Particularly in high school when students tend to have a
very social orientation, discussions can engage students
to interact meaningfully with challenging content and
texts because they are interested in the social meaning
making process. For many students who struggle
with understanding a text, the opportunity to engage
in collaborative discussion is a way for them to learn
more about the text than they would by simply reading
it independently. Engaging in conversations with
peers allows students to clarify their understandings
of challenging readings and content and begin to
articulate their own ideas about their interpretations.
For some ELs developing oral proficiency, particularly
for ELs at the Emerging level of English language
proficiency, these discussions also offer a safer
environment to practice their speaking skills that may
prove less daunting than talking in front of the whole
class. Engaging students in a range of conversations
with partners, small groups and whole class discussions
may require preparing ELs who are less fluent or confident in spoken English language to engage in
structured practice using their primary language, if possible with a peer. During discussions about
content and texts, ELs may code switch from their primary language to English when this supports
their comprehension and expression. Teachers convey to ELs, and indeed to all students (e.g.,
students who speak African American English or Chicana/Chicano English) that code switching is
normal and a useful linguistic practice. In addition, teachers support their students to become aware
of how to deliberately make language choices that meet the expectations of different contexts (e.g.,
audience, topic, mode of communication).
Teachers support students to delve into and extend their content-rich conversations through
planned scaffolding, where they structure the conversations in such a way that all students are able
to fully participate, and through just-in-time scaffolding where they provide support to individual
students as they are conversing. Examples of planned scaffolding include explicitly defining roles
and responsibilities of students during their conversations (e.g., facilitator, scribe, time-keeper),
establishing understandable routines for conversing (e.g., expert group jigsaw), and providing
language frames for students to refer to during their conversations (e.g., “One piece of evidence
that supports my idea is ___.”). Not all conversations
need to be highly structured, but planning ahead of
time for how students will interact with one another is
crucial. Regardless of the specific discussion strategy
or structure, the qualities of rich discussion are shared.
Lawrence and Snow (2011, 331) cite five such qualities:
- They start from worthy questions
- Students and teachers share both authority and
participation rights - Time for peer interaction is available
- An explicit goal for the discussion has been
established - Rules about appropriate contributions to the
discussion are known to all participants
Engaging in conversations with
peers allows students to clarify their
understandings of challenging
readings and content and begin
to articulate their own ideas about
their interpretations. For some
ELs developing oral proficiency,
particularly for ELs at the Emerging
level of English language
proficiency, these discussions also
offer a safer environment to practice
their speaking skills that may prove
less daunting than talking in front of
the whole class.Teachers support students to delve
into and extend their content-rich
conversations through planned
scaffolding, where they structure
the conversations in such a way
that all students are able to fully
participate, and through just-
in-time scaffolding where they
provide support to individual
students as they are conversing.Grades 9 to 12 Chapter 7 | 693