Discourse in ELA
Shannon Rooney
University of Southern
California
EDUC 513 A
June 12, 2012
Dr. Kamala Dexter
Discussion Shapes Thinking
According to Miller (2003), “‘Talking to learn’ through
collaborative exploration in discussion served as the key
to developing students understanding and thinking” (p.
291).
Class discussions allow students to form their own
opinions and interpretations of readings in the classroom.
If we think back to the earlier readings by Appleman
(2009), discussion prompt students to read through
different critical lenses; discussions prompt students to
think about where the author is coming from, and where
they themselves are coming from (Reader Response).
Small Groups
Small group discussions allow students
to, “use cognitive strategies, to explore
connections between personal
knowledge and the text, and to create
their own understanding jointly
through language” (Miller, 2003, p.
291).
Small group discussions promote
Piaget’s theory of Cognitive
Development. Piaget believed that
children are active and motivated
learners who construct rather than
absorb knowledge (Ormrod, 2011).
Small group discussions allow students
to “construct” their knowledge and
understanding of a text based on their
own opinions, as well as ideas that
other classmates share.
Teacher-Mediated Text Discussion
• Lev Vygotsky’s theory of
Cognitive Development
emphasizes that learning is a
social process and children can
perform more challenging
tasks when assisted by more
advanced individuals like
teachers. The Zone of Proximal
Development is a range of
tasks that a student can
perform with the help of
others; the tasks cannot quite
be performed independently
(Ormrod, 2011).
Socratic Seminars
• Socratic Seminars, also known as the Socratic
Method, is a student led discussion in which
students demonstrate their ability to infer and
articulate deeper meanings of a subject or
text. Students interpret meaning and ask
further questions to gain a deeper
understanding. The teacher act merely as a
facilitator during the discussion.
A Sample Socratic Seminar
•
Lesson Objective: The students will
demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding of chapters thirty-one
through forty in Mark Twain’s The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The
students will demonstrate their
knowledge and understanding of the
chapters by holding a Socratic
Seminar. The Socratic Seminar will be
a student led discussion, in which
they will demonstrate their ability to
infer and articulate deeper meanings
of the novel. Rather than identifying
facts such as plot, setting, etc.,
learners will interpret meaning and
ask questions to gain a deeper
understanding of the novel.
A Sample Socratic Seminar
Continued…
• Anticipatory Set: The lesson is about developing a deeper understanding
of chapters thirty-one through forty in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn. I will start the lesson with instructions for the Socratic
Seminar. The Socratic Seminar is a student-led discussion, in which I act as
a facilitator. I will ask the students to turn their desks so that they are
facing each other when they are discussing the novel. I will ask students to
respond to the questions I have given them about interpreting meaning. I
will ask the students to call on other students to respond to the questions
I have given them.
• Perceived Objective/Rationale: “You will be able to infer and articulate a
deeper understanding of chapters thirty-one through forty in The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You will engage in an intellectual
discussion by responding to questions that pertain to the novel.”
• Input: I will ask students to compose a Socratic
Seminar, in which students lead the discussion of
interpreting meaning within the text. I will ask
students to summarize what the student said
before them so that I may check for
understanding and then ask the students to share
their interpretation of meaning. Below are the
“Interpreting Meaning” questions that the
students will respond to in their discussion
(depending on time, we may not get through all
of the questions below).
Discussion Questions
Chapters 30-32
•
How do the duke and king behave toward each other in these chapters? How would you compare this with their behavior in
earlier chapters?
•
Briefly describe Huck’s crisis of conscience that leads up to his decisions to write to Miss Watson. How does Twain use irony
here to make satirical points?
•
Why does Huck decide to “go to hell”?
•
What is Huck’s understanding of Providence in Chapter 32? Would Miss Watson agree with it?
•
How does Twain use irony in the discussion between Huck and Mrs. Phelps about the steamboat accident that Huck makes
up?
Chapters 33-35
•
What accounts for Huck’s promise that Tom will help him steal Jim?
•
Why do you think Huck tries to help the duke and king when he finds out that the townspeople know about them?
•
How does Huck respond to the duke and the king being tarred and feathered? Is his response at all surprising? Does it
remind you of anything earlier in the novel? Explain.
•
Why does Huck prefer Tom’s plan for freeing Jim to his own?
•
After Tom tells Huck that it’s all right for them to steal, Huck steals a watermelon. Tom is angered by this and insists that
Huck pay for the watermelon. Why does Tom respond this way, and what does this scene tell us about the differences
between Tom and Huck?
Chapters 36-39
•
How would you compare Huck’s and Tom’s attitudes toward the escape?
•
What characteristics does Aunt Sally have that enable the boys to take advantage of her?
•
What is the irony in the way that Tom and Huck get the grindstone into the hut?
•
Is there any evidence that Jim is really suffering during all of this? Does Huck’s response to Jim’s plight seem reasonable to
you?
•
When Tom devices a coat of arms for Jim, what evidence is there that his knowledge of these things is really quite
superficial?
Chapter 40
•
What does Jim’s behavior in these chapters say about his characters?
•
Modeling: I will guide/give instructions for the work done in the Socratic Seminar and I will help
guide the discussion of the questions if the students aren’t sure of the answers. I will guide the
students through the Socratic Seminar by sharing my expectations, for example students will be
expected to paraphrase what the person before them discussed and then share their findings of
how to interpret meaning of chapters thirty-one through forty in the novel. I will act as a facilitator,
so if students have not gotten a chance to speak I will point this out and make sure that everyone
gets a chance to share since the students will be receiving a participation grade.
•
Checking for Understanding: I will check for understanding through sampling. I will do this by
posing questions to the whole group then getting answers from representative numbers. The posed
questions will be the ones listed above that go along with the specific chapters in the novel,
chapters thirty-one through forty. I will check for understanding by asking that the students
paraphrase what the person before them said in the discussion. This allows me to interpret
whether or not the students have been listening and understand the conversation going on in class.
•
Guided Practice: I will guide the discussion on my expectations of key components of the Socratic
Seminar. I will instruct students to answer the question that I propose to them. The questions
proposed are about interpreting meaning within the novel and calls for the students to cite
evidence from the text. The Socratic Seminar will be a discussion led by the students. I will act as
facilitator for the discussion so that everyone know what question we are addressing and so
everyone will have the opportunity to share their ideas.
Types of Questions
Productive Questions
• Provide students the
opportunity to create,
analyze, or evaluate
(Tienken, C.S., Goldberg, S.
& DiRocco, D., 2009, p. 4243).
Reproductive Questions
• Prompt students to imitate,
recall, or apply knowledge
and information taught by
the teacher through a
mimicked process.
Other Discussion/Questioning
Strategies
• Overt participation: teacher asks productive questions
that engage students to think and formulate opinions
• Think, pair, share
• Choral response: the class responds together after the
teacher poses a question
(Tienken, C.S., Goldberg, S. & DiRocco, D., 2009, p. 42-43).
Conclusion
Discussions help students to develop cognitively;
discussions prompt students to form their own
opinions and interpretations of a text.
Discussions also help students to construct their
own knowledge of a text with the help of their
classmates; thus making all individuals
responsible for their learning.