Student Led Discussion
Did the teacher provide opportunities for students to formulate questions, initiate topics, challenge one another’s thinking, and make unsolicited contributions to class discussion?
Why does this matter?
When an instructor effectively facilitates rich discussion in class, their students are more apt to build upon the existing knowledge frameworks they continue to develop, and achieve better learning outcomes. One study suggests that students prefer the intimacy of small group discussion over whole-group discussion (Fox-Cardamone et. al, 2002); instructors should consider group work and other activities that integrate both practices, and evaluate the preferences and needs of their specific classes. - Yale University Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning
Student inquiry is at the heart of student choice. When students are able to formulate their own questions they can chase their curiosity and tap into their own interests. They can build on prior knowledge and build a bridge to new information.
Using debate in the classroom can help students understand essential critical thinking and presentation skills. The ability to challenge the position of others or have your position challenged in a constructive way is a skill that will provide students with access to opportunities in college,career, and beyond.
The ability to engage in academic conversations is a skill that can only be learned through practice. Students must be afforded the opportunity to make contributions to class discussions while utilizing academic language/ new vocabulary in order to acquire linguistic skills that can be replicated in the real world.
What does this look like in a classroom?
Students are exposed to a variety of texts related to the same topic and invited to formulate their own opinions, question the position of authors, and possible bias.
Students are given some choice in what they are learning about and the teacher attempts to form connections between curriculum and students' lives.
Protocols are in place in order to ensure that students have opportunities to make contributions to class discussion.
Guide 15 Different Classroom Discussion Strategies
Debate topics are relevant to specific content that has been learned during the class or are relevant to students lives.
Edutopia Keys to Effective Debate
Teacher invites students to ask questions, make comments, and respond directly to the comments of others
All student contributions are valued and students appear comfortable commenting without fear of ridicule.
Teachers and students seek clarification or elaboration to responses through questions such as “could you give me an example of that?” or “Would you explain further what you mean?”
What does this look like in a remote learning context?
Students participate in “virtual gallery walks” in which they view images, read text, hear audio etc… and are invited to comment, review comments, or respond to one anothers comments.
After reading a text students create their own multiple choice and short answer assessments.
Organizing and executing class debates through various video sharing platforms
Student presentations, students explaining how they completed a lab experiment or went about solving a particular equation
Teacher designs a variety of student activities (reading a text, viewing a video, analyzing an image etc…) that reach the same learning objective and provides students with an opportunity to have choice in how they are learning.
The video to the right about Padlet provides a step by step guide on how to use this tool which can be very effective for online discussion.
What are some key PD resources related to this topic?
The article below has excellent resources for discussions in all areas. The video to the right is a step by step video on how to erstablish debate in classrooms.
What are special considerations / resources for Multilingual / English Language Learners?
The traditional 30-60 minute of English language development, taken alone, and isolated from any grade level content will not be enough to close the language gap between English language learners and their English speaking peers. The two resources below will help.
Pair & Group Work Develop Skills
What are special considerations / resources for students with IEPs?
The shift to remote learning has impacted everyone but no group has been more directly impacted by the shift then IEP students. These students lost access to individualized, intensive supports which are critical to their academic development and can not be fully replicated in a remote setting. It is incumbent upon educators to put supports in place to minimize the effects of missing services.
Supports & Discussion Strategies
Remote Learning for Special Education Students Strategies
How is this related to CR-SE? (Culturally Responsive /Sustaining Education)
Within the educational system difference has been traditionally viewed as a deficit. CR-SE marks a shift in philosophy in which student differences will now be viewed as an asset. Differing learning styles, languages and cultural norms of the students should be successfully incorporated into discussions so that students can successfully leverage what they know to learn new material.
How is this related to the Supportive Environment Framework / Social-Emotional Learning?
Becoming a more student centered educator is at the heart of the Supportive Environment Framework.
The video to the right highlights the importance of students working together and make their own contributions to every class.