The Teacher's Guide to Leading Student-Centered Discussions: Talking About Texts in the Classroom

by Michael S. Hale, Elizabeth A. City

Overview

Engage and enlighten students by skillfully guiding them through thought-provoking classroom discussions using these straightforward strategies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412906357
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	04/05/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	136
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael S. Hale has served as a teacher, principal, professional developer, professor, university administrator, and educational software executive. His passion for student inquiry has resulted in many years of experience with participant-centered discussions in a wide variety of settings. A National Paideia Faculty member, he has worked with many teachers and students to develop the knowledge and skills to engage in idea- and text-based conversations. He currently spends most of his days as Vice President for Curriculum Consulting with Vital Source Technologies in Raleigh, NC, where he works with educators to transform didactic materials into more interactive digital formats. His formal education includes a B.A. in Philosophy from Auburn University and a M.A. and Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina.

Elizabeth A. City has served as a teacher, principal, and instructional coach, primarily in North Carolina and Massachusetts. In addition to enjoying countless student-centered discussions in her own classroom, as a National Paideia Faculty member, she has worked with teachers and students across the country as they have learned to facilitate and participate in text-based conversations. Much of Liz’s current work centers on supporting principals and teachers in creating collaborative communities where rich dialogue and learning for both adults and children is the norm. She is a member of the Senior Faculty of Boston’s School Leadership Institute, where she teaches courses in using data, learning and teaching, and professional development to Boston Public School Principal Fellows. She is currently working on her doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Part I: Getting Started: The "Science" of Leading Discussions
1. The Fundamentals of Facilitating
Why Have Student Centered Discussions?
Essential Ingredients of a Student-Centered, Text-based Discussion, aka “Seminar”
The Architecture of a Discussion
Frequently Asked Questions and Tips for Beginners
Tips for Beginners
References
PART II: Becoming a Skillful Facilitator: The “Art and Magic” of Leading Discussions
2. Safety
Recognizing Safety Issues
Tone of the Discussion
Atmosphere of Safety and Respect
Creating a Culture of Inquiry
The Danger of Sarcasm
Feedback During Seminar
A Climate of Respect
3. Authentic Participation
Recognizing Authentic Participation Issues
Attention-Seeking Participation
Text-Focused Participation
Reflective Activity
Assessing Pauses in Conversation
Facilitator is Not the Focus
4. Challenge
Recognizing Challenge Issues
Assessing Understanding
Off-Topic Conversation
Repetitive Ideas and Statements
Idea-Hopping
Challenging Ideas
5. Ownership
Recognizing Ownership Issues
Avoiding Anarchy
Facilitator Releasing Control
Student-Driven Discussions
6. The Seminar Decision-Making Model
Steps of the Decision-Making Process
Identifying the Issue
Identifying Possible Causes
Match to Primary Fulcrum
Identifying and Applying Possible Strategies
Determine Effectiveness of Strategy and Next Steps
PART III: Improving Student-Centered Discussions
7. Strategies for Ongoing Improvement Across All the Fulcrums
Reflection
Seminar Mapping
Teaching the Fulcrums to Students
Fishbowl
Seminar Folders
Videotape
Assessment
Peer Planning
Peer Coaching
Case Study
8. Strategies for Improving Specific Fulcrums
Safety
Seminar Ground Rules
Assigned Seats
Yellow Card, Red Card
Ejection
Time-out
Write Before You Talk
Role Play
Stop and Try Again
Building Safety Outside Seminar
Role Play
Have Seminars More Frequently
Ask The Students
Authentic Participation
Heads-Up Question
Pair-Share
Round Robin
Inviting Quiet People to Speak
Reflective Writing
Follow-up Writing
Positive Reinforcement
Connections
Question Again
Pair Share/Write During Seminar
Silence
Map Connections
Challenge
Where in the Text?
Ask Follow-Up Questions
Paraphrase and Probe
Pair-Share/Write during Seminar
Pre-Seminar
Choosing a Different Type of Text
Good Questions
Ownership
Relinquish the Reins
Self-assessment
Wait Time
Favorite Text Phenomenon
Eye Contact
Don’t Be Afraid—Drive
Turn-Taking
Look Around the Circle
Resource A – Training Guides
Using the Fulcrums for Professional Development
Working with Groups of Teachers
New Facilitators
Experienced Facilitators
Working on Your Own/Working with Individual Teachers
Individual Teachers
Resource B – Reproducibles
Index

Editorial Reviews

"I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to teach students to improve their listening, critical thinking, social, or college success skills."

