221+Agenda+-+10.17.13

Whadya Think?
Post questions, comments, ideas to discuss based on your professional engagement research on Discussion-Based Instruction. **In your comment, please pose a question that arose directly from at least two resources you accessed in preparation. Refer to the resources in your comment.** (To post - 1) Sign in, 2) Click "edit", 3) Type your entry, 4) Sign your post (three tildes ~), 5) Click "save")

I think that for classroom discussion to be effective students have to be giving all their effort to participating. It is really hard to have good meaningful, content relevant conversations when students are not actively engaged. When students come unprepared for a discussion it makes it really hard to facilitate a quality group conversation. When I was in high school my English and history teachers would often have us participate in socratic seminars where they would step back from the discussion and let the students lead it where it would go. A worksheet would usually be assigned as homework before a discussion so that students would come prepared for the conversation. The worksheet would often have guiding questions that would be brought up in the socratic seminar that students should have had their answers written down and thought out for. When students actively did the worksheet the conversation would flow a lot smoother as everyone had ideas already formulated for discussion. I think one of the biggest struggles with class discussions is students are afraid to share what they are thinking in front of their peers. Especially for middle schoolers, speaking in front of their classmates can be a challenge because they fear embarrassment. Working with the class to create a safe environment where everyone feels free to share is essential for quality discussion. user:emilys932

I think that Discussion-Based Instruction can be very beneficial and effective in a classroom if done correctly. Just as all the articles said you have to be well prepared for a discussion in order for it to be successful, you have to know where you want your students to take the discussion, you have to give them enough information that they will be able to discuss effectively, and your students also have to be prepared for the discussion. In the first article Leading Scintillating, Stimulating, Substantive Class Discussions they talked about what to do when your students aren't participating, they made suggestions of waiting, giving a hint, building a sense of classroom community, and varying the kinds of questions asked. I have been in classrooms where teachers have tried all of these and still students don’t participate, so my question is, is Discussion-Based Instruction only beneficial for select classrooms where students are willing to participate? Many students are not willing to participate no matter what, especially in a middle school environment Discussion-Based Instruction is great because students can talk out their ideas and collaborate, but it doesn't do anything if they aren't wiling to participate. user:mheckman12

I also think Discussion Based Instruction can be extremely beneficial. It is a great way to get different students participating, especially the ones who wouldn't normally talk in a regular class. It's also helpful in getting a variety of different perspectives and opinions on certain topics. When teachers are the only ones talking in front of the class, telling them their interpretation of information, the class can become one-sided and students may not be getting the most out of that class. However, with Discussion Based Instruction, different students can voice their opinions and they might have a completely different view than the teacher. In order for class discussion to work, it is extremely important to have a safe classroom environment where everyone feels comfortable stating their opinions. Because of this, I think developing a sense of community in the classroom is the most important component of Discussion Based Instruction. When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a great English teacher who had a strong relationship with every single student in the class, even the shyest ones. We all bonded as a class and as a result, nobody felt uncomfortable when it came time for a Socratic Seminar or classroom discussion. We all felt safe, and because of this we were able to have great discussions with a variety of different perspectives. However, I've noticed in most Socratic Seminars or other discussions, there are always a few people who dominate the discussion. These people with the strongest personalities are always able to give their ideas, but this leaves some of the quieter people unable to find a proper time to talk. I am wondering what would be the best way to minimize the voices of these strongest few people, while not squashing their desire to participate. The fact that they are so eager is a great thing and the last thing a teacher would want to do is make them lose that passion for their ideas. user:ckeever1

To keep playing the same tune, I also believe that discussion-based instruction is a useful tool. As the name applies, this type of teaching fosters discussion among students. This type of teaching also allows multiple opinions and ways of learning to be brought forth from all the discussion. However, a lack of participation effectively dismantles this teaching style which I can see when my cooperating teacher tries to get discussion going in her history class. The students are bored, not interested, too tired, or for some reason do not want to talk about anything relating to history when she attempts to get them to discuss. The question I have in regards to discussion based teaching is simply what can a teacher realistically do when his or her plan to do a discussion activity fails. The teacher really needs to do a discussion activity but the students are fighting tooth and nail to do anything but the discussion and any attempt to get discussion going is met with growing resistance. user:awestby11

Discussion-based instruction is tricky. It seems simple enough: throw a question out there and let them be. This could result in no reaction from the students. Or it could be some crazy animal fight kind of situation, like referenced in the movie __Mean Girls__. (Gif: [] ) But those are the extreme possibilities of what can go wrong. In the ideal situation a teacher has prepared everything and though through the majority of ways the discussion could possibly go and how to direct it. However, after reading the papers and viewing the videos, I have a hard time imagining any of those tools being used in a typical science classroom. As a future chemistry teacher, discussions aren't really something that can easily be added into a lesson. I'm curious as to see what has been done, or could be done, for a high school chemistry discussion. Although I do see discussion based instruction in a physics, or maybe even biology, classroom; chemistry discussions ultimately stump me. user:ElizabethB0

