To p a r a p h r a s e e f f e c t i v e l y, t e a c h e r s mu s t ( 1 ) listen and observecare-
fully to calibrate the content and emotions of the speaker and (2)signal
their intentionto paraphrase, by opening with a reflective sentence stem.
Such stems put the focus and emphasis on the speaker’s ideas, not on the
paraphraser’s interpretation of those ideas. For example, reflective para-
phrases should not use the pronoun I. The phrase “What I think I hear
you saying.. .” signals to many speakers that their thoughts no longer
matter and that the paraphraser is now going to insert his own ideas into
the conversation. Instead, the following paraphrase stems signal that a
paraphrase is coming:
•“You’re suggesting that.. ..”
•“You’re proposing that.. ..”
•“So, what you’re wondering.. ..”
•“So, you are thinking.. ..”
•“Um, you’re pondering on the effects of.. ..”
•“And your hunch is.. ..”If the paraphrase is not completely accurate, the student will offer
corrections:
Teacher: So, you’re concerned about the field trip and you want
to get early input from the entire class.
Student:No. Before we go I think we should get input from the
museum about what we’ll see so that we can be prepared.Summarizing and organizing a class’s or group’s thoughts by offer-
ing themes is an especially important form of paraphrase. Here are two
examples:
•“We all seem to be concerned about two issues here. One is
resource allocation and the other is the impact of those decisions on stu-
dent learning.”
•“So our major goal here is to define fairness in settling disputes in
our classroom.”
Empathizing.Te a c h e r s s h o w e m p a t h y b y r e s p o n di n g i n a w a y t h a t
acknowledges cognition andaccepts feelings. Teachers respond this way
when they especially want to recognize a student’s feelings, emotions, or
110 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind