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Talking the Talk in Deep Discussions
Talking the Talk in Deep Discussions
By Irene Wilcox
By Irene Wilcox
Every day I am amazed at the ways that I see my colleagues overcoming adversity and reinventing themselves as teachers and learners. Managing a classroom of students with different levels of learning and emotional needs can be challenging in-person, and in a virtual setting, it can be overwhelming. But when thinking about your advanced students or even all your students, meeting their needs can start by simply helping them deepen their conversations in class.
Discussions in various group settings and activities can be one way to increase the depth and complexity of thinking in your classroom. Accountable Talking Stems adapted by Fisher, Frey, and Everlove (2009) are ways that students can exercise and improve critical thinking and reasoning skills when talking about an idea from a text or topic from a class content area. These stems help students go beyond the basic responses. Learning to use these in the classroom takes time and practice, but can lead to focused conversations that take deep dives in thinking and understanding while increasing confidence and competence.
Accountable Talking STEMS
Accountable Talking STEMS
Asking for Clarification
Can you explain that again?
Could you show me where you got that information?
I understood _____________, but I didn’t understand ____________.
Can someone explain it to me?
Explaining Ideas
I believe the main idea is ____________.
The reason I know this is because _________________.
This is like ___________ and different from ____________.
Can you explain what you meant when you said...?
I wanted to add something…
Using Each Others’ Ideas
______________ said _____________and that reminded me of _______.
Our ideas are similar because _________________
Our ideas are different because ____________________.
We could use _____________ and _____________ to explain ______.
Here’s a new idea _______________________.
Here’s a new idea that uses ____________’s thoughts and ___________ thoughts.
Disagreeing Politely
My own view, however, is that _______________.
Though I agree with ________________, I still believe that ___________.
I know that you think ______ while I think ________________. I’ll explain why I believe _________________ and then you can tell me why you believe __________________.
Although I do not agree with that _____________I do recognize _________.
The evidence shows that ________________________.
That’s an interesting idea. I disagree with you about ________________. Can you tell me about your thinking?
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
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