The HatPack: An Experiential Exercise for Enhancing Class Discussion Through Perspective Taking and Structured Controversy

Effective class discussions are often frustrated by dual challenges: lack of participation and poor quality of contribution. To address both challenges, we describe an experiential exercise for managing classroom discussion that is based on an adaptation of a classic creativity model. It motivates student participation by generating structured controversy while also enhancing the quality of their contribution by promoting perspective taking. Multiple instructors have used the exercise in a variety of undergraduate and graduate business courses, both face-to-face and online, to successfully increase both the quantity and quality of student participation in and contribution to class discussion. The exercise is suitable for any course in which class discussion is critical to learning goals.