In response to the question “Which of the talk moves seem the most natural for you to use or see yourself using the most? Why?”
Reading Chapin and Anderson’s book Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn taught me a lot of the talk strategies or “moves” that I use on a daily basis. Until this reading, I thought this was just something informal or unplanned that teachers do. After reading this, I understand the intention and significance of the talking moves within classroom discussion.
In my first grade classroom, student involvement is a must in order to maintain the attention of the children. One strategy that my mentor teacher and I use to keep their attention is to frequently ask the children questions. This forces the students to pay attention because they never know what questions will be asked and when. It also allows the children to take part in active learning. Many children in first grade are not familiar with the correct terminology when it comes to math discussions. After we ask a question and listen carefully for their response, we often find that we need to re-ask the question or ask for clarification. Revoicing is a technique that is repeatedly utilized to clarify or reiterate what the child had said. This shows the student that we are really listening to what they are saying. It also demonstrates to the child that what they are saying is meaningful and that they are a valued member of our classroom community. Lastly, it clarifies thing for the other students. They may not have completely understood the question or answer that the student gave but will now comprehend the topic of conversation. This most likely will lead to an extension or expansion of information by that same student (talk move 4) or another child to chime in with their thoughts or opinions. I believe that revoicing is very significant to a successful classroom discussion. It is also extremely easy for a teacher to do which makes it possible to take place without difficulty.
Kristen, I thought it interesting that you too chose revoicing as the type of talk that would be easiest for you to implement in the classroom. I believe, just as you, that revoicing is definitely an essential component to making a child feel part of the classroom community, feel as though their answers are valid, expand on their thinking, and also help to clarify their ideas for other learners. You mentioned that in your first grade classroom that you and your teacher keep the learners attention by questioning them about math concepts. I am curious as to what types of questions you ask your learners. Being in the primary grades, I unfortunately find I see way too much IRE questions. It is for this reason that I was wondering what types of questions you and your teacher ask the learners. I am also curious if your class engages in classroom discussions in which the learners dominate the discussion and your teacher just acts as a facilitator. I have yet to see an early elementary math class in which the children talk to one another and lead the discussion. Thus, I was interested to see if your class successfully engages in student directed discussions, and if so, how your teacher introduced that form of discussion at the beginning of the year. Lastly, I was wondering how you and your teacher help teach the learners math terminology. Do you place the correct terminology into its appropriate place when you revoice a learner’s answer?
ReplyDeleteKristen, my mentor teacher and I also try to ask the students a lot of questions to keep their attention, and apparently all three of us think revoicing is a good strategy! Sometimes I find myself asking specific students questions in order to try to get them to repeat things that I have just said. For example, I will give a direction about what to do first and then I will ask a specific student, "FRANK, what is the first thing you are supposed to do when you sit down with your paper?" and hopefully FRANK will answer with whatever I have just said. I also agree that revoicing is a good way for the teacher to show the student that they are listening to the student. Sometimes if a student makes a valid point and I think they know what they are saying i will have them repeat their point for the entire class instead of repeating their point for them.
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