Student Center Conversations

In class today we had another conversation without the teacher getting involved.  We talked about the Sharia Islamic Law and the reading from last night.  These conversations were done in the style were the students are the center of the core where we come up with questions, looking through the test, and commenting on what we thought of the two readings from last night and today.  The teacher does not talk in this exercise, in history our teacher had a piece of paper and drew arrows at the people talking.  The teacher could not give us any approval on what we said, correction, or advice.  Do I think these conversations are productive?  I do see these conservations being productive, but for me in general its difficult for me to jump into the conversation.  When its moving so fast and people are not supposed to raise their hands for me that I learn slower than most people these conversations aren't the idell things I want to do in history class.  In the reading we did in class a questions I would have liked to appose whats the difference between technically a Muslim and Legalally a Muslim?  I didn't have a chance to ask it but hopefully next time when we do this i will have a chance to speak up.  I found it interesting that less people talked this time than last, I think because some of the classmates are very dominate and very speedy and like to get all there points across and not sharing the 20 minutes we had with 18 people when others spoke 2 or more times.  Over all I think that this was a good why to have class today.