I love to talk. I would be lying if I didn’t readily admit
that one of the many, many reasons that I decided to become a teacher is that I
love to talk. My head buzzes and brims with ideas, especially when it comes in
contact with interesting and challenging text. The idea of working in an
environment where I can share these ideas, where I can man the helm of
intellectual discourse, where I can talk talk talk to my heart’s content, utterly
exhilarates me.
This vision of ecstasy quickly tarnishes when juxtaposed
with the reality of a class that stares blankly when goaded to extemporize
about a shared reading. If students don’t speak and I fill the void with my own
textual interpretation, the exercise feels empty, lonely, and completely
unfulfilling. As I talk, students gaze onward with a far-off look in their
eyes, they look downward, as if ashamed, or they play the role of stenographer,
mindlessly transcribing my every utterance. Why did I enjoy classroom
discussion so much more in college than when I sit here, in the power seat?
What is missing? Just that: discussion.
I am not discussing anything in this scenario, and nor are my students. Rather,
I am a lone actor, performing a monologue before a captive audience.
Above: Me checking the pulse of one of my students.
When I pause and reflect, I realize that I was taught how to
discuss text responsibly, and in learning how, I learned to love. One of the
first 300-level literature courses I took, Major American Writers I, forced me
to read volumes of difficult, often very dry text that I usually didn’t immediately
enjoy, and yet, it was one of my favorite classes to date. The professor always
assigned the reading for next class along with a couple of writing prompts. We
students would post our written responses online (complete with textual
evidence to support our stances) and would respond to one another there. During
our next class, the professor would split us into small groups to talk about
new discussion prompts. Finally, we would come together for a class-wide
discussion, during which our professor would do little more than rephrase and
rebroadcast points that students were making and ensure that we weren’t
stepping on one another. Simple. Clean. Student-led.
My natural inclinations for English Language Arts allowed me
to learn how to engage in discussion through submersion in this environment,
but my bug-eyed ninth graders may require more explicit instruction. To begin,
Randy Bomer suggests that students be directed to take time before discussion
to write down their topic ideas (143). Just like the writing prompts that my
professor assigned before class discussion, this exercise will help students to
visualize and prioritize their ideas before speaking, which may give them
greater confidence to share.
As we come together and students share their most favored
topics, I can record them on the board, and students can democratically decide
where to start. As students discuss, I will play stenographer, tracking
the movements of their discussion where everyone can see it. As Bomer posits, “When
people start perceiving of conversations as more like texts, they can start to
take control of the moves they make in talk” (141). With my written summary of
their points, students will have a point of reference so that they can
effectively build on the comments of others rather than share isolated,
disjointed opinions. This sort of tracking also helps to facilitate a
reflection about the discussion. Bomer suggests that teachers ask students to
respond in writing to questions such as, “’What did someone say that really
surprised you today? Why was that a surprise, and what new things did it make
you think’ Or ‘In what ways did your mind change across your conversation
today? What did you do to make it change, and what did others do?’” (150).
These reflections solidify the concept that discussion is an invaluable form of
collaborative learning, and it challenges students to view one another and
themselves as academic authorities.
As I study and strive to implement these discussion
strategies, I am reminded that while my love for talking certainly affected my
career choice, the more important task before me is to teach my students to
love talking. Here’s to me shutting up.
Works Cited
Bomer, Randy. Building Adolescent
Literacy in Today’s English. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2011. Print.
Ms. Harrison,
ReplyDeleteThis: "I am reminded that while my love for talking certainly affected my career choice, the more important task before me is to teach my students to love talking."
I agree with you on so many points here Mary. There is something so magical about talking, but especially about literature and theme and symbolism and character and...I lose my 8th graders about two steps into that sort of discussion.
I think as students ourselves, we forget that at some point we too had a teacher who taught us how to talk and it is such a great idea to take on that role yourself. :) Having students reflect after discussion sounds like a great idea too and it will certainly engender them with a sense of authority and that will only lead to better discussions down the road. There is something about student's being able to reaffirm their authority and voice that really drives home the fact that they do have valuable insights to share with one another.
I cannot wait to here how putting these strategies into place change your class discussions! Thank you so much for sharing.
--Mrs. Tolbert
First off, sweet picture and caption. Two thumbs up! I think it has been tough for us all to sit back and shut up as teachers because most of our professors at the college level don't shut up and we are either amazed or annoyed at how much information they know. I learned rather harshly that the only talking you should be doing as a teacher during discussions is either asking questions or commenting on a students answer. When we answer for them we don't allow them to grow. It seems so simple, and the Bomer chapter showed us that it really is, but as inexperienced teachers we tend to want to find an answer so we can avoid the awkward pause. We just have to keep the learning in their hands and the teaching in ours. Students learn a great deal from their peers and the information they share in class. Thank you for sharing, Mary, now please shut up.
ReplyDeleteDirt, I started laughing so hard while reading this post, a piece of tomato came flying out of my mouth. That is the truth. Thanks for the laugh.
DeleteI can't wait to see these ideas in action during your next observation! Thanks for posting on this topic, and thanks for your insights during our class discussion!
ReplyDeleteI love the humor in this post, especially with the Hamlet picture and your ending sentence. :-) You are so right, we must teach our students, even the brightest, most talkative ones, how to conduct a thoughtful discussion. Once we teach them, there is no limit to where their discussions might go!
ReplyDelete