Friday, June 28, 2013
Can you recall a time when you either led or were part of a classroom discussion that was not academically productive? What was it like? On the other hand, recall a time when you were part of a discussion that was academically productive. Do you remember what you or the instructor did to make it productive?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The kinds of questions a teacher asks determines how productive a discussion will be. The classroom discussions that are not academically productive are centered around low level questions. Those are the types of questions that are found in the ancient reading program that my school uses. A few years ago the Kindergarten teachers attended a professional development session that centered around using Bloom’s Taxonomy with young children. We followed up with creating high level questions for the stories that we read. The questions we created resulted in discussions that were much more engaging, particularly any kind of evaluating question.
ReplyDeleteEarly in my career I was introduced to Bloom's taxonomy. I will often reference it to help me with crafting higher order, richer questions. I found a Bloom's taxonomy wheel a few years back that is a quick way to help you start your questions. Here is a link to get one if anyone want. Well worth it!
Deletehttp://www.mentoringminds.com/products/categories/wheels.html?limit=4
ReplyDeleteOf course there has been times where I have been in a classroom discussion where I think that it is completely boring, irrelevant, aimless talk that serves no academic purpose-those discussions though sometimes create some indirect learning and thinking. It may not be the high level quality talk that is always productive but it does sometimes promote learning. During the times where the discussion lead by the instructor has been academically productive the teacher has lead the class in dialogue that is easily understood by all and that supports all levels of learners. Having an engaging environment where all students feel their thoughts and ideas can be shared and spoken results in a better learning and more productive environment.
Yes, there have been times when the discussion can get off track where there is no academic purpose. This is however, not always a bad thing. If the conversation is appropriate and relevant to the interests of the students, I think it is ok to engage in these types of conversations. However, the caveat is that as the teacher your job is either to a) steer the conversation back to the original academic subject and relate it to what you are working on in the classroom or b) stop the conversation after X amount of time.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think that you bring up a very good point Jen about the fact that having discussions get off topic track is not always a negative. The art of conversation and discussion is an important social skill for students to develop. As teachers we need to be the ones to model the appropriate skills to use during discussions, such as topic repair. When we are able to steer a conversation back toward the original topic without completely bringing the discussion to a halt then we have provided our students with a prime example of social skills modeling. In terms of the need to have structured conversations in order to have a productive academic period, your post made me consider some interesting memories of teachers that possessed the skill needed to start a structured academic discussion out of what began as a non-academic conversation. Some of my favorite teachers began class by simply engaging us in a conversation of our choosing and before we knew it he or she had driven the conversation into a discussion about our academic topic for the class. I consider these teachers to be like sleight of hand magicians.
DeleteIn my junior year of high school, I had a wonderful English teacher for American Literature. He ran his classroom like a seminar, acting as a monitor for the classroom discussion, but largely leaving us to our own devices to discuss the books, as long as we were highlighting passages to support our points. I do not recall much of his involvement at all, aside from monitoring the participation to make sure that everyone was getting a chance to speak. Looking back, I feel like he must have provided questions for us to use as a starting point to these discussions, but I do not remember them at all. Some of the best academically productive discussions I ever head were in that class.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the year in the same class, we turned our attention to Macbeth, as we were supposed to read at least one work of Shakespeare per year even though the rest of our curriculum had revolved around a compilation of themes that pertained to American Literature and to the works we read. It was a beautiful June day and we were supposed to be discussing the first three acts, but somehow we kept getting sidetracked before the discussion really got started. About 30 minutes into the period, the teacher picked up his copy of Macbeth and tossed it into the air behind him, where it fell to the floor, and said: “well, I guess we are not getting to that today”. We continued our very unproductive discussion for the rest of the period, and to this day, it remains as one of my favorite high school memories. Looking back, I think it is really impressive that this teacher was able to create a classroom environment where productive discussions were such the norm that it was the one day we did not have one that sticks out.
I think that is great, especially at the age you were, to give that independence and trust to the students. I do feel like the conditions need to be favorable, meaning that it needs to be a motivated class. It seems like you were in a mature and motivated enough class to rise to the challenge of the independence that your teacher allowed. He trusted that you would all remain enough on task. High School is an age that seeks out independence, and to give that to you as learners is a gift.
DeleteThanks for sharing.
I agree with Jen, and I agree that this teacher must have been very well prepared, not just for each day and each piece of literature, but also well prepared to create the kind of environment where he can facilitate in a way that is controlled, but does not appear to be controlled. It takes more than being a scholar in field to be able teach this way. He was clearly very good at creating a safe, trusting environment, not only for the students, but for him as well. I think another teacher may have "fought the battle" to try to discuss Macbeth.
DeleteThere have been a number of times when I took part in unproductive discussions. They were usually unproductive because the question posed seemed irrelevant or overly simple. For example, I don't recall the actual question, but in a course I was taking, the instructor had posed a question and asked the students to discuss with a partner or small group after which we would discuss as a class. Our discussion was unproductive because the question seemed straightforward and simple. It did not lend itself to disagreement (not that all questions have to) and discussion. As a result, our class discussion was also lacking any enthusiasm and was a bit uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have also been part of productive conversations during which all members were engaged and were open to sharing their ideas. All members of the conversation felt comfortable enough to share their thoughts even if they disagreed with the group. The question posed was was often thought-provoking or interesting, and often we had a clearly purpose in mind.
