Getting Every Voice in the Room
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Purposeful talk is one of the major means through which children construct and refine their understandings of language. —Education Department of Western Australia
We work very hard to create a classroom culture that is nurturing, respectful, kind, and honoring. When a single student is sharing their thoughts and ideas, it is expected that all eyes will focus on the speaker and all ears will tune in, because each voice deserves to be heard.
The only problem with having one person speak at a time is that so many other voices don't get to be heard. That is why we provide many opportunities throughout the day for partners to turn, talk, and listen to each another.
The research is clear that these opportunities are good for students.
- Dr. John Hattie defines collaborative learning as a practice through which two or more students collaborate on a learning task. His meta-analysis shows collaborative learning to have an effect size of .45 which is identified as having the potential to accelerate student achievement. In addition, classroom discussion, defined as students discussing with each other from an open set of questions, has an effect size of .82, which is identified as having the potential to considerably accelerate student learning.
- Fisher, Frey, and Rothenberg (2008) say that children develop deeper understandings of concepts when allowed to question, discuss, and clarify through conversations.
- Dr. Spencer Kagan communicates the importance of engaged conversations. He believes these conversations increase engagement, enliven the energy in the classroom, and enhance learning for everyone. In his article The Instructional Revolution, Dr. Kagan shares three ways to structure these conversations to improve their effectiveness and benefit.
Elevate the quality of conversations in your classroom,and make every voice heard. Try incorporating more opportunities for these powerful, purposeful conversations.
References
Fisher, D., Frey, N, & Rothenberg, C. (2008). Content-area conversations: How to plan discussion-based lessons for diverse language learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
