this course is that you will be able to use your course design and way of communicating to stimulate students to actively participate in discussions.

Intended Learning Outcome

  • Identify different purposes of discussions as a learning activity
  • Formulate clear instructions so that students know what is expected in a learning activity
  • Recognise strategies to encourage students to actively participate in discussions

Good to know

Target audience UvA teaching staff
Language English and Dutch (see dates)
Trainer Erjo Beitler (TLC Central)
Participants Between 7 (minimum) and 12 (maximum) participants
Loction One of our UvA locations (see Registration)
Dates
  • Wednesday 29 October 2025 (09:30 – 12:30) – English
  • Monday 30 March 2026 (13:30 – 16:30) – Dutch
  • Tuesday 2 June 2026 (09:30 – 12:30) – English
Organised by TLC Central

Registration

The course is funded from central funds. Signing up is not non-committal, we will count on your participation.

After registering, you will receive an automated invitation for your Outlook calendar. If there are multiple dates, you’ll get a separate invitation for each (please don’t forget to accept). If the location is not yet known at that time, an update will follow later.

A proof of participation is available upon request. Please send an email to tlc-centraal@uva.nl after the course.

More information?