There are many academic benefits to discourse. Participating in academic discourse gives students an authentic opportunity to practice using academic language, the language used to communicate content knowledge and concepts within your classroom. They get the chance to use new terms and vocabulary in their conversation, which in turn helps them to better grasp the meaning of those ideas. Secondly, student discourse allows students to check their knowledge in a risk-free manner. While conversing with a peer, they may uncover a gap in learning and be able to seek clarification (either from that peer or by getting the teacher involved). And perhaps most importantly, the structures in place for effective student discourse encourage and help to develop critical thinking skills. As opposed to simple fact recall, the deeper questions and discussions involved in student discourse will encourage students to consider various perspectives, back up their claims and opinions with text or factual evidence, turn inward to reflect on their own personal feelings, explore various solutions, hypothesize new ideas, and so much more.
In general, most students like to talk. Think about all the times you have had to interrupt whispered side conversations between students. Think about what it sounds like in a school cafeteria during lunch or on the playground at recess with younger students. Think about what it sounds like in the hallways of a high school during a passing period. Now, imagine if you could channel that affinity for human connection through conversation into discourse for academic purposes!
As you start to think about implementing student discourse into your classroom, you have to think about the specific purpose of each individual conversation you want students to engage in. It’s not enough to think, “I’d like students to talk about Anne Frank” after reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Instead, you need a specific objective such as, “Students will be able to explain Anne’s perspective about the world at the beginning of the book and compare how her perspective shifts throughout the book, using specific textual evidence to support their ideas.” With a detailed student learning goal such as this one, you can begin to develop the question or questions you will pose to students to help them engage in conversation.
Putting Student Discourse Into Action: The Questions
Of course, the types of questions you pose to your students will help to guide their conversations. If you rely on factual recall questions, your students are not going to engage in a back-and-forth exchange of ideas that is the core of student discourse. You may choose to start the class with some basic-level questions just to get students focused on the subject matter, but keep in mind that this questioning strategy only allows one student to answer a question each time. Furthermore, there is most likely a right answer and a wrong answer, so you will spend a good deal of time either praising correct answers or correcting erroneous answers. So perhaps spend a couple of minutes with some brief factual questioning but then transition into questions that require higher-level thinking, are clearly aligned with your student learning goals, and give students an opportunity to exchange and challenge ideas with their peers.
Types of Questions
Now that you understand student discourse and why it is so important for your students, you will take a closer look at various types of questions and how they can be used to encourage student discourse. Questions, in general, can come in two forms: closed and open.
In closed questioning, you are seeking one specific answer, whereas open questioning allows for varied student responses that more easily allow for higher-level thinking. Both closed and open questions can have their place in a lesson: for example, closed questioning is a great way to perform quick check-ins of knowledge. However, open questioning is better used for student discourse because collaboration can only occur when students can discuss ideas in their own ways at a higher level of thinking.
See the next table for a short list of sample question prompts to get you started in your own question design for student discourse. You will notice that they are loosely categorized by a questioning purpose- only one of many ways to categorize questioning prompts. For a more comprehensive list, we encourage you to take our course: Introduction to Student Discourse.
Requesting Evidence – Who or where can we find more evidence for this idea?
Calling On Background Knowledge – Who has experienced an idea similar to this before?
Leading Away From a Misconception – Why do you think _______ is similar to __________?
Leading Towards a New Perspective – How can we connect this idea to the idea of _______________?
Developing a Counter-Idea – How is _______ different than _________?
Exploring Cause and Effects – What will happen after ___________?
Exploring Impact – How does/ did __________ influence your idea?
Exploring Results – What did you read that makes you think that?
Putting Student Discourse Into Action: Sample Activities
An entire course can be taught on collaborative grouping models- how to group students, how to choose the right collaborative activity for student discourse, and then how to engage students in discourse through setting norms, procedures, and other support.
There are also a multitude of collaborative activities you can introduce to your students to keep them engaged! You should be familiar with a few common and easy-to-implement grouping activities to help you get started with supporting discourse in your classroom right away.
Sample Activities:
- Give one/ Get one
- Think Pair Share
- Philosophical Chairs
- Socratic Seminar
In summary
Providing the environment and support for student discourse in your classroom is an important component of a well-rounded education. While this article was a general overview of ideas to get started, you should now have a basic foundation for understanding student discourse in the classroom.
Strong, open-ended questions aligned with your content goals, expectations for success in student discussions, ideas for supporting your students to delve deeply into ideas, and a well-planned grouping strategy are essential components of discourse that, when implemented well, will transform your classroom into an engaging and lively space.
As you work to integrate discourse more into your classroom lessons, constantly reflect on how the activities you choose are fostering deeper thinking, encouraging diverse student dialogue, and promoting meaningful interactions among your students.
By continuously refining your approach and seeking out more ideas for student collaboration, you can create a classroom environment where discourse not only enhances learning but also empowers students to take ownership of their educational journey.
