Observations of a Pre-service Teacher

As a pre-service teacher, I am spending loads of time in high-school classrooms observing the daily goings-on of public education. I am intrigued by many of the methods used by teachers to accomplish whatever objective it is they wish to work toward. A particularly interesting lesson popped up last week as I was observing an eleventh-grade English class.

First of all, this teacher is very passionate about getting students to learn how to have a discussion, a really good, meaty, make-you-want-to-extend-the-class-hour sort of discussion. So, throughout the school year so far, he has focused on teaching what he believes to be the key aspects that comprise a good discussion. They are:

1) Safety This means that you disagree and question what is being said, but you don't necessarily attack others or, on the other end of the spectrum, simply agree with whatever it is they are saying.

2) Authentic Participation This means that you participate, but you give others the chance to participate as well. You seem honestly involved in the discussion, and you don't try to take over the whole discussion.

3) Challenge This means that, during a discussion, you ask questions that can be answered, but not easily. They are usually open-ended questons.

4) Ownership This means that you talk about the topic the whole time, but you also bring in relevant examples and logic from outside the text (or whatever is being studied) to support your ideas.

Okay, so there's the background for the lesson I witnessed. Students were asked to have a small-group discussion in groups of four in front of the class for fifteen minutes and would be graded on the four aspects of discussion listed above. I have heard this strategy often called a "fishbowl discussion." Not sure how much I like that label, but that's beside the point. Anyway, their topic for discussion? Chapter 21 of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Group after group entered the "fishbowl," but most sat silently for a while. Some of the groups forced their way into a topic, but struggled to continue discussion for more than a few seconds. There was a group that performed particularly well, feeding off each other, really listening to each other, and responding with thoughtful comments. After the fifteen minutes, other students observing the fishbowl would critique what went well and what could be improved.

Interestingly enough, I observed this lesson just two hours before attending my Language and Literacy class in which we talked about oral language, specifically discussion in the classroom. How convenient! In terms of what we discussed in class that day, I can see some of the pros and cons for the high-school lesson I observed.

PROS
The four aspects the eleventh-grade teacher thought so crucial for good discussion were mirrored in what we pre-service teachers came up with. We were asked to think of a memory of a really good discussion we had in school; then, we were to list the reasons why it was a good discussion. Many of us said everyone needs a chance to participate, which directly relates to the idea of authentic participation. We also said that a good discussion involves personal experiences and insights, also known as ownership. We also looked at a quote from Judith Langer which states, "Teachers who beat the odds expect their students not to merely learn together but to sharpen their understandings with, against, and from each other." This relates to the idea of safety in that students should not simply nod their heads in agreement 100% of the time, nor should they rebuke what is being said 100% of the time. This high-school teacher has really narrowed in on specific techniques he believes will foster excellent discussions, and, they apparently correlate to what we as college students believe as well.

CONS
As good as the intentions and the content of the lesson were, however, it was evident that the students were not making too much progress toward the intended objective. Of course, discussion is something that must be practiced in order to improve, but I think there were a few key points that could have been included in this lesson to foster better group discussions. One, taking into account the gradual release of responsibility model, a teacher should first model what it is he wishes to see students do. Then, he guides the students as they practice until they can eventually perform a task without any support. The students in the English class were probably in the middle stage in which some support was still needed. It might have been helpful to have at least one discussion question to get students talking in the beginning rather than waiting for them to come up with their own questions. Also, when silent lulls begin to crop up, give the students some options, some lifelines to get them going again. For instance, when a group seems stagnant, they can appeal to the audience of other students for outside ideas to get their minds thinking again.             

MY ENGLISH CLASSROOM
I find it nerve-racking to critique and evaluate other teachers, simply because I often wonder if a lesson would have looked any different had I been in charge. So, all I can do is ponder the ways in which I can make my own teaching better. I spend quite a lot of time thinking about how discussions will turn out in my classroom. I predict that a HUGE majority of the time spent in class will be discussion-based because talking about books, writing, and other English-y things is essential for learning. I'm not sure I would use the fishbowl method to assess students' speaking and listening skills, but I might use other methods such as giving each student in the group a role to fulfill. These roles might be READER, SCRIBE, or PRESENTER. That way, everyone has a responsibility in making the group discussion work.

In my observations of other people, I have noticed that everyone likes to talk, and most like to listen, but how much a person speaks up or how invested he is in the discussion is based on two things:
1) To whom the person is speaking. Some people don't feel comfortable talking to strangers, people of another background, or even to large groups. Finding the right dynamic of personalities and numbers is important.
2) The topic of discussion. Obviously, people are not going to be invested in a discussion about a topic that bores them, confuses them, or leaves them feeling like the topic is non-applicable to their lives. Finding ways to get people interested and passionate about a topic is the key.

For tips on how to lead discussion in the classroom, visit Iowa State University's webpage.