Paraphrasing. Simply stated, paraphrasing can be defined as respond-
ing to what the student says or does by rephrasing, recasting, translating,
empathizing, or summarizing. Teachers use this response when they want
to extend, build upon, synthesize, or give an example based on the stu-
dent’s answer. Though the teacher may use words that are different from
those of the student, the teacher strives to maintain the intent and accu-
rate meaning of the student’s idea. This is an active kind of acceptance
and acknowledging because the teacher demonstrates that the student’s
message was received andunderstood. Here are examples of paraphrasing:
•“Your explanation is that if the heat were increased, the molecules
would move faster and therefore disperse the food coloring faster.”
•“Your idea is that we should all write our legislators rather than
send them one letter from the group.”
•“Shaun’s idea is that the leaves could be classified according to their
shapes, while Sarah’s way is to group them by size.”
•“An example of what you mean was when we arranged our rock
collection according to several different classification systems.”
Paraphrasing lets others know that the teacher is listening, that she
understands or is trying to understand them, and that she cares. A well-
crafted paraphrase communicates the message “I am trying to understand
you—and therefore, I value what you have to say,” and it establishes a
relationship between people and ideas. Thus, questions preceded by para-
phrases will be perceived similarly. Questions by themselves, no matter
how artfully constructed, put a degree of psychological distance between
the asker and the asked. Paraphrasing aligns the parties and creates a safe
environment for thinking (Perkins, 2003).
Paraphrases reflect the speaker’s content and the speaker’s emotions
about the content, and they frame a logical level for holding the content.
The paraphrase reflects content back to the speaker for further consid-
eration and connects that response to the flow of discourse emerging
within the group. Such paraphrasing creates permission to probe for
details and elaboration. Without the paraphrase, probing may be per-
ceived as interrogation.
Creating “Thought-Full” Environments 109