#21stedchat Archive
Our mission for our 21st century chat is to create a positive 21st century learning environment for our students by sharing resources and ideas that has worked in our classrooms. Join us every Sunday from 8:00-9:00 PM (EST) on Twitter using the hashtag #21stedchat. All are welcome!
Sunday June 26, 2016
Welcome to tonight’s topic: Improving Student Classroom Discussions. We will do Q and A format. PLS introduce yourself.
Chad; elem principal from LI NY
Hi- Mary, Elem. Principal from Northern California.
Amy from Gillette, Wyoming. 2nd grade teacher
I am Jill from NC, Director Personalized Learning and co-host.
I'm Steve, tchr & grad student with SDSU in an ed leadership degree; new to
Hey all. James here. Year 11 student from in Auckland, NZ. Just popping in and out of
Hi! I'm Ellie, a Middle Grades grad student from the University of Georgia
Hi, Shanda from Kansas. excited for tonights chat!
Brittany from Missouri. 5th grade teacher and Grad student.
Bill from Charlotte,NC. HS + leadership tr.
Welcome and thanks for joining
I'm Nicole grad student as SBU...new to
Q1a. How do you use discussion questions effectively in your classroom? How do you know it is effective?
Hello, Everyone! I'm Nikki from TX
A1: Give equal time to share- all want to feel heard and that their opinion is valued. I typically use Kagan strategies to do so
A1: We use class discussions all the time because it's important to give everyone a platform to share their voice. They matter.
Hello all, Katrina from NC
A1a. Making sure topic connects to other parts of life than school / make it relevant. Assess. https://t.co/OcTDC4cxgz
Q1a. How do you use discussion questions effectively in your classroom? How do you know it is effective?
A1. Cooperative learning groups, students get tokens to "spend" when they want to talk so everyone can have their own time.
1A: Allow students to share with a partner or small group before they share with the class.
A1a: Socratic seminar. Ss write their own questions. Effectiveness judged by responses. No responses = change gears....
A1: I also use Kagan structures to make sure all voices are heard and students' opinions are heard and validated
A1a: set the parameters for the discussion so everyone feels they can be heard
A1.) I use several strategies for discussion questions, our school uses Kagan. The discussion helps me guide my teaching
A1 I ask a variety of ?s, inquiry, reflective, and pair share ? to name a few. Variety helps w/ ss engagement
Heard and a safe environment that allows Ss to be 'devils advocate' or have a different view https://t.co/dQcuE061Vx
A1a: set the parameters for the discussion so everyone feels they can be heard
A1 I make scientists' meeting a regular part of my instruction & professional learning.
great answer Think Pair Share totally underated for this! https://t.co/hb5SFC7vEx
1A: Allow students to share with a partner or small group before they share with the class.
A1: need to give time for the actual discussion to develop; not a simple Q&A and must create expectations for discussion
Can someone give a link or info to Kagan structures? New to me!
Hi everyone. Jackie from South Florida here. This is my first time in
A1.Give students appropriate think time and a chance to share with a neighbor or smaller group before class discussion
Q1b. WHO does the questioning you or your students?
Ss creating questions is a great tactic; takes time to get there but can be very fruitful https://t.co/p0tN4bPFD7
A1a: Socratic seminar. Ss write their own questions. Effectiveness judged by responses. No responses = change gears....
welcome! Thanks for joining us for
A2: Students should question it all and get teachers to guide them to make responsive and effective questions.
A1b. Depends on the topic being discussed...but I do a little of both!
A1: Answer with another Q so Ss can delve deeper N2 a topic. Effective questions promote more discussion + not simple answers.
A2b: Ss should be questioning also! So, both Ts & Ss.
A1b: Students should lead questioning in class, but teachers need to model how.
A1: Creating opportunities for open ended discussions. Give Ss a chance to elaborate on what they have said.
A1b I have in the past to get things started, but have moved more to getting ss to ask own questions to continue learning.
Q1b: If the first question has been played out, a student driven follow-up is key; makes it alive!
A1b: Great discussions result from questions from both teachers and students.
N scientists' meeting S engaging N discourse with each other, probing each other's thinking, building on the ideas of others
Thx! Will definitely check this out!
A1. Both should actively question to guide learning
A1 Give Ss advance time to gather their thoughts, opinions & do research. Ss who are prepared are more likely to participate.
Love open-ended questions and open-ended discussions! Great insight!
A1b: I model my thinking and questions, and then the students come up with questions
Thanks, Shanda! Looks like a great resource!
Cannot worry about time if discussion is meaningful. Let Ss ideas germinate
A1b. Ss and Ts help create questions, My best discussions are when Ss take charge of guiding their learning.
A1b I like to ask questions that foster ss questions, early in yr it drives my ss crazy, but they get used to it :)
A1b Ts are play very important role, listening 4 S understanding, misconceptions, facilitating using "talk moves"
Q2. What strategies do you use to improve classroom discussion? Any books/resources that have helped you?
I love doing this, as well. I will answer their question with a question
A2. Kagen strategies have been a great resource in my classroom!
A2: I have feedback wheels that give Ss some ideas for how to keep the discussion going.At the elem level,it helps them improve.
Q2: make sure there is good information behind the discussion; give them some way of backing things us with facts
A1 I challenge my class to write sample questions. I say if you can write a good question then you really understand it!
Agree.Have Ss respond 2 focusing ? abt phenomena N science notebook, talk w partner, then whole group https://t.co/fn8dt1q1cb
A1 Give Ss advance time to gather their thoughts, opinions & do research. Ss who are prepared are more likely to participate.
