Discussion Strategies

"Thunks": Thunking is when a teacher presents a question to the class that seems simple in the beginning but after a moment of thought it makes the students look differently at the world. This is a great way to start lessons because it gets children thinking in a less formal way. There is no commitment to have an answer but it also gives student the time to get in the right state of mind for the activity. I believe that students need to be taught to ask better questions, as I have mentioned before my professor used to have us start class with asking questions. He wanted us to ask the questions we really wanted the answers to and not "beat around the bush". This taught us to be direct with our questions and sometimes they were open ended because he didn't know the answer.

In this world we are taught that there is a solid answer for everything but if there is an answer for everything then why are we still asking questions? When students have questions that stump everyone that is good! Discussion doesn't come from yes/ no questions, we want the "because". In articles that I read there are logic questions that could be included in this, it doesn't always have to be something that has no answer at all. This will help students in the beginning to think outside of the box and develop their higher order thinking skills. I love this idea and see myself even starting my morning message with one. Just a fun way to start the day!

"Question Continuum": This involves the students getting into pairs and developing questions about the topic they are learning about. Once the students have created the questions on sticky notes they are then put on the board. The students then rate each others questions on how well they are written. This give students the chance to get feedback on their questions and it is also anonymous which will help the students feel confident in their work since no one will now who's is who's.

This is a picture of the activity that I found in my research, with this example the teacher is scaling the students questions based on how well they promote discovery. This exact model is what is going to promote discussion because the discovery piece is what will make the students think further into the question. I think that this is great for conversation because as the students become better with developing questions they will be able to look further into more questions.

"Question Wall": The question wall is exactly that, a wall with questions that students have during the day. This is a great way for students who may not feel confident asking questions to still have their voice heard. In my research I found that teachers have separate parts of the wall for different subjects so that they can contain the questions to certain parts of the day and then answer them the next day during that lesson. This could also be a great way to start lessons since it would be pulling the students into the particular subjects.

The great part about this discussion technique is that it is great for all ages, this is an example from a younger grade and is sectioned off by topic. The students are given special times (snack, lunch, recess, read aloud time, morning work time) that are appropriate times to do this. Each student also could have a sticky note pad on their desk so that they can write it when they think of it and put it up later at a better time versus during the instruction time. Allowing students this time to reflect is great for reaching all students since others that have the same questions that won't ask them are still having the chance to get their answers.

"Literary Log": This is the same thought of the question wall but it is less public. The students have a notebook that they are recording about their book in, this allows them to write down what they want to share before hand so that they are not put on the spot. The prompt could change week to week with what the teacher is focusing on during reading and then they get to share in a large group setting. If the teacher doesn't get a chance for all students to share then he/she can look at the notebooks another time. This could also be where students write about how their book is going, if it is too easy/ too hard, whether they would recommend it to other students etc. It is a great place for reflection that is private and between the student and teacher only since other students won't see it. I foresee this creating a great discussion because it is not a substantial amount of work for students to do in order to participate in the discussion.