Meaningful Student-Led Discussions
| the_learning_pyramid.pdf |
As you begin to manage your classrooms more effectively and feel comfortable controlling volume, movement, interruptions, etc., it will be imperative to create more opportunities for students to hold meaningful, targeted discussions about the topics you're teaching.
Remember that if students TALK about what they're learning, they'll RETAIN what they're learning! If you checked out the Learning Pyramid above, you'll remember that students only retain 5% of information heard in a lecture! If they participate in discussions, however, they remember 50%. If you create opportunities for students to teach each other, they'll remember 90% of your material! Let's aim for that!
How much time should students be talking about content? A good rule of thumb for secondary students is called "10 and 2." For every 10 minutes of DIRECT TEACHER INSTRUCTION, you should aim for 2 minutes of talking/processing time that STUDENTS do independently but guided by you.
How does this work? Start by chunking your lesson into 10-minute "sound bites" or your text into manageable paragraphs. Next, you'll need a tool (scaffold) to support student thinking and to guide students toward meaningful, productive conversations with peers.
What is a scaffold? A scaffold is a specific structure students use to take more responsibility for their own learning. In this case, it helps students make sense of new information (lecture or text) by analyzing, questioning, verbalizing, and listening. It is a formalized process and requires student pairs or student group members to participate equally.
The scaffold below was developed by Kylene Beers, reading teacher, heralded author and presenter, and all-around education guru. I adapted her ideas for our high school students and created my own versions for math and history students. See below.
When you meet with me next, let's think about how we can scaffold meaningful discussion time for your students. Let's aim for mastery and retention of content!
Remember that if students TALK about what they're learning, they'll RETAIN what they're learning! If you checked out the Learning Pyramid above, you'll remember that students only retain 5% of information heard in a lecture! If they participate in discussions, however, they remember 50%. If you create opportunities for students to teach each other, they'll remember 90% of your material! Let's aim for that!
How much time should students be talking about content? A good rule of thumb for secondary students is called "10 and 2." For every 10 minutes of DIRECT TEACHER INSTRUCTION, you should aim for 2 minutes of talking/processing time that STUDENTS do independently but guided by you.
How does this work? Start by chunking your lesson into 10-minute "sound bites" or your text into manageable paragraphs. Next, you'll need a tool (scaffold) to support student thinking and to guide students toward meaningful, productive conversations with peers.
What is a scaffold? A scaffold is a specific structure students use to take more responsibility for their own learning. In this case, it helps students make sense of new information (lecture or text) by analyzing, questioning, verbalizing, and listening. It is a formalized process and requires student pairs or student group members to participate equally.
The scaffold below was developed by Kylene Beers, reading teacher, heralded author and presenter, and all-around education guru. I adapted her ideas for our high school students and created my own versions for math and history students. See below.
When you meet with me next, let's think about how we can scaffold meaningful discussion time for your students. Let's aim for mastery and retention of content!
The basic Say Something document is used to discuss text. For more explanation about the Say Something strategy, consult When Kids Can't Read by Kylene Beers (2003),
| rules_for_say_something.doc |
| rules_for_say_something.math.doc |
| rules_for_say_something.history.doc |
Here's a form to help you evaluate group work:
| group_work_participation_form.doc |
Here are some additional "scaffolds for discussions" that can be adapted for all contents:
| planning_academic_discussions_tips.docx |
| conversation_protocol_for_deepening_thinking.doc |
| language_for_academic_discussions_student_card.docx |
| assessing_student_discussions_teacher_form_1.doc |