Accountable Talk Practices

Inviting students to engage in robust talk leads to growth in learning and achievement. In today’s flexible environments, it’s more critical than ever to use productive talk moves to invite students to share their experiences, their knowledge, and to support their thinking with evidence. But how do talk moves work in asynchronous online learning? Accountable Talk® moves can serve as the foundation for good, open-ended feedback from teachers to students or from student to student. Using the moves as feedback prompts students to think critically about their own writing. Engaging in Accountable Talk® practices allow students to express their ideas, build on the ideas of their classmates, and make critical personal and cultural connections to content & ideas. The practices provide students with the opportunity to grapple with complex and engaging ideas, to take ownership of their learning, and to see their peers as knowledgeable members of the learning community.

The Accountable Talk® Practices Teacher’s Guide provides teachers and school leaders practical and actionable guidance for creating opportunities for robust student talk. The guide serves as a primer for teachers just beginning to think about structuring their classrooms for Accountable Talk® . It also serves as a valuable resource for teachers versed in Accountable Talk® practices by enhancing teacher instruction through building knowledge around text and task considerations that lead to robust opportunities for students to discuss complex, engaging, and relevant texts and content. Included with the guide is access to video and transcripts that can be studied and discussed by professional learning communities and serve as models for the study and discussion of the talk happening in the classrooms at your school. Additionally, you’ll receive a “Student Talk Moves” poster that provides students guidance on how they might respond to their peers and ask questions when they are engaged in partner, small group, and whole group discussions.