Student learning is no accident!
Class Discussion Norms (In my class, these become our Community Norms and replace any “rules”) Equity of Voice: Monitor your airtime. As a group member you are responsible to be a speaker AND a listener. You are also responsible to invite others to speak. Equal(ish) airtime is the goal. Our community values all voices. Active Listening : Eye contact, nodding, being… Read More
Current Events. It’s been done to death. And I get that. What I’m going to share with you is not really about current events. The context just happens to be Current Events- but it could be anything… (so insert your own context!) It’s about academic discussions- conversation. Do kids really know what that is these days? Chances are they do… Read More
Using Sentence Stems and Explicit Instruction for Classroom Discussions Teaching discussion skills can be daunting! You know you want productive, positive discussions… but how do you get there? Here’s some of what works for me! Body Language & Politeness Matter Eye Contact: looking directly at the speaker lets them know they have your attention Inviting Posture: Facing your body toward… Read More
One of my biggest take aways from a New Teacher Center Mentor Academy last year was, “the ones who are doing the talking are doing the learning.” The focus of that academy was Coaching for Equity, and we spent time thinking about Conditions that Support Students with Exceptionalities. Early on in that academy, one of my amazing colleagues suggested that… Read More
Whether you teach math, social studies or general music, I know you want to facilitate amazing classroom discussions! You may want to give Alexis Wiggins’ version of the SPIDER Web Discussion strategy a try. She has been refining this strategy for seven years and shares her experiences and her rubrics! While students are the ones discussing, the teacher is still… Read More
So, your school department actually has a manual for you and it’s full of printables… They were designed by educators and statisticians… and people that must know more about teaching this content than you do… so why aren’t you students engaged? Well, I am writing this post to make sure you don’t “throw out the baby with the bath water!”… Read More
