After reading about the different types of classroom talk I took some time to observe and reflect upon the strategies that my mentor teacher has been using to stimulate discussion in her 4th grade classroom. In my classroom there is a very strict and regimented literacy program that leaves little room for free flowing class discussion. My mentor teacher spends the majority of her literacy lesson lecturing and pointing out different elements of the text. She then asks them questions that may be answered in one word, or just a short phrase. My mentor teacher scaffolds her students by pointing out specific passages in the text, or asking questions that prompt the students to respond. She occasionally calls on students that usually struggle with literacy or are not paying attention during her lesson. I find that this method of teaching doesn't require the students to think so much as simply regurgitate answers. One positive aspect of her lesson is that she encourages her students to provide evidence for an argument based on what they read and can prove from the text itself. This strategy will definitely come in handy when the students have to write essays and research papers in the later grades.
The jigsaw article that I chose to read for this week gave information about the Instructional Conversation Model. By following this model there is a potential for rich classroom discussion. The model has teachers placed in the role of "discussion leaders." The teachers prompt students to think about certain themes and ideas, but they don't take over the entire discussion. This model also promotes deep critical thinking because the questions that teachers ask are now ones with just one "known answer" but a more complicated and in-depth questions that get kids to have real conversations with each other.
There are some students that have trouble participating in response discussions and classroom discussions in general. One student in particular has trouble speaking in front of the class because she is an ESL student. She moved from Pakistan a year and a half ago and is still becoming familiar with the English language. I have noticed that she has a particularly hard time with words found in the textbook stories and with examples that the teacher uses to explain words. For example, the teacher may ask the class a question about why a character in the story enjoys pudding, but the student will not be able to fully understand or answer the question unless she is familiar with the word pudding. I think that some scaffolding that could be done to help these kinds of students is to provide lots of different examples and try to explain things in different ways and with different words. To promote classroom discussion, it may be a good idea to ask the students to talk in pairs, small groups, and as a whole class. This is because students that have a hard time talking will first get practice in less pressure filled situations.
Particularly mentioned in the Almasi reading, teachers often resort to the method Hope's mentor teacher is choosing for her students. This method is called the IRE model, in which students have little opportunity to interact with one another and actually discuss literature. In this model, the teacher initiates a question, to which a student responds, and the teacher evaluates. As Hope states, the students "simply regurgitate answers" and frankly, are participating in a rather mindless activity.
ReplyDeleteAlmasi states that students' interpretation of text can be "transformed and shaped" by the ideas shared in discussion by their classmates. In recitations, students are not feeding off from one another; thus, misconceptions may not be cleared up due to the lack of opportunity to ask questions and additional meaning-making may not be made. In the discussion model proposed, students take on a number of different roles in a small group, and teachers scaffold student interaction when necessary. Therefore, this model may be useful for the ESL student Hope talked about. Students are not required to speak in front of the entire class, and assist each other in understanding the text. It has been noted that ESLs greatly benefit from social interaction with peers when they are learning the second language, so the exposure to academic conversations may be helpful in her case. Additionally, Hope's mentor teacher can step in when necessary and help the student with understanding the language spoken by her peers, and to regulate the speed at which her peers discuss.
My mentor teacher is very similar to Hope’s, she also does not provide time or opportunity for discussion to take place between the students. My teacher simply asks questions to individual students that are over information that they just read. The questions are often factual questions where students are not able to provide their opinions or thoughts of what is taking place. I agree with Hope that this style of teaching does not encourage the students to pay attention or learn; often there are side conversations and miss behaving because the students are not engaged.
ReplyDeleteThe Jigsaw article that I read (by Mcintyre) focused greatly on providing students the opportunity to speak up in class and participate in the discussion. One very important points in the article was when it discussed about literature circles and how important moving past the traditional discussions in the classroom and provide the students with the tools and chances to engage in authentic conversations that encourage students to have a deep comprehension of the passage they read. I think that if teachers provided more opportunity for students to get involved in their own learning and take charge of their education then the students are going to work harder and be more engaged.
There are also a lot of ESL students in my classroom along with a couple very shy students. These two groups of students have a lot of difficulty answering factual questions because they are very nervous about getting the question wrong or putting the answer in the correct words. I completely agree with Hope, by using pairs, small groups and whole class discussion and talking back and forth would not only help students develop a greater understanding of what they are reading but can also ask questions and provide their input without worrying about getting the specific questions wrong.
Almasi talked about students being involve and taking part in three specific areas: Inquisitor, facilitator, and evaluator. First, Inquisitor is when students ask questions that is meaningful to them, this will provide a greater importance for the student to understand and find the answer and they will want to know the meaning much more. Letting the students discuss, the students will ask questions to help them understand the information and have the discussion lead into what they want to get out of the passage. Next, facilitator is very important for students to develop because they encourage other class members to partake in the class discussion and allows for the teacher to not be involved in the discussion as much. Once students become facilitators then a meaningful productive discussion can truly take place. Last, evaluator is when students listen to each other’s thoughts and questions and agree or disagree with the specific statement. By helping students develop these three characteristics in classroom discussion will provide such a more meaningful and educational experience for the students that they will learn so much more information from.