1. Constructive Conversations Across the Curriculum
Allan Stevens,
Title III Instructional Coach
October 6, 2016

2. Give participants a moment to read and reflect silently on the norms of collaborative work.

3. Guiding Principles
English Learners (ELs) are held to the same high expectations of learning established for all students.
ELs develop full receptive and productive proficiencies in English in the domains of listening, speaking, reading & writing.
ELs are taught challenging academic content that enables them to meet performance standards in all content areas.
ELs receive instruction that builds on their previous education and cognitive abilities and that reflects their language proficiency levels.
ELs are evaluated with appropriate and valid assessments that are aligned to state and local standards and that take into account the language development stages & cultural backgrounds of the students.
The academic success of ELs is a responsibility shared by all educators, the family and the community.
Display the Guiding Principles and clarify that today’s presentation focuses on numbers 2 and 6.
English Learner Master Plan, 2012,
Pages 2-3 *

4. Agenda Introduction: What are we doing and why are we doing it?
Conversation Norms
Overview: Constructive Conversation Skills

5. Note on range and content of student speaking and listening:
“To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must have ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations—as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a partner. Being productive members of these conversations requires that students contribute accurate, relevant information; respond to and develop what others have said; make comparisons and contrasts; and analyze and synthesize a multitude of ideas in various domains.”
California Common Core State Standards:
English Language Arts & Literacy in
History/Social Studies, Science,
and Technical Subjects, p. 26
Ask a volunteer to read the slide aloud, then direct participants to discuss in pairs or triads how this applies to their content areas. After 2-3 minutes, ask for volunteers to share what they discussed.

6. California ELD Standards
Part 1: Interacting in Meaningful Ways
Collaborative
1. Exchanging Ideas and ideas
Emerging
Expanding
Bridging
Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions on a range of social and academic topics.
Engage in conversational exchanges and express ideas on familiar current events and academic topics by asking and answering yes-no questions and wh- questions and responding using phrases and short sentences.
Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, sustaining conversations on a variety of age and grade-appropriate academic topics by following turn-taking rules, asking and answering relevant, on-topic questions, affirming others, providing additional, relevant information, and paraphrasing key ideas.
Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, sustaining conversations on a variety of age and grade-appropriate academic topics by following turn-taking rules, asking and answering relevant, on-topic questions, affirming others, and providing coherent and well-articulated comments and additional information.
Point out that the content standards for ELA, social studies, science and math all involve oral communication and are supported by the new ELD standards.

7. Resource for Oral Communication Across the Curriculum
Explain that MMED and other departments in LAUSD are using the work of Zwiers et al. to drive our work around oral output in all academic classes.

8. Explain that LTELs have learned these norms in their Designated ELD classes and expect to practice them in their Integrated ELD classes.

9. For example, this is a text.
Use your THINK TIME
Think time is for people to process what they are viewing:
We focus and read the entire text. (A text could be visual or written.)
Then we take time to think about what we have read or seen and how it makes sense to us.
We ask ourselves questions about the text.
We also practice and say our ideas (to ourselves).
Is the clock supposed to be his head, or is he just holding it in front of his face?
What does it mean?
I think it is supposed to look like the man has a clock for a head.
Hmmm…this man has a clock in front of his face.
For example, this is a text.
This is an animated slide. Ask for a volunteer to read the black text and another to read the purple text as they appear.

10. Use the LANGUAGE of the SKILL
Choose words and phrases that are specific and appropriate for the type of conversation you are having.
Teachers can and should provide scaffolding to help English Learners use the language of the skill.
Distribute the Constructive Conversation Skills Placemat and the Conversation Skills Poster (1 each per participant).
Clarify that “language of the skill” can mean subject- or topic-specific vocabulary, or it might mean general academic language.

11. Use your CONVERSATION VOICE
Project your voice.
Speak clearly.
Remind participants that it is the SPEAKER’S responsibility to be heard and understood. (The next slide addresses the LISTENER’S responsibility.)

12. LISTEN respectfully Focus on your partner. Restate what was said.
Suggest participants remind students that where the eyes go, the ears tend to focus.

13. TAKE TURNS and BUILD on each other’s ideas
A turn = one piece of conversation from each partner. If both people don’t speak and listen, it’s not a full turn.
Each turn after the first should connect to the turn before it.
One person says something + the other person responds = a turn

14. What should a turn look like?
Model
Teacher: The girl with the measuring cup is adding something to the bowl.
Student: I agree. She’s holding the cup upside down over the bowl, and I still see some bits or clumps of something inside the cup.
Target response: The student adds something to the conversation in the model but not in the non-model.

15. What should a turn look like?
Model
Non-Model
Teacher: The girl with the measuring cup is adding something to the bowl.
Student: I agree. She’s holding the cup upside down over the bowl, and I still see some bits or clumps of something inside the cup.
Teacher: The children are working together to make something.
Student: Sometimes I help my mom cook.
Target response: The student adds something to the conversation in the model but not in the non-model.

16. Conversation Strategy: Stronger and Clearer Each Time
Prompt: What opportunities do you create for students to practice speaking and listening to each other in your classes?
Process:
Spend 30 seconds thinking about a response to the prompt.
Find a partner who teaches a different subject than you do and share your response. Listen carefully to what your partner has to say.
Thank your partner, then find someone else to converse with. Infuse something your first partner said into your answer. Listen carefully to what your new partner has to say as well.
Repeat step 3, incorporating ideas and/or language from your first two partners into this third conversation.
Use this slide and the next only if time permits.
Check participants’ understanding by asking how many conversations they will have (target answer: 3) and what makes each conversation different from the others (target answer: the 2nd and 3rd add language and/or ideas obtained from previous conversations).

17. Reflecting on the Strategy
What are the benefits of “Stronger and Clearer Each Time”?
How could you use it in your own classes?
Facilitate a group discussion for 2-3 minutes.

18. Constructive Conversation Skills
Creating
Sharing our ideas
Clarifying
Making our ideas clearer
Fortifying
Supporting our ideas
Negotiating
Making our ideas stronger
Introduce the four Constructive Conversation Skills. Point out the progression among the images: scattered thoughts take shape to form an idea (CREATING), which is then made clearer (CLARIFYING) and stronger (FORTIFYING) and, finally, weighed against other ideas (NEGOTIATING).

19. Next Steps
Create opportunities for your students to engage in oral discussions.
Remind them to use the Conversation Norms.
Future PD:
Unpacking the Four Skills (by Small School)
Constructive Conversations Across the Curriculum (by Department)
Offer to come back in the future to explore the skills in greater depth.