I admit to being guilty of dominating classroom discussion as a rookie social studies teacher. “Class, what were three results of the War of 1812? … Anyone? … Anyone??”
After years of facing this type of discussion, students learn that their comments are of provisional value until “approved” by the teacher. Over time, students stop listening to each other and only focus on what the teacher says or validates – “will that be up on a test?” When students are put in small group discussion, they rapidly get off subject. With no teacher to validate their comments, they naturally gravitate to other subjects where peer comments are valued – “what are you doing this weekend?”
How to lead a conversation that builds student understanding
Today’s class will explore strategies and resources for taking the teacher out of the role of information gatekeeper and encouraging productive student-centered dialogue. In class we will try three different approaches to classroom discussion.
- “Structured Academic Controversy” (SAC) model. Not all issues can be easily debated as pro / con positions. SAC provides students with a framework for addressing complex issues in a productive manner that builds their skills in reading, analyzing, listening, and discussion. It shifts the goal from “winning” the argument to active listening to opposing viewpoints and distilling areas of agreement. We will try Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? 251kb PDF. You might consider using the SAC process with my series “Great Debates in American History“
- “Fishbowl” – a versatile discussion technique. Here’s a pdf explanation.
- “Brainstorm, Group, Label” – Scroll to #13 in this collection I designed. “Strategies for Struggling Readers” pdf
Looking for more classroom discussion resources?
- Quick student discussion ideas at Toolkit: Student-Centered Prompts
- The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies a great collection by Jennifer Gonzales organized from more to less “set-up” time.
- Teachers Toolkit – login and create an account. You get how to explanation with a video demo you can share with students.
Assignment 8 | competed student work
Try a discussion idea with your students this week. Could even be a brief one.
Write a reflective blog post that includes:
- A good title and featured image.
- The context of the lesson.
- The discussion strategy you used.
- What you learned from the experience.