Teaching students how to engage in discussion

In Maggie Iuni’s Upper School English classroom, discussion is not something that simply unfolds. It is something students learn how to do.

“Students often think discussion is about saying something smart,” Maggie says. “But it is really about listening, responding, and figuring out what you think in real time.”

Maggie, who also coaches speech, approaches discussion as a skill that requires practice and intention. Early in the year, she asks students to consider a question they do not always expect: Why are we talking at all? The answers vary—working through a text, hearing different perspectives, testing an idea—but naming that purpose begins to shift how students participate.

Without that clarity, discussion can feel uneven or performative. With it, students begin to take more ownership. They listen more closely. They build on one another’s ideas. They become more comfortable sitting with uncertainty.

“Once students understand the ‘why,’ the conversation shifts,” Maggie says. “It becomes less about getting it right and more about staying engaged.”

That shift happens gradually. Over time, students learn when to step in, when to hold back, and how to make space for others. For some, that means finding the confidence to speak. For others, it means learning to listen differently.

In that way, discussion becomes less about participation and more about practice—a way of thinking with others, not just alongside them.

Maggie was recently featured by R.E.A.L. Discussion, where she reflects more on her approach to making classroom discussion meaningful for students.

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