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Engaging Students
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Engaging Students:
Discussion Based Learning
The Conversation of Learning
Questioning, Discussion
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Becky Groves, M.Ed.
© University of Virginia
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Entrance Ticket
Why is discussion an important part of
the learning process?
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The Elephant in the Room…
“Trying to improve class discussion is like
trying to eat an elephant; if you try to do it
all at once, you’ll kill yourself.”
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“You have to have a question
before an answer means
anything.”
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Types of Discussions
Guided Discussion
Used to clarify meaning and develop concepts
Students are developing understanding of the topic
Teacher is a guide
Reflective Discussion
Used to solve problems, think critically
Students have a solid understanding of the concepts being discussed
Teacher is a participant
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Questioning/Discussion Strategies:
Story Impressions
Think-pair-share
Sticky note discussions
Read and Say
Something/Grand
Conversation
Seed Discussions
Carousel
Discussion Webs
Jigsaw
QAR (Question-Answer
Relationships)
Reciprocal Teaching
Questioning…
Teacher generated versus student generated
Why should we teach kids how to ask their own
questions?
Want kids to understand that good readers actively
question while they read
Sign of a reader who is monitoring his/her
comprehension
Actively engages student during reading
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Authentic Questioning
Student derived questions based on their reading
A way to create wonderful questions for a lively discussion as different interpretations of the text emerge.
What puzzles one child might not puzzle another
It’s a question they have- it’s authentic!
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Seed Discussions
A way for kids to lead their own discussions
As each student reads, a topic is identified important to his/her own thinking
Good “seeds” lead to lots of discussion
List of possible good seeds:
Questions I don’t understand
Interesting/surprising things
Things that remind me of something else
Descriptive writing I enjoyed
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Seed Topic Procedure
Model correct discussion behavior
Continually model good and poor seeds
Have four students say something about a
seed before moving to the next
Use sticky notes to mark good seeds while
reading
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Alice in Wonderland
Good Seed:
“I’m not sure if Alice is
having a dream or not.
If so, what do the things
in her dream stand for?
Is the Queen a symbol
for her sister?”
Bad Seed:
What color dress
does Alice wear?
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The Hunger Games
Strong Seed
I am not sure why the
Capital is so
determined to keep
the Districts enslaved.
Weak Seed
I think Katniss is very
brave.
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Strong vs. Weak discussion seeds Chapter 5, The Giver by Lois Lowry
Which is best???
I don’t know why the Stirrings must be
controlled with medication.
I wonder if Fiona is pretty.
Jonas seems embarrassed to share his
dream.
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Let’s Try It Out!
Work in Small Groups
to create some seed
discussion points
using the reading
“Grandmother’s
Table”
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Harry Singer (1978) contends that
whenever readers are involved in
asking questions, they are engaged
in “active comprehension.”
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Sticky Notes Discussions
Discussion
Notes placed near section to discuss
Meet with partner, small group, whole group, and share
Notes are used to refer back to text
Students can leave notes in the text for another student
to read and respond
Notes can be moved into reading log
Comments can become future writing topics
Use notes to draw visual representations/key pictures
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Let’s Try It Out!
Use the article,
“Republic of
Cockroaches” to
have a Sticky Note
Discussion.
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Literature Roundtable Discussions
Students all respond
to the same question
in terms of their
current independent
reading book.
Topics can be about
general themes,
quotes, or literary
elements.
Examples:
“The more things
change, the more
things stay the same.”
“Nothing happens
unless first we
dream.”
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(1993 letter from a boy in Kentucky)
WHAT WE WANT TO AVOID……
Dear Carolyn Reeder,
I have read your book, Shades of Gray. I
had to read your book for school as a Reading
assignment. My class had to read it and do a worksheet
for each chapter. We all hated the worksheets, but
enjoyed the book. We had to write out character
sketches of Will, Jed, Ella, Meg, and Hank. Afterwards
we began about 15 projects-this letter is one. Our class
was split into groups—my group has three people. I
wonder what it is like to hear that your book has turned
into a bunch of assignments and projects.
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“At one magical instant in your early
childhood, the page of a book- that string
of confused, alien ciphers- shivered into
meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up
their secrets; at that moment, whole
universes opened. You became,
irrevocably, a reader.”
Alberto Manguel from A History of Reading, 1996
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And to sum it all up…
Grand conversation time!
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