Discussion
While creating a classroom culture that supports students in meeting the intended learning outcomes is critical to establishing equitable learning environments, how teachers and students operate within that environment acts as a powerful means to improve instruction as well.
According to Zaretta Hammond and John Hattie, conversations are one of the most powerful practices teachers can use in classrooms to promote higher achievement (Hammond, 2020; Hattie, 2012). This evidence based instructional practice has been shown to improve instruction with an effect size of 0.82 – over two years’ worth of growth in one year’s time (Fisher, Frey and Hattie, 2016).
The Discussion module, which can be found on the Evidence Based Instructional Practice webpage, along with a General Introduction document, is intended to be facilitated by a school leader in professional learning communities, but teachers also will benefit from reviewing the resources on their own.
Discussion Professional Learning Module
Resources in the Discussion module address:
- Brain research and the need for discussion;
- Explicit teaching of in-depth discussion skills;
- Engaging all students in discussion;
- Importance of intentional planning;
- Discussion strategies to support formative assessment; and
- Sources for discussion protocols.
Specific suggestions for applying these concepts in Reading and Writing, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science are provided.
The module includes:
- An overview video;
- A narrative introduction that synthesizes current research;
- Facilitation considerations for structuring professional learning; and
- Content-specific resources to support implementation.
References
Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Hattie, J. (2016). Visible learning for literacy: Implementing the practices that work best to accelerate student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Hammond, Z. (2020). The power of protocols for equity. Educational Leadership, 77(7): 45-50.
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. New York, NY: Routledge.
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