“Group discussion drifts off task in seconds”

Put students face to face and talk starts on its own. The hard part is where it goes. Social conversation is the path of least resistance, and most discussion tasks leave that path open: 'discuss this' has no finish line, no product, no one person answerable for the outcome, and often a question the group settles in twenty seconds, leaving minutes to fill. No one is being defiant. The question is answered and the time is not up, so the talking carries on.

It persists because it is hard to catch. From the front a chatting room sounds much like a working room, and whichever table you walk towards is back on task by the time you arrive. Patrolling reaches one group at a time, and dropping group talk altogether takes away the practice in thinking aloud that discussion exists to give. The techniques below work from two directions: some tighten the shape of the talk itself, a short burst on a precise question with an answer you will hear; others teach the class what good discussion sounds like and agree the rules before anyone starts.