This has been a perennial question for me... What I've ended up doing
in my intro to child development course is scheduling 10 small group
sessions into the course--it's written plainly on the syllabus. Each
small group session focuses on a topic. We use the Cole & Cole text
(smile) so, for instance, on ch. 2 which covers "genes and the
environment," the topic is the Nature vs. Nurture controversy using
either IQ or gender differences as an example. The students are
directed to read selected pages in the relevant chapter, and then to
write a 2-page reaction paper, using examples from their own life.
Then for the actual class, they break into small groups and discuss
their papers among themselves. I take turns joining the different
small groups; I ask them their names at this time and try to build
some sense of connection with them as well as between them and the
material. At the end of the class, we come together into a large
group again and discuss issues that emerged in the small groups.
For some topics (e.g., peer pressure) it works very well to have
students use their small group experience as a springboard for
contributing in the larger group as well, though it works less well
for other topics (e.g., friendship in middle childhood). Anyway,
when I first started doing this, students were QUITE resistant to
the idea, but this last time I taught the course, I got comments
like, "The small groups were the best part of the course."
Robin