When I hear "discussion based instruction" I think of Socratic Seminars I experienced in high school. For me, being a fairly quiet student, Socratic Seminars were terrifying and ineffective. I may have learned from other students' ideas, but I rarely voiced my own. Part of the reason why Socratic Seminars felt so threatening was that students had to speak up on their own, instead of being called on. I know that the concept of raising hands in the classroom can be viewed as outdated or elementary, but I feel that many students are used to this practice. If students had to raise their hands in class discussions, teachers would have the power to involve more students. Also, teachers could call on students who haven’t participated yet, a concept that is not a part of Socratic Seminars. I think the suggestions – addressing specific students, using random selections of students, calling on locations of the classroom – would be extremely beneficial for student interaction. With the teacher directing the discussion, he or she can also throw out any questions they want to be addressed. Teachers can be sure to avoid off-topic conversations this way, as well. Finally, I think the most important aspect of discussion-based instruction is a feeling of comfort in the classroom. Teachers must make the effort to know all students on a personal level, to know their strengths and weaknesses, and to make them feel safe and supportive. After this is accomplished, an effective classroom discussion can take place. user:julia1286

I really enjoy discussion based seminars when the teacher really knows what they are doing regarding facilitation of discussion and the class topic is actually interesting to me. Otherwise it is really easy to tune out, to not want to prepare or just get completely lost during discussions. I have have had some awesome discussions in classes and learned a lot, but I've also had those experiences where I just don't know what's going on nor do I care. I think that debates and Socratic seminars can be pretty fun. Discussions are nice because students love to talk, so it's good to channel that energy and desire into something productive. Plus with discussions it is more easy to get students involved. As a future English teacher, it would be very easy to have discussion based lesson plans as part of my classroom setting. The students could discuss different parts of poems or stories. I think the best and most productive English classes I have had have been discussion based so that students can bounce ideas off of each other. One problem with discussion based is that it's easy for many people to tune out and if people choose not to prepare ahead of time like is usually necessary that can ruin the whole lesson for the day. I think it is best to engage students by randomly calling on them so that you get the perspective from a variety of students and you can kind of move those who are more quiet out of their comfort zone but in a safe environment. user:Christina_R1

Discussion based instruction is awesome if used correctly. I remember some of my favorite and most memorable lessons my teachers gave me were discussion based in high school, I also remember some of the worst classes were discussion based. If every student is prepared for class and given a good question, then the discussion can be great. Also, this activity can get a lot more students who don't usually participate in class to get their opinion in and finally participate a little. If the students aren't really interested in the topic and they start to go off course even a little, it could be really tough to get them back on track and thats when you waste a class period. Even though some of the articles discussed what teachers could do try to get the students more involved, sometimes those just don't work. My question is how can you get disinterested students to fully participate in this model of teaching. Although this is an awesome teaching technique, you have to make sure the everyone is prepared and the question interests them, or they will just talk about whats more important in their lives.

user:pauljm12

Wow! I'm sorry, but learning about how to foster an effective classroom discussion was really exciting for me! I feel dicussions will build up most of my teaching philosophy and these learning sources further inspired that. What I mostly took away from these sources is how important classroom community and pre-class prepartion is. The Columbia source really outlined these two topics well. Columbia recommended how icebreakers are very useful to building participation becase they help students get to known one another. They also open up others to classroom diversity with the goal that students become comfortable with others, and most importantly themselves. The more comfort and diversity that can be felt and seen, the better discussion one will have as by exploring differences we can learn from one another. This does not come as easy as it sounds however, as preparation is key. Preparation is something both students and the teacher must do to have deep discussion. On the teacher's part, one must know their students well and start dicussion with rules and an established learning purpose. Without these classroom dicussion can and will go nowhere. Students will notice this and lose respect for their teacher. As seen in Hilary Lewis's video as well, organization is essential. Teachers must come well-prepared with strong questions that have purpose. Also, these must be questions that can get all students involved. A method to encourage the involvement of all students is to boost their confiedence by having them share in a smaller group before having them share before the whole class. This builds student confidence because they realzie they may not be the only one that has such an idea. And, finally, assessment is necessary. Whether doing this by asking questions or verbal ques, a discussion is not successfull unless everyone in the class took something away from it. There are numerous methods though which this can be done, but without preparation, strong classroom community, an organized established discussion purpose, and assemenrt no discussion will be one hundred percent successfull. user:rercoliRobert E

