Engaging Students:

Discussion Based Learning

The Conversation of Learning
Questioning, Discussion
Becky Groves, M.Ed.
University of Virginia

Entrance Ticket
Why is discussion an important part of
the learning process?

The Elephant in the Room

Trying to improve class discussion is like
trying to eat an elephant; if you try to do it
all at once, youll kill yourself.

You have to have a question

before an answer means
anything.

Types of Discussions
Guided Discussion
Used to clarify
meaning and develop
concepts
Students are
developing
understanding of the
topic
Teacher is a guide

Reflective Discussion
Used to solve
problems, think
critically
Students have a solid
understanding of the
concepts being
discussed
Teacher is a
participant
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Questioning/Discussion Strategies:

Story Impressions
Think-pair-share
Sticky note discussions
Read and Say
Something/Grand
Conversation
Seed Discussions

Carousel
Discussion Webs
Jigsaw
QAR (Question-Answer
Relationships)
Reciprocal Teaching

Questioning
Teacher generated versus student generated
Why should we teach kids how to ask their own
questions?
Want kids to understand that good readers actively
question while they read
Sign of a reader who is monitoring his/her
comprehension
Actively engages student during reading
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Authentic Questioning
Student derived questions based on their
reading
A way to create wonderful questions for a lively
discussion as different interpretations of the text
emerge.
What puzzles one child might not puzzle another
Its a question they have- its authentic!

Seed Discussions
A way for kids to lead their own discussions
As each student reads, a topic is identified important to
his/her own thinking
Good seeds lead to lots of discussion
List of possible good seeds:
Questions I dont understand
Interesting/surprising things
Things that remind me of something else
Descriptive writing I enjoyed

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Seed Topic Procedure

Model correct discussion behavior
Continually model good and poor seeds
Have four students say something about a
seed before moving to the next
Use sticky notes to mark good seeds while
reading

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Alice in Wonderland
Good Seed:
Im not sure if Alice is
having a dream or not.
If so, what do the things
in her dream stand for?
Is the Queen a symbol
for her sister?

Bad Seed:

What color dress

does Alice wear?

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The Hunger Games

Strong Seed

Weak Seed

I am not sure why the

Capital is so
determined to keep
the Districts enslaved.

I think Katniss is very

brave.

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Strong vs. Weak discussion seeds

Chapter 5, The Giver by Lois Lowry
Which is best???

I dont know why the Stirrings must be

controlled with medication.
I wonder if Fiona is pretty.
Jonas seems embarrassed to share his
dream.
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Lets Try It Out!

Work in Small Groups
to create some seed
discussion points
using the reading
Grandmothers
Table

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Harry Singer (1978) contends that

whenever readers are involved in
asking questions, they are engaged
in active comprehension.

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Sticky Notes Discussions

Discussion
Notes placed near section to discuss
Meet with partner, small group, whole group, and share
Notes are used to refer back to text
Students can leave notes in the text for another student
to read and respond
Notes can be moved into reading log
Comments can become future writing topics
Use notes to draw visual representations/key pictures

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Lets Try It Out!

Use the article,
Republic of
Cockroaches to
have a Sticky Note
Discussion.

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Literature Roundtable Discussions

Students all respond
to the same question
in terms of their
current independent
reading book.
Topics can be about
general themes,
quotes, or literary
elements.

Examples:
The more things
change, the more
things stay the same.
Nothing happens
unless first we
dream.

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WHAT WE WANT TO AVOID

Dear Carolyn Reeder,
I have read your book, Shades of Gray. I
had to read your book for school as a Reading
assignment. My class had to read it and do a worksheet
for each chapter. We all hated the worksheets, but
enjoyed the book. We had to write out character
sketches of Will, Jed, Ella, Meg, and Hank. Afterwards
we began about 15 projects-this letter is one. Our class
was split into groupsmy group has three people. I
wonder what it is like to hear that your book has turned
into a bunch of assignments and projects.
(1993 letter from a boy in Kentucky)

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At one magical instant in your early

childhood, the page of a book- that string
of confused, alien ciphers- shivered into
meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up
their secrets; at that moment, whole
universes opened. You became,
irrevocably, a reader.
Alberto Manguel from A History of Reading, 1996
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And to sum it all up

Grand conversation time!

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