A2 Questioning for Classroom Discussion: Purposeful Speaking, Engaged Listening, Deep Thinking from by Sattes and Walsh
Q2. I love using various resources so that I never get bored.
A2. Book
Questioning for Classroom Discussion: Purposeful Speaking, Engaged Listening, Deep Thinking https://t.co/GOLtlRaeM4
A2: I like an ELD strategy I learned about called "Think-Pair-Discuss-Decided" from
A2 I always try to spark the discussion with fun stuff making headlines. Start it off entertaining and relevant.
Joining late. Kenny, HS instructional coach - Asheville, NC
A2. I also like to use . I ask a question, they get to respond, and I can share their videos in google classroom.
A1a: I use paideia style seminar questions. I listen to what engages students. Encourage students to bring own questions.
A1b: both. Both are important.
Looks amazing -- will def check it out; kids love looking at & listening to themselves
A2: text-dependent questions, turn and talks/stop and jots for think time
Is Free to use and do you get students permission bc it collects student data with a third party?
They love that if they "mess up" they can rerecord their thoughts! Was a great find last year!
Q3. Why are classroom or group discussions important in a classroom? Is this something you grade or assess in your room?
hi Renee White from NC joining late.
A3: Yes, because communication is one of the 4C's, so it should be assessed.
A3. It's important to feed off of each others thoughts and have positive feedback and debates.I like to listen in, but not score
A3. Definitley assess...communication leads to collaboration with other students!
A3: kids are engaged, less behavior prblms; anything to get them to connect curriculum with the outside world; T as facilitator
I do get parent permission and it is a free tool.
A3: Students learn more from each other than they do from the teacher. This gives the teacher a chance to assess understanding
Q3 used "below the line" activity I got from a Collins Writing Seminar to have students hold is all accountable.
A3. It's important to feed off of each others thoughts and have positive feedback and debates.I like to listen in for assessment
A3: Discussions allow Ss to share thoughts and practice social skills. Teacher as facilitator, using to guide future instruction
A3 Discussions are often when Ss really start thinking. But the shy Ss may feel uncomfortable & not heard. How to be inclusive?
Can you tell us more about this strategy?
Accountability in Ss communication is crucial!
Kagan strategies are good for this!
A3: opportunity to teach how to justify opinions
A3:Yes!It's important Ss learn quality speaking&listening skills so best assist team in learning efforts.Ss learn lots from Ss!
A3: Ss are engaged and gain information/skills and hear new viewpoints. They learn to work together and communicate well.
A3.) I use it to help guide my teaching, if they don't understand then I need to reevaluate a delivery.
A3: Ss can challenge & assess each other in collaborative groups. They also learn how to guide discussions & question.
Q4a. How do you make sure ALL Ss participates in a discussion? Do discussions need to be whole group or can they be small group?
A4a: teach them the rules of discourse where they have to share and speak in small groups-preferably groups of 3
A4a: Small group, partners, large group, triads, all combinations are important & necessary.
Q4a: With some prep, small grps tackle subset of problem they research and then shy Ss want to participate/share
A4a I like small groups to start. Build up confidence.
A4. I perfer small, monitor Ss, give Ss speaking tokens to use to talk, make sure all Ss have "spent" their tokens!
A4: Prefer small groups. Give each a role or a goal or even a symbol & all have to be in pot by end showing all contributed.
A4. Again Kagan has some great resources for this too!
thanks! I'd tell Ss ok 13 Ss gave Ans/Coms u shld hve 13 below or com of checks next to your sim Ans https://t.co/ckzr9lkpuk
Q4a: I like turn and talk, then randomly select names from sticks in a cup; everyone feels prepared to answer and accountable
Have you heard of numbered heads together? It's like this only in groups of four and you roll a die to share
I use this as a review game...each Ss has a # everyone has to be prepared!
Yes! I use it a lot in math as well
I do too! I love numbered heads together and so do my kids! Great review game!
Q4b. How do you move discussions beyond the classroom?
never before; sounds interesting; I see the die would hold their attention; get them to focus
Yes, and all the students have to be prepared or help prepare a group member
A4b: Google Classroom and collaboration through Google Docs and Slides
A4b. Collaboration using google docs!
I love using Google Classroom and Docs!
A4b: LMS Canvas; I have Ss respond to questions w/ articles linked; they reply to classmates; love it; especially the shy ones
a4b: I like to use blogger and journaling via google docs
a4b. Padlet is fun to use to share thoughts and ideas.
I started using Google Classroom last year and love it! Still learning more about it but excited about it!
A4. I like having the students turn their questions into PBL's
I was able to connect more with my shy Ss when we wrote. It's amazing what even HS Ss will share with you!
Q5. What is a take-away that you had from tonight’s ?
A5. Table texting and recapthat! Thanks to everyone for sharing!!
A4a: I make sure that they don't know who I am going to call on. They have time to discuss, then I randomly choose who responds
Ha! My tch drctr is enabling my Google Classroom tomrrw; excited to see how it works alongside Canvas
A5: Thers lots more out there I can try w Ss to encourage collaborative effective discussions.
A5: Communication is key!
There will be no next week with and I as we will be taking the holiday off. Have a great week.
A5. There are so many tools to use to help my students communicate and collaborate with each other! Thanks for all the info!
A1b: We all question, I model my thoughts aloud and they also question each other. Everyone is involved
Huge THANK YOU to for helping me with tonight.
Thanks for a great chat! = best chat!
A5: so imprtnt to be diligent that EVERYONE participates in discussions! Questioning strategies & tech work hand in hand!
