In the Almasi discussions, the students would be feeding off of each others answers, and the instructor would play a minimum role. This is not the case in my classroom, for the reasons answered above. With that said, I am worried about trying to lead a discussion in my classroom for the lesson I will prepare. Scaffolding would be a key factor to help my students work their way up to this type of discussion, as it is not something they have done before in their current kindergarten class, and may not have experience with otherwise. Before conducting any group discussion in the Almasi way, it would be important for me to tell the students how the discussion should work, and to let them know how it is supposed to work (for instance, the importance of not interrupting each other). It may be important to practice this technique in small groups before working as a whole class. If my mentor teacher allows me to, I may break the students into groups and have them discuss a topic related to the discussion we will have as a class, so that I can see how the students react to the discussion type, how they handle the situations, and what they have to say about the topic. The majority of the students love to talk so I will not have to worry about the students being silent, but I worry that they will not be able to build off of each other's answers without my help and comments.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Discussions in the Classroom
I am currently placed in a kindergarten classroom, so true "Almasi-type" discussions are mainly unheard of in my placement. As the students have just entered school and are still learning how to "behave correctly" for a school setting, they are still practicing skills such as sitting quietly and raising their hands when they want to speak. For this reason, recitation is the most common form of talk that occurs in my classroom. In these situations, the students are seated quietly on a rug, while my mentor teacher leads a conversation about the current topic (either a book they have just read, or vocabulary for a book they will be reading shortly). In the recitation setting, my mentor teacher will ask the student straight-forward questions, such as, "What is this?" or "What is this used for?" The questions that she asks get the students thinking, but are not as open-ended and usually are just asking for a single word answer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I completely understand your hesitancy to lead a discussion with your class of kindergarteners! Even with 1st and 2nd graders, I'm unsure of how successful it will be. Even if your students don't master the art of group discussions, introducing this activity to them will benefit them for all subsequent grade levels. I think that doing a trial run with a small group discussion is a great idea. Not only will it give you a sense of how your whole class might handle the discussion, but it will also give the students in the group an extra chance to practice, so maybe they will be good role models for the larger group. I'm not sure what your student population, but if you have any ELLs in your class, this discussion will be a great way for them to practice their speaking skills :)
ReplyDelete