love discussion based instruction, no matter if I'm a student participating or an observer. The most interesting and memorable classes that I've ever taken were always discussion based. Although I am always super excited about this strategy, I know that not all students will automatically be as excited about the idea of an open discussion. Therefor, I will need to help students get into the groove of discussion by knowing my students very well and by being prepared. I also need to find ways to engage the students in the topic. I really enjoyed watching the teacher direct a discussion-based English class in the teaching channel video. He had a great hook (the pre-discussion video) that he used to help students see how the topic was in their own personal lives. I also think that having some guiding questions really helped, especially for his age group. Another aspect of being prepared is knowing whether or not students will be capable to lead the discussion completely on their own, with a lot of direction from the teacher, or a happy medium. I also liked how the teacher in the aforementioned video guided whole-class discussion but also let students have more self-regulated discussion in small groups. The small group approach is really helpful for giving all students more opportunities to participate, and to feel like they //chose// to participate as opposed to being forced by the teacher. In order for any discussions to succeed, no matter what kind, a safe classroom environment needs to be established first. This can be done through the teacher modeling what to do and what not do do in classroom situations, but also by enabling relationships between student-teacher and also student-student. Much of what holds students back, at least from how I remember feeling, is the fear of being wrong in front of peers more so than in front of the teacher. user:jarmour500

When reading the first link on the P.E.T. page one thing that really stuck out to me and made me think about discussion based lesson planning was this, as a teacher you want to have a somewhat planned discussion ready and always make sure that your students are engaged and learning things from the discussion, but at the same time you want students to interact with one another and engage the whole classroom rather than students only talking at the teacher or the teacher only talking at the students. How as a teacher can you fully do both? Is that even possible? How do you find that balance? When used correctly, in my opinion, discussion based instruction is the most effective form of teaching. When student thoroughly engage with the discussion and corresponding material so much learning can occur. Students relate to the material on a personal level and also must defend their thinking rather than simply writing it down on paper. I also really liked how one of the links recommended to use scaffolding. First allow the students to write their thoughts on paper, then talk with a partner/small group, and then have the teacher call upon random small groups to share with the whole class. This may help ease a student's nerves about messing up in front of the whole class. Two big things that stuck out to me, for teachers, were to consistently check that all students were understanding the discussion and to admit when a discussion is going poorly and as a teacher send it in a new direction with the students' hopes and interests in mind. user:treuter2

Discussion based instruction is one of the teaching styles I prefer to use the most! All of the classes at my highschool except for science and some math classes were taught with discussion based instruction. I personally think it is one of the best ways a teacher can teach. When kids discuss something, they form strong opinions about the subject and also get to excercise thier metathinking skills. What I mean by this is that discussion based instruction encourages kids to think about how they think! This helps kids to learn how to think up ideas efficiently, or think about why they think the way they do. However, discussion based learning does have some downsides. I know that I would have never said a word in middleschool if my classes were like this, even though it worked great in highschool, when I was more confident in who I was. This system has disadvantages for kids who are shy or socially awkward if it is teacher-class discussion. That's why it's good to have the kids discuss topics with peers, too. That way, all the kids are involved, not just the ones who raise their hands. user:sdouglas15

Agenda
Objectives:
 * SWBAT describe instructional strategies and principles to promote effective classroom discussion

8:00 - 8:15 - Welcome and Review (Audrey)
 * Notetaker: Victoria
 * Photographer: Christine
 * Reviewer: Max

8:15 - 8:45 - Discussion about discussion
 * CHIP pre-write - What challenged, helped, inspired, and perplexed you from your P.E.T. about discussion-based instruction?
 * Fishbowl

8:45 - 9:15 - Constructive Controversy Model
 * Groups of four - 2 pro, 2 con
 * Five minutes to prepare an argument
 * Each side has 2 minutes to present their position; other side just listens
 * Other side presents while opposing pair just listens
 * Each side has 3 minutes to prepare the opposite argument
 * Each side presents while the other side listens (2 minutes each)
 * The group of 4 debates and comes to a consensus (5 minutes)

9:15 - 9:25 - Break

9:25 - 10:25 - Video Activity [] - Sorting and Classifying: Class Discussion (Math) [] - Making Science Relevant with Current Events (Science) [] - Discussing Non-Fiction (Social Studies)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VXzldRtWDyPhU6ORBV8h34RdXYG4_0_95Vh8l8jgdw0/edit?usp=sharing

10:25 - 10:40 - Crash Course in the EdTPA


 * Housekeeping:**
 * Due next Thursday - Discussion-Based Instruction Activity Guide
 * Teaching Demos: Tyler, Christina, and Jackie
 * Read the EdTPA handbook for your subject area (on Blackboard under EdTPA)
 * Remember to send me your lesson plan for feedback and approval before you teach your observed lesson in the field.