Substantive vs. Not Substantive

Class discussion is an important aspect of the learning process. In academic institutions, this activity is the common practice among education practitioners in order to stimulate the minds of their students. Through class discussion, an exchange of ideas, opinions and perspectives transpire. With this, participants are encouraged to vocalize their understanding on a particular subject matter which helps in honing their different skills and developing different types of intelligence.
However, if a teacher is not properly conducting a discussion, there is a tendency for the students to respond with mediocre or below average answers or thoughts. To produce thorough analyses and an in-depth discussion, teachers should initiate an open-ended discussion which usually starts with a question that does not require a a right or wrong answer. Through this, students will not be apprehensive about sharing their ideas because the notion of being humiliated will be eliminated.
Also, teachers should not hesitate to make follow up questions in order to test whether students were able to fully comprehend the lecture or lesson. Another strategy to create a great discussion is avoiding monopoly. Every participant should be given equal opportunities to express their ideas. This can prevent certain individuals from controlling the flow and content of the discussion. As a result, every aspect of the subject can be explored or analyzed. Furthermore, encouraging students to relate or apply the topic to their daily experiences can produce a meaningful discussion (Saskatoon Public Schools, 2008).

Moreover, to differentiate substantive from non-substantive responses in a discussion, teachers must look at relevance, logic, substance and objectivity. The relevance of the response to the topic should be the primary quality to be reviewed to determine if it is substantial or not. Then, the significance of the answer to the topic. Find out whether the response is essential to the advancement of the topic. The more unusual the answer the better but it must be logical. Also, it is important to provide answers that are objective in order to minimize limiting one’s knowledge about a particular subject matter.