Classroom Discussion:Learning Through Language

“No matter what the subject, the people who read it, write it, and talk it are the ones who learn it best.”

-NCTE Position Statement on Learning through Language

Unit Organizer: Classroom Discussion

Classroom Discussion

“Teachers can examine language uses in their classrooms. Who is talking? Who is asking the questions? How many modes of language (talking, listening, writing, reading) are students actively using? What activities and assignments can be introduced to increase the range and extent of student language?”

--NCTE Position Statement

Discourse Categories

Monologic Discourse (teacher-centered)Dialogic Discourse (teacher/students-

centered)

A SPECTRUM of Discussion Types

IRE (Initiation-Response-Evaluation): the teacher INITIATES a question; a student RESPONDS, and the teacher EVALUATES the response.

↓Conversation among discourse equals.

What Contributes to Dialogic (Authentic) Discussions?

1. Authentic Questions

2. Wait Time

3. Uptake

4. Level of Evaluation

5. Cognitive Level

6. Question Source (students)

1. Authentic Questions

No known or predetermined answers

Multiple “right” answers

2. Wait Time

Wait-time is the amount of time that elapses between an instructor-initiated question and the next verbal behavior (e.g., a student response or question, the instructor talks again).

Allow at least five seconds after posing a question

2. Wait Time

Most instructors allow students less than one second of wait-time.

When wait-time is increased to three to five seconds, the following changes have been found to occur. Some of these changes are fairly immediate, while others occur over time.

2. Wait Time

When wait-time is increased to three to five seconds, the following changes occur. Some changes are immediate; others occur over time. The number of student responses increases. The incidence of non-response decreases. Students offer more evidence, more speculative

thoughts, and give more complex answers. Student confidence increases (i.e., the number of

"Is this right?" intonations decreases). Student-to-student interactions increase as do

conversational sequences (i.e., sequences of three or more related interchanges increase in number).

3. Uptake

The teacher uses a student response to develop the conversation.

“What makes you say that?”

“Can you develop that idea?”

“How does that connect to what Roger said earlier?”

“What else do we know about that?”

4. Level of Evaluation

Qualitative evaluations (“Good”) + brief elaboration on student comment acts as validation.

5. Cognitive Level of Questions

Recitation speculation analysis (Moffett’s Levels of Abstraction or Bloom’s Taxonomy)A cognitive level is SITUATED

Teacher’s intentKnowledge of the person answeringSource of information required by question

Provide Students with Language They Need

Stem Starters

I wonder…

I agree, but…

What

if…???

I think that…

I like the part where…I was confused by…

This reminds me of…

Monitoring Authentic Discussions

From K. Andrasick. Opening Texts: Using Writing to Teach Literature. Heinemann, 1990.