Feature: Discussions

Lively discussions that speak your students’ language.

Discussions can be a great way to engage students—but not everyone feels comfortable speaking up. Our inclusive and interactive discussion tool sparks conversations where students are invited to share their ideas in a variety of ways, no matter how big the class.

81%

of students said Top Hat’s class discussion questions helped to increase their understanding of course material.¹

¹ Executed using customer proof points survey to 39,000 students who currently use Top Hat (April 2017)

Make class discussions feel like a group chat.

Incorporate video, images or good old fashioned plain text to spark lively conversations and drive the debate
Students can respond by text, or give more creative answers with emojis and drawings
Pose interactive discussion questions in class, or incorporate them into readings or assignments to foster critical thinking

No student left unheard.

Give everyone a voice and explore sensitive topics by allowing students to respond anonymously to the class discussion questions
Create a safe space for students not yet comfortable to raise their hand—let them engage using their laptops, tablets and even their mobile phones

Open a window into
how your students think.

Get immediate insights from student responses to class discussion questions to understand what’s working and what isn’t
Let your students ‘upvote’ responses so you see which concepts need further clarification
Assign graded discussion questions to understand how students are progressing in and out of class

Actionable data for evolving teaching.

Every interaction in Top Hat leads to actionable data you can use to help students and personalize your teaching
Capture results from graded discussions in the Top Hat gradebook, along with quizzes, polls, and tests
See how your students are responding to material in class and out, so you know who needs extra support
Easily integrate with LMS platforms like Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle, and Sakai

Tools for teaching, learning, and engaging.

Discussions are just one of the many ways Top Hat enables professors to teach with engaging content, tools and activities in online, hybrid or face-to-face classrooms.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Top Hat’s discussion question option is an incredibly versatile tool. It empowers educators to spur interactive discussion among students by asking them subjective, interpretive questions that may not have one single answer. Educators can also gain real-time feedback during lectures by allowing students to seek clarification, as well as facilitating dialogue between students. For detailed instructions on creating an interactive discussion, see this Support Center article.

There are a few ways to encourage students to participate in and answer class discussion questions with Top Hat. One option is to make a discussion question graded (even just for participation), so students have incentive to answer in order to help with their overall grades. Another option is to enable the anonymous answer option. Anonymous answers create a safe space for students to feel comfortable to speak their mind or ask a question without the pressure of speaking in front of the entire class. Educators can also encourage students to ‘upvote’ responses as a form of participation, to get an idea of which responses are most popular among the class.

For more information on discussion questions, watch this video.

Why educators and students love Top Hat.

“I use Top Hat to assign online homework and create in-class interactive activities. Overall, Top Hat lowered the DFW rates and improved student performance in my course.”

Sherif Moussa

Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University

“Top Hat makes me feel more confident that what I am teaching is working well. It definitely keeps students engaged; they are less likely to wander away from the lecture.”

Curtis Izen

Professor, Baruch College

“The entire platform was extremely user friendly; I wish that my entire university used this platform rather than just this one teacher.”

Jay Hyssong

Student, University of Southern Maine

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