It is equally important to have a high expectation for students to show competency in the mastery of their material as it is for them to understand their role in helping to make the learning envirnment as smooth as possible. I often find my classes tend to band together in trying to get things figured out. They learn early on that we all share a common goal of wanting to do a good job. So I will usually ask their feedback by calling on them during classroom discussions. It shows them that it is ok not to know something, but I phrase it in the form of questions to them as if I am trying to find out how for myself. I think it offers a discovery dynamic; we can user our people skills for better understanding how somebody else would solve a problem, and why they would tend to do it that way. The interesting part is when we get to tie it all in together and see which are the most efficient routes in determining solutions.
