Talk in the Classroom

On different occasions I have seen various types of talk happening in the classroom. For the most part the students and teacher engage in recitation in which most of the talking is done by the teacher with occasional input from students when prompted. The students in the classroom are very free to talk and I think good discussions could take place if given the opportunity. However, in order to do so ground rules would have to be established because sometimes the students have trouble respecting each others ideas. This could be a reason discussion is not used as much but I think teachers should try to push through these problems. As we read, discussions can have a huge impact on struggling readers by giving them an outlet to share their ideas without the anxiety they may normally feel.

I have actually seen the teacher incorporate response-centered talk in the classroom through centers. In their reading centers the students fill out various worksheets that get them thinking about the text. They practice predicting outcomes as well as pose questions that they find intriguing about the text. The teacher had to set these processes up in order for the students to carry them out properly. They practiced first as a class, then as small groups, and finally as individuals. I think that this is the type of scaffolding that is needed. Teachers hoping to use response centered talk need to model the type of thinking to the class so that they gain the comfort to do it on their own. In the classroom I am in, there are some students that need extra prompting from the teacher. However, usually she just needs to give them a couple ideas to build off of and be there for their questions when they have them. It is hard to keep some of these students on task so you have to be there to push them when they start to doubt themselves and give up.