These
articles really opened my eyes to the difference between recitation and
discussion. From my own experiences as a learner, I suppose I had
never really taken the time to reflect upon from which kind of verbal
interaction I learned more. Seeing the differences laid out like this,
however, caused an “aha!” moment for me: of course I learned more in
classes in which I was initiating questions, and responding to my peers,
for that was a true discussion. When teachers asked the class simple
questions (which I understand now to have been part of I-R-E), since I
knew that my teacher would never call on me due to my being
pidgeon-holed as “gifted and accelerated” and her want to give the other
students a chance to participate, I would either answer quietly, or let
my mind wander back to Harry Potter. I was absolutely not engaged -
and I was a talkative student who regularly volunteered her opinion and
answers! These articles really have my wheels turning: if I wasn’t
learning to the best of my ability, who else wasn’t, either?
I
see both recitation and discussion functioning in my classroom to a
certain degree. Since the instruction is in Spanish, my teacher will
often prompt a simple question in relation to the reading, such as “what
would YOU do with a dinosaur in school?” and have the kids turn and
talk to a partner. Surprisingly enough, the students manage to stay on
track for the most part, and really ask each other questions and support
each other’s thoughts and learning. I believe this to be discussion,
since the students have active roles, and each student gets a chance to
participate with his/her partner.
A
few other types of recitation occur in the classroom. With all of the
aids, student teachers, MSU seniors, etc., that frequent our classroom,
it is not uncommon for us to have 4 or 5 “teachers” in the room at one
time. This is an incredible resource to facilitate discussion, and
allows for many smaller recitations and discussions, as the teachers
will either host a literacy center, or circulate the room during a
bigger project, to ask different groups questions. Children that do not
tend to participate in big group recitation are more or less forced to
offer their viewpoints, because either the teacher calls on them in a
non-threatening way, or or they are more inclined to give their opinion.
This helps the students who usually do not participate actively in
classroom talk, because they are in a smaller group setting and less
intimidated. We also make sure to give the students positive feedback
and encouragement to participate.
My
teacher also relies heavily on IRE during instructional time at the
board. She has explained to me that, since the room is also K/1 with an
abundance of 1st graders, the kindergartners are sometimes too shy to
offer their opinion or participate. She’s implemented a hand gesture in
order to combat this phenomenon. When she is speaking, she keeps her
hand up by her head, but when she wants the group to respond, she lowers
her hand and points to them. She’s told me that this way, the
kindergartners know that EVERYONE is responding, and they are not afraid
of saying the wrong answer. She suggested that I try that, and showed
me Anita Archer’s vocabulary lesson for guidance and ideas: http://www.podcast.tv/video-podcasts/dr-anita-archer%E2%80%98s-strategic-literacy-instruction-video-series-100004.html
This,
of course, is not discussion, but it is incredibly difficult for the
teachers to keep discussion on track because of the use of Spanish.
Sometimes the children do not actually understand the initial question,
or the interim guiding questions, so the fallback is IRE, in order for
more concrete understanding on their part. I wonder what would happen
if I strayed away from this kind of recitation for my literacy lesson.
Will they stay on task? Will they understand the initial question? I
guess we’ll have to wait and see!
Great Job Devon. You make a lot of great points in your blog. It is interesting to read about your placement and how different it is from mine. Not only because you are speaking Spanish, the most obvious difference, but because of the rich "teacher"/Student interaction that takes place in your classroom. I feel like my placement, and the students at the placement are deeply hindered by the lake of discussion that takes place in their class.
ReplyDeleteI should make a copy of the article I read on instructional conversations, and share it with my MT. In my classroom, the students are hardly ever encouraged to speak, and when they do, their conversations are so guided that no real learning is taking place. It is a shame to see, because my elementary school experience was so different, and my teaching style is different than my MT's (which I feel is a positive thing) because of it.
I am a big fan of the instructional conversation, and surprisingly to myself,before I knew what instructional conversation even was, I had designed my social studies lesson in a way that helped promote deep understanding of information through student contributions. I think it is a fantastic idea as a teacher to allow students to develop their own thoughts to answers in a "challenging, but nonthreatening atmosphere." Simply put, I wished my MT challenged her students to expand on their thoughts, and allowed them to feel comfortable enough in her classroom to make mistakes. However, they are not, and as a result, their learning is hindered.
Lastly, I would like to comment on Devon's Anita Archer example. Anita Archer is fantastic, we study her methods a lot in my special education classes. Group responding is a great method to have. I have used it in the few lessons that I have taught, and it is a great way to self monitor as a teacher. Also, it a great way to implement a positive behavior atmosphere. I'm sure I will continue to use Anita Archer's group responding techniques as I continue my teaching career, but one thing I know I will do, is help promote students development through challenging and supportive discussions.
I really enjoyed reading both your blogs and hearing your ideas about recitation/discussion. It is interesting how each teacher has a different way to encourage student participation in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIn my 4th grade, I always thought my CT did a great job at having "discussions" and having all students be involved answering questions. However, after reading the articles for this week, I realize that they are not discussing at all, just taking a different form of recitation. She does not use the typical I-R-E style, but instead has adapted it in countless different ways. Popsicle sticks with each student number on it are pulled one at a time to make sure everyone has a chance to be heard. After a student answers correctly, my CT moves on indicating the answer is correct; if the student is not corrected she gives time for them to correct their answer or calls on another another student to answer. I think my CT does a good job of not overdoing the popsicle sticks. They are only used a few times throughout the day, especially when lots of students want to volunteer their answers (during social studies and math).
She also puts into practice some of the other examples offered in Weinstein and Mignano book such as choral responses and gestures (hold up 1,2, or 3 fingers depending on what they think the answer is) to gage how well they are comprehending the material.
As well as she changes up the way she is leading class, she does not promote class discussions. The most talking and thinking that goes on is done in pairs and then shared out to the entire class. Students responding directly to students hardly ever happens, although I think as 4th graders they could handle it. They would just need to go over rules of how to participate in a discussion, including a "social contract" rule sheet as they do not have classroom expectations listed anywhere.
Now that I am just rambling, I want to say that I agree with Devon about using a more discussion-based approach to my lesson. I think if I can scaffold in the right way they could be able to get a lot of it. I am just concerned about letting myself take a more "facilitator" role as most experience I have had myself and witnessed being taught is an initiator and responder. This is definitely something I will have to work on, but with these readings as a guide and the encouragement of peers, I will be able to properly use discussions in my lesson/ future classrooms.