Jennifer Lerner

"A strong student-centered discussion is a teacher′s dream - a classroom of students energized by intellectual exchange. That′s why Hale and City′s book is such a gift. This book is packed with strategies for facilitating great discussions. Whether you are new to student-centered discussions or an old-pro, their book will help you think strategically about how to take your classroom to the next level."--Eric Westendorf, Founding Director (12/22/2005 12:00:00 AM)

"A teacher can take this text and learn to facilitate a seminar. The examples are very useful and after some practice, I believe I too could manage a seminar discussion successfully."--Eric Kincaid (11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM)

"As a teacher and teacher educator, I have led hundreds of student-centered discussions and in reading this book I discovered new ideas and strategies that will help me improve the quality of my own classroom discussions. I believe there are strategies in this book for all teachers, novice to expert."--Jennifer R. Mangrum, Coordinator of Elementary Education Initiative (11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM)

"I loved the case stories/examples of classroom seminars/discussions that illustrated the author′s points...I was able to relate to many of the problems that some of the teachers faced in their seminars...The book will make a distinct contribution to the field."--Kimberly C. Smith (1/7/2005 12:00:00 AM)

"Practical and beneficial to teaching and learning in today′s world ...the book provides good strategies for helping teachers facilitate meaningful academic discussions in the classroom setting."--Sylvia Jackson (1/11/2005 12:00:00 AM)

"There are two reasons why this book is so important now. The first is the vitality of the subject: true classroom dialogue may be our only hope for helping our students become civil as well as thoughtful citizens. The second is that the authors practice what they preach. They assume from the first page that teachers themselves are thoughtful professionals, capable of making the subtle decisions discussed in these pages. The result is a book that should lie open on the desk of any teacher who is truly interested in teaching students to think."--Terry Roberts, Director (10/14/2005 12:00:00 AM)

"There is a great deal of relevant, practical information in this book for teachers to use to improve the quality of seminars."--Cynthia Passmore (1/7/2005 12:00:00 AM)

"I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to teach students to improve their listening, critical thinking, social, or college success skills."--Jennifer Lerner, Northern Virginia Community College (2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

"A strong student-centered discussion is a teacher's dream - a classroom of students energized by intellectual exchange. That's why Hale and City's book is such a gift. This book is packed with strategies for facilitating great discussions. Whether you are new to student-centered discussions or an old-pro, their book will help you think strategically about how to take your classroom to the next level."

Eric Westendorf

"As a teacher and teacher educator, I have led hundreds of student-centered discussions and in reading this book I discovered new ideas and strategies that will help me improve the quality of my own classroom discussions. I believe there are strategies in this book for all teachers, novice to expert."

Jennifer R. Mangrum

"There are two reasons why this book is so important now. The first is the vitality of the subject: true classroom dialogue may be our only hope for helping our students become civil as well as thoughtful citizens. The second is that the authors practice what they preach. They assume from the first page that teachers themselves are thoughtful professionals, capable of making the subtle decisions discussed in these pages. The result is a book that should lie open on the desk of any teacher who is truly interested in teaching students to think."

Terry Roberts

"I loved the case stories/examples of classroom seminars/discussions that illustrated the author's points...I was able to relate to many of the problems that some of the teachers faced in their seminars...The book will make a distinct contribution to the field."

Kimberly C. Smith

"A teacher can take this text and learn to facilitate a seminar. The examples are very useful and after some practice, I believe I too could manage a seminar discussion successfully."

Eric Kincaid

"There is a great deal of relevant, practical information in this book for teachers to use to improve the quality of seminars."

Cynthia Passmore

"Practical and beneficial to teaching and learning in today's world ...the book provides good strategies for helping teachers facilitate meaningful academic discussions in the classroom setting."

Sylvia Jackson