“Who Can Raise Their Hand and Tell Me,” and other Classroom Discussion Dissuaders

In the region where I work, COVID cases are dramatically down, adults and children are being vaccinated, masks are coming off, and we are beginning to understand the work that lies ahead in reestablishing classroom discourse. For multiple school years, students’ speaking and listening have been constrained by distance and fabric, and the authoritative voice of teachers has been amplified by microphones, on the laptop and in the classroom. Student-to-student discussions are a distant memory for some and a new experience for our youngest learners. 

In classrooms now, I hear muffled voices, even from students not wearing masks; most seem timid to speak up. When the potential for a rich whole-class discussion is palpable, I see students hesitate to contribute, insecure about norms for turn-taking and unable to read non-verbal cues that might support the process. There is a lot of work to be done.
 
I am having conversations with teachers about what it might take to reignite healthy dialogue. Now that students can sit within earshot of one another, we are again incorporating think-pair-share and small-group discussions into lesson plans. Importantly, these activities are preceded by clear directions and modeling of what successful student-to-student talk looks and sounds like: We have to talk about eye contact, on-topic conversations, managing disagreements, asking questions, and more. We are including “fish-bowl” modeling, where students huddle around a pair or group as they navigate a conversation, and then we discuss how it went. Students are learning to talk.
 
As I work with teachers, we unearth some red flags – things teachers avoid in order to encourage participation. They minimize:

·       Repeating student answers (instead, they encourage students to “Say it loud and proud).

·       Saying, “Who can raise their hand and tell me?” which sends a message that only students who are planning to respond need to think about the question.

·       Asking questions with one right answer – fine from time to time, but not fodder for a robust discussion. 

These teachers are working to overcome the monologic world created when microphone necklaces amplified their masked voices through speakers on classroom walls. They are not just aiming for pre-COVID levels of discussion – they are aiming for genuine discussion among students (small-group and whole-class) with students sharing varied perspectives and contributing to each other’s learning. It is not going to be easy work. Habits of receptive learning and complacency have crept in that must be pushed back to make way for conversations that will expand understanding. As students’ faces are uncovered, we see how discussion has suffered and what it might take to recenter student voices in the classroom. 

This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
5 steps to more meaningful conversations:
 
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211109-what-we-get-wrong-about-conversations
 

8 ways to help students learn more from each other than from you:
 
https://www.teachthought.com/learning/5-adjustments-students-learn-others/
 
 
4 engaging writing tasks for high school students:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-engaging-writing-tasks-high-school-students
 

Using invitational language and empowering student choice:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/extending-invitations-in-workshop-ways-to-empower-student-choice/
 

How to create word nerds:
 
https://ccira.blog/2021/11/02/my-name-is-lori-and-i-love-words/
 

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
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