Discussion
Teaching and Learning Methods
Discussion
People learn by struggling with ideas, and socially - discussions, including argumentation from evidence, are key to getting students to think about what they are learning and form concepts.
Tips-for-Promoting-Discussion.pdfDiscussion-Map.pdfDiscussion-Routines.pdfWalk-Talk.pdfGoals-and-Prompts-for-Encouraging-Exploration.pdfBEETLES Discussion Strategies Videos and Video Guides:
Take some time to watch the videos below and read through the video guides to think about ways you can facilitate productive discussions with your groups. How would you do it differently?
Building Discussion Skills
Building a Culture of Science Talk and Curiosity
Responding to Students
Building-Discussion-Skills.pdfVideo Guide to Building Discussion Skills
Building-Culture-of-Science-Talk.pdfVideo Guide to Building a Culture of Science Talk and Curiosity
Responding-to-Students.pdfVideo Guide to Responding to Students
Links to more resources
The Neuroscience Behind Productive Struggle (Edutopia)
CalAcademy - Talk Strategies with Notebooks - great ideas for promoting discussion while using student journals (aka notebooks)
More Teaching and Learning Methods
Aligning instruction with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Teaching the way students learn, using the Learning Cycle
Asking the right QUESTIONS to encourage interest, exploration, concept formation, application, and reflection
Facilitating productive DISCUSSION where students can explore their observations and questions, hash out their ideas with peers, and learn to make arguments from evidence
JOURNALING with students for deeper observations, application, and reflection of learning
Using positive MANAGEMENT methods to keep groups engaged