Thrive in Action Blog Series: Student Voice, GPS 10 - Academic Discussion
The Thrive In Action blog series highlights practical applications for Great Pedagogy Strategies (GPS) within the EdConnective Thrive Framework, summarized here. The EdConnective Thrive Framework is unique in that it can be applied to teaching actions seamlessly whether learning is in-person or remote. This week we get more familiar with:
Student Voice, GPS 10- Academic Discussion: Teacher engages students in academic conversations and discussions in which they co-facilitate and use appropriate discussion protocols (i.e. sentence stems) and academic vocabulary.
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It is important that students know their opinions and thinking are valued in the learning environment, both by the teacher and other students. One of the best ways to engage students in learning is by directly asking for their opinions. In a virtual classroom, academic discussions can happen both in person or in writing. In any case, set clear expectations and assist students in building strong discussion habits including clearly stating their ideas, providing support, and responding to others in a constructive way. When you ask students to contribute to a discussion thread (Google Classroom, Canvas, etc), include an expectation that they comment on 3 other students’ posts. Similarly, in a live discussion, students should have an expectation to thoughtfully respond or add on to a set number of ideas. Provide a structure and model for what a good comment looks like both in verbal and written discussions.
To plan a discussion, the teacher must prepare more than just a strong question- one that can be interpreted in multiple ways and supported with a variety of evidence. Be sure to set clear and specific “norms” or expectations. A good place to start is by guiding students to state their answers in complete sentences and use evidence from a text or lesson to support their thinking. For responding, it can be helpful to provide sentence stems that will guide students in thoughtfully and clearly agreeing, disagreeing, or adding to another student, such as “I agree/ disagree with __ because” or “I would like to add on to __’s idea”. Provide students time to plan their responses before going live and don’t be afraid to facilitate the flow of conversation and gradually release students to independence.
Whether students are discussing in writing or in person, the teacher may need to help students find connections between answers, draw conclusions or build consensus from answers. Before starting a discussion, brainstorm a list of questions that will push student thinking. Create a checklist of ideas you hope to hear and be sure to shout out strong contributions, push students to add their voice when they are silent or hesitant, and redirect off-topic or unclear responses. Strong discussions are a learned skill and require guidance, just like any other type of learning. Be sure to incorporate discussion often to assist students in building strong habits.
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