Following our discussion of the issues presented by mixed-ability KS5 teaching, here is a list of ideas suggested by the coaching-couching group. We focussed on how to make class-discussion a genuinely useful learning activity.
- ask yourself why you are planning to use discussion: is this for your own assessment purposes? To gauge understanding? To direct students towards a particular view? Is discussion the best way to achieve this purpose? What is the LEARNING that will come out of the discussion? How will this aid progress?
- give students an effective framework in which to organise their notes during class discussion, using headings (eg. skills / questions / content / technical terms). ALSO see AW re. Cornell "creative note-taking".
- arrange the seating plan and table layout so that it is more conducive to discussion
- make the point of the discussion EXPLICIT so that students understand its validity; base it on a specific question or problem to solve.
- make explicit the expected register of discussion-based-learning.
- (related to the idea above) sequence the learning from (eg) "informal pair discussion" to "formal whole-group discussion" to "formal essay-writing". Think of kinds of "talk" as a continuum leading to the required outcome.
- look up the SOCRATIC METHOD of talk to inspire learning*. One example of this is when you divide the class in two: the observers and the participants. The participants are given a problem to solve through discussion; the observer observe, using heading to structure what they are looking for. Following the discussion, the observers give feedback to the participants.
- give students specific tasks to complete in the course of the discussion, eg: "write down two ideas you agree with, two you disagree with and one which you are unsure about".
- in advance of the discussion, give pairs specific responsibility for eliciting certain things out of the discussion and ....
- ... in advance of the discussion, create "experts" in the classroom - or groups of experts - whose role it will be inform others in the subsequent discussion.
- have high expectations of behaviour and participation: discussion-based activities are not optional!
*Interesting links to experiences of teaching using the Socratic Method:
"Teaching by Asking Instead of Telling" http://www.garlikov.com/Soc_Meth.html
"The Socratic Approach to Character Education" and "Planning a Socratic lesson" http://www.goodcharacter.com/Socratic_method.html
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