accountable talk for secondary

Promoting Literacy Through Conversation

Workshop III:Accountable Talk for Secondary Students

Minute ReflectionConsider the following statements:

In order to prepare students for the demands of the 21st century, educators need to provide their students with a solid foundation of knowledge while encouraging them to think deeply about and apply what they learn. Simply teaching information which students are expected to “feedback” to the teacher is not enough. Curricula for all grade levels must be centered around key concepts which students are actively taught to discuss, analyze and interpret.

-The Institute for Learning, 2001

Do you agree ? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts on the post for Workshop III’s

Minute Reflection.

ACCOUNTABLE TALK!

So, how do we equip our students for the 21st

century?

• helps students gain confidence in their own opinions and personal feelings.

• teaches students to back up their positions with appropriate sources of information.

• develops the ability to see issues from multiple perspectives and to respect other points of view.

• sharpens speaking and thinking skills through engaging in discussion.

• develops the habits of mind that constitute critical, analytical thinking.

-Institute for Learning, 2001

Sarah De Bruin c. 2010

Accountable Talk…

• helps students learn the norms for good reasoning.

• develops the literacy skills necessary for discussing, reacting to, and comprehending information in various content areas.

• helps students apply their developing skills to specific coursework. For example:

• acquiring and interpreting data from scientific investigations.

• working with documentary sources in history class.

• analyzing texts in literature class.• working through mathematical

problems and justifying the solutions. -Institute for Learning, 2003


Accountable talk also…

INTERVIEW WITH DR. ENID BLOCH:

INCORPORATING ACCOUNTABLE TALK INTO CLASSROOM PRACTICE

The Teacher’s Role

• It is up to you, as the teacher, to model appropriate forms of discussion. Rather than simply lecturing your students, you will want to show them:

• how to ask questions & how to press for clarification and explanation.

• how to recognize and challenge their own and others’ misconceptions.

• how to present evidence and ask others for evidence, to back up claims and arguments.

• how to interpret or “revoice” students’ contributions to the discussion.

• Over time, students should be able tocarry out each of these conversational "moves“ on during both small & whole group discussions.


Questions to Get Started

• How did you FEEL when you read this story? (Or this document? This account of an historical event? This newspaper article, etc.?)

• Were you surprised? Pleased? Angry? Disappointed? Hopeful? Curious? Confused?

• REMEMBER: The first step toward facilitating real

thinking in your students is encouraging them to value their own feelings and respect those of others.


How do you teach respect for what others have to say?

• Your own responses can model the attitudes you would like students to adopt. For example, you might say:

“Oh, that is so interesting, what you have just said, Suzy.”

• You are not judging Suzy’s response, just

expressing interest. You can then ask: “Johnny, how did YOU feel when you read

the story?”


• If you yourself are truly interested in and open to the feelings and ideas of your students, the students will pick up on that.

• It will not be long before they themselves begin to take an interest in the reactions and perspectives of their classmates.

• For many, it might be the first time they have realized

how differently even their own classmates see the world.

• Again, your own responses can help them realize the value of other people’s perspectives. You can say,

“Sallie, I never thought of it that way You are showing me something new.

Thank you.”


Model Interest, Curiosity & Respect

How do you get students to respond freely to each other, rather than only to you?

• There is nothing students fear more than being humiliated by their classmates. Whatever they have to say must be respected by all.

• You have to establish a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, where it is alright for students to speak directly to each other.

• This may be quite a different experience for both you & your students.• Students may have learned it is wrong to

talk to each other. • Teachers may fear losing control of the

classroom if students talk freely.


Establishing New Habits of Mind

• It does take some skill to encourage an open atmosphere yet maintain control.

• However, with the appropriate “ground-rules” and modeling, it is possible.

Accountable Talk “Ground-Rules” Only one person speaks at a time. Others listen while that person speaks. No one is to respond disrespectfully to what anyone else has said.


Starting the Conversation

•Ask a question and call on a student to respond.

•Teach students to build upon each other’s remarks & respond to each other by modeling the process.• Ask another student for a reaction to his/her

classmate’s statement. For example, you can say: “Johnny, what Sallie had to say is very interesting. Do you agree with her, or do you see things a little differently?”

• Encourage students to respond to each other rather than just to you. Before long, others will jump into the discussion. Encourage them to ask each other questions.

•After a while, students will become comfortable with this process.


Beyond Feelings & Opinions• The expression of feelings and opinions is the

beginning of accountable talk, not its entire goal.

• Students need to move beyond their initial feelings and opinions and learn to analyze ideas and marshal evidence.

• In other words, you will be teaching students to hold themselves “accountable” for specific information they offer to back up their judgments. For example, you might say:

“Jeannie, why did you say you think the main character in this novel is greedy? Can you refer to specific scenes or actions? Why do you think the author

portrayed the character in this way?”OR

“Billy, I heard you tell Jack that you think the newspaper article we just read is inaccurate.

What facts or information have you come across, that led you to your

judgment?”


Modeling Accountability

• You also want students to hold each other accountable, challenging each other to provide suitable evidence, but doing so respectfully.

• In order to hold each other accountable,

students need first to know how to listen to and accurately summarize what others have said.

• You can set the example. As students

hear you first “revoicing” and then challenging what their classmates are saying, they will learn to do it as well.


Group Conversations• Once students are fully comfortable with

each other, divide them into groups of four to six and have them hold their own conversations. Circulate and participate as needed/wanted.

• Guide students to keep the following in mind:• Is the relationship between my ideas logical? • Can I provide an analogy? • Can I provide an example or application of what

someone else said? • Do I need to ask for explanation? • Do I disagree? What evidence can I use to explain

why?• Can I provide an alternative idea?


Developing Logic & Other Thinking Skills

• As students learn to connect their own statements to those of others, they will begin to see whether ideas are logically related.

• When they offer analogies, they will learn to

judge whether these are applicable to the topic under discussion.

• Questions can be approached differently

in the various subject areas. Discussing a novel in English class is not the same as studying an historical event, analyzing a political issue, or assessing a scientific discovery, yet many of the thinking skills will be similar.


Reflection & Application Activity1. On the Wiki space page, you will find a variety of

resources from general guidelines to content-specific materials.

2. Please take some time to review the materials which apply to you.

3. Once you have done this, please answer the following questions on the post labeled ”Workshop III Reflection and Application Activity.” Thank you!

How could you use the resources provided here to help you implement Accountable Talk in your classroom?

Do you agree that Accountable Talk is a valuable tool for your students to use? Why or why not? Do you have other ideas about teaching them to think critically?

What challenges do you foresee & what concerns or questions do you have about implementing Accountable Talk?

References

Interview with Dr. Enid Bloch, professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. December, 2010.

Institute for Learning (2001). Accountable talk: Classroom conversation that works. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Learning Research & Development Center, University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved October 20, 2010 from www.instituteforlearning.org

Le Schack, Arlyne. Facilitating accountable talk in your classroom. Retrieved October 17, 2010 from www.teachersnetwork.org/ntny/nychelp/Professional_ Development/workshopmodel.htm

Institute of Learning. (2003). Accountable talk. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, Learning, Research and Development Center.

Cunningham, Angela (2009). Class discussion guide. Bullitt Central High School, Shepherdsville, KY 40165

http://www.instituteforlearning.org/

accountable talk for secondary

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