“How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?” E.M. Forster (?)

Text-Based Group Discussion Presented by Krista L. McDaniel Literacy Coordinator, Littleton High School

1.Discuss some of the great things that can happen during small or large group discussion. 2.Discuss some of the problems that arise during small or large group discussion.

Text-Based Group Discussion How can it foster critical thinking? How can teachers implement text-based discussion in the classroom?

“The power of talk is one of the English teacher’s great resources. Our classrooms can be arenas of conversation where students argue, question, challenge, comment, and observe. And in frequent instances, we and our students can find out what we think or believe through our own conversation – discovering… ‘what we know’ when we have the opportunity to talk and ‘hear what we say.’ -Making the Journey Leila Christenbury

When we teachers do most of the talking, we silence the voices of our students. In typical whole-class teacher-led discussions, the same “stars” (and the teacher) dominate. In student-led literature conversation, the “stars” (including the teacher) learn to take their turn talking and to listen more to others. The ‘quiet’ students begin to discover their voices. Regie Routman, Conversations, 2000, p. 172

Text-Based Collaborative Learning “…when students work in small groups, they should not simply discuss a topic, but interact with each other around a text.” Reading Next, Alliance For Excellent Education, 2004, p. 17

How does text-based group discussion help my students?  Ownership of ideas (Not teacher driven)  Creates a stronger community within the classroom  Develops critical thinking skills  Helps students process information  Develops effective communication skills

What is your purpose?   Critical reading: Literary techniques and devices   Practice appropriate communication skills   Community of learners: sharing ideas   Develop critical thinking skills   Student ownership of ideas

Where Do I Begin? Rubric Preparation for Discussion During Discussion After Discussion

Teacher Intervention?????  Be an observer NOT a participant  Refer students to the rubric.  If they are off task? - Quick reminder that they all need to remain focused.  If someone dominates the discussion? - Give a quick reminder that they need to invite all to participate.  If the discussion becomes plot oriented, remind them that they are searching for meaning within the text.  Give feedback on the rubric: behavior intervention

Sharing vs. Discussing  “Go around the circle method.”  Talk to students about what it means to discuss: it is a back and forth activity involving all participants.

Keys to Success  Be an observer and not a participant  Use the rubric diligently  Respond quickly to the reflections and return them so students can see what they do well and what they need to work on for the next discussion  Give students lots of practice  Have mini-lessons the next class period to review skills that a majority of the class may need to improve upon

Student Reflections “I love discussions. I really do better figuring books out when I can talk to other people and get out what I’m thinking and listen to them. It’s a style of learning that works the best for me.” “I love discussions. I really do better figuring books out when I can talk to other people and get out what I’m thinking and listen to them. It’s a style of learning that works the best for me.” K. Irvine, course reflection, December 2006

“Being in a group discussion helps you to get new ideas, but also gives me a chance to express my own. And since it is a discussion, and I like to talk, and like to give my opinion, it makes me think.” (A. Fuchsberger, course reflection, December 2006) (A. Fuchsberger, course reflection, December 2006)

The graded discussions were very helpful. They forced me to take notes on many sections in the text with textual support. This made it easier to find quotes for a specific event or theme because they usually correlated to my notes, and I was able to pull my notes and quickly find the necessary quotes. I was also forced to spend time thinking about the significance of each chapter or section in relation to the overall text. Another advantage to the graded discussion was that students could bounce ideas off one another and make connections that we might not have made by ourselves in the given time. B. Harper, course reflection, May, 2006