If you were to ask my students, “How many teachers do you have?” their answer is 21. Students in my classroom know that I am not the only person they can learn from! It is so important that they learn from each other, and to make this happen they need to have meaningful conversations. Meaningful CONVERSATIONS? You may be asking yourself how to get students to have conversations, around academics and make it meaningful? I asked myself this question A LOT, here is my journey around implementing meaningful conversations in the classroom… .
It all started when I was lucky enough to travel to NYC for the Teacher’s College Saturday Reunion. I attended a session on grand conversation, and realized that in my Kindergarten class, my students couldn’t have a normal conversation, let alone a conversation about a book. So, I started small. Really. Small. During Morning Meeting, my students shared their favorite foods, stories about their families, and eventually responded to a question that had more than one right answer, leading into a debate. I’ll never forget when one of my sweet little Kindergarten students took a simple question of “What do you like to eat for breakfast?” and gave an answer I’ll never forget, “Well, I really like to eat Fruit Loops, but I know that it’s not healthy for me, so I can’t pick that as my favorite thing to eat for breakfast.” I was so pleased at how these simple question stems had grown my students thinking and expression in speaking and responding.
Examples of Question Stems
*What is your favorite thing to do at home?
*What is something that really scares you?
*Should students be required to wear a uniform to school?
*What makes you brave?
*If you could create a new rule (at home, school, or a law) what would it be?
*What do you infer about this boy?
https://elsaghirscience.weebly.com/inferring.html
But what does this cute little Kindergarten kiddo have to do with personalized learning? As I moved into First Grade, and now Third, I have realized that the skill of conversing is not developmental. It needs to be taught. With technology centered lives, families are spending less time talking around the dinner table, in the car, and throughout the day. So, these same question stems are now being discussed by my third grade students, in an effort to keep chatter in the classroom. Once students are able to listen to each other, listen to listen, and then respond with thoughtfulness, they are then ready to be teachers to each other, which has been key in my Personalized Learning journey. These simple questions expand into discussions, and even debates!
Students (or teachers for that matter) cannot assist their classmates until they learn to listen to their problem. We discuss why students get stumped–is it the directions or the content that they don’t understand? Then, from there, we can help.
Another important component of implementing conversation into PL is making sure that students really understand that they have ownership in the classroom. Yup, thats the Students Ownership Cornerstone, which is vital to all classrooms. Students really respect each other’s opportunities to learn. We discuss that when collaborating, giving someone the answers is not helping them, you’re actually hurting them. And because my students have a growth mindset, they are comfortable being wrong around each other, and me. When I confer with my students, they are able to tell me what they are working on, and are able to articulate how I can help. This would be a difficult task if my students were not provided the opportunity to build their conversation skills.
Lastly, it should not go unmentioned, that talking to your students is fun. I love hearing from my students every Morning Meeting about the little exciting things in their life. Sharing these conversations is key to building respect between teachers and students, as well as students with each other.
Gone are the days of teachers talking at their students. Take time to talk, to listen, to laugh, and learn.
By Megan Newlin