Research and Reflection
Earlier this year I identified that facilitating effective, engaging student discussion was an area I needed to grow in my teaching. I decided to seek out research and literature I could use to learn more. Two resources that have been extremely helpful to my development are Great Habits, Great Readers by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo (2013) and Accountable Talk® from the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Learning (2014).
This book is written as a resource for elementary teachers to help their students become better readers. However, its chapter about discussion, and how to change the way students think and talk about reading, is so valuable for any secondary teacher. The book's discussion techniques center around the following 3 big ideas:
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The Institute for Learning's Accountable Talk model urges teachers to move away from the typical mode of classroom discussion: Initiation, Response, Evaluation (IRE), which consists of:
The Accountable Talk focuses on three key components that encourage more student thinking through discussion:
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