It can be tempting to have students discuss for a change of pace even if the topic does not necessary lend itself to discussion. However, these discussions may not always be productive and may not lead the students to a deeper understanding of the topic. It is interesting to consider the difference between productive and unproductive discussions and how they play a role in the classroom.
I have definitely been part of both academically productive and not academically productive classroom discussions. The non-productive discussions seem to go in circles and the teacher does not ask effective questions to guide the conversation toward the ultimate learning goal. Discussions are also not productive when teachers ask closed questions and are quick to give students answers and/or are looking for only specific answers. Academically productive discussions involve lots of questions and answers from both the students and teacher. Instead of there being one correct answer, the discussion leads to a final conclusion that is built by the group and key points are summarized.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
DeleteI completely agree. The most important aspect of a good discussion is effective questions. Without effective questions the discussion will not progress. You will just get one word answers and not follow up questions or further investigation into the topic that is being discussed. If the questions are effective everyone will be engaged in the discussion and everyone will participate. The key to a good discussion is that when you walk out at the end of the discussion you walk away with some insight and knowledge regarding the topic.
There are many instances when I have experienced discussions that were not productive as both a student and a teacher. Throughout high school and college I sat through many discussions that seemed forced by the teacher or professor. As a student, there is nothing more uncomfortable and less engaging then a stalled or stagnant discussion that a teacher is struggling to direct. I remember thinking to myself, “when is this teacher going to realize that no one is going to contribute”. During many of these instances when a discussion is lacking participation I remember hoping that I would not be the one student the teacher called on because no one is volunteering. The majority of these discussions were based on the assigned readings from the night before, which it appeared many people skimmed at best. One of the main reasons I believe that these instances occurred was due to a lack of groundwork by both the teacher and the students. In many of these cases, if the teacher had given provided an outline or preview of the key points he or she intended to discuss the next day, then more students would come to class prepared and/or feel more confident and comfortable when contributing their ideas or thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSome of the most productive discussion I have been a part of were during intensive courses I have take at Regis. While contributing to a class discussion is considerably less challenging, in my opinion, than volunteering to participate in discussions in high school, where the social pressures and repercussions might be greater, it takes a great deal of skill for a professor to keep discussions though provoking and on topic. A good teacher understands that there is a need to establish a supportive class environment where student’s feel comfortable taking social and academic risks, such as volunteering to offer an idea during discussions. In an elementary school setting, this groundwork needs to be completed through the first month of school and then continually revisited throughout the school year. Establishing routines and procedures for discussions, as well as reiterating the class expectations for discussions tends to reinforce the supportive classroom environment and I believe will lead to increased participation from students who can be reluctant to volunteer their ideas.
I can recall many times as a student where the discussion was weak or less than engaging. The majority of the time was because the class environment was weak as well. The class just had "that feel" like most of us were there to just to get the credits, be at the high school or college level. It really starts with the teacher. If the teacher creates an engaging environment where risk is accepted, encouraged, and even expected then the talks are usually lively and fun. Look, not all discussions will be home runs and as I teacher I know I have had some stinkers, but I hope as I have progressed that I've had are fewer and fewer of them. Over the years I have added to my toolbox of moves (and I continuously add to it) to help get kids talking in a productive way. Through the readings in this book I have been reminded of many that I had forgotten or hadn't use in some time.
ReplyDeleteI think all of us have taken part in a classroom discussion that was not academically productive. Come to think of it, as a high schooler I think the main goal during class discussions was to get the teacher to stray off topic. One I can recall like it was yesterday was our class discussion while reading the book Our Town. The teacher posed a simple question, and we all just looked around at each other thinking did he really just ask this question and can it really be this simple. Once we answered the easy question, one of my friends then asked the teacher to describe his home town. Well, this turned into a 30 minute conversation about his childhood and growing up in Georgia. During that discussion I did learn a lot about Georgia.
ReplyDeleteThere are several classroom discussions that have been productive. I would like to think I have been a part of more productive ones than nonproductive ones. Thinking back what made the discussions productive was the type of questions that were posed. The more engaging and relatable the question is the more likely students are going to participate in the discussion. Another thing is to make sure that there is equal student involvement. If not all students have the opportunity to participate they may lose interest in the topic and then try and change the subject, or have side conversations.
It is amazing all the different experiences we have had, both good and bad, as students and teachers. Having productive classroom discussions can be quite challenging. A couple of years ago, our school system participated in a process called Instructional Rounds. The "question" being studied was how engaged were students in math and science class. It seemed that many of the classes being observed had a great deal of teacher talk, but little discourse from students. Questions that were asked were predominantly right/wrong answers at the lower end of Bloom's Taxonomy. Sometimes it appears that opportunities for rich discussion are sacrificed in the interest of covering all that has to be done in the curriculum.
ReplyDelete