Talk Talk Talk: Discussion-Based Classrooms

This classroom-based resource explores how both teachers and students learn the skills of discussion in content areas across the disciplines. Student reflections and teacher talk provide lively examples of how discussion plays a pivotal role in inquiry-based classrooms, developing students’ basic skills of critical analysis and helping them become lifelong learners, able to confront and research any topic.

Contents

Introduction

1.;What Do We Mean by Discussion?

2.;Why This Film?

3.;What is the Difference Between Information-Based and Discussion-Based Teaching?

4.;How Are Classes Organized Around Discussion

5.;What Techniques and Tools Develop and Support Discussion?

6.;How Can Students Be Prepared for Discussion?

7.;How Can Teachers Be Prepared to Lead Discussion?

8.;What Are the Particular Difficulties of Teaching a Discussion-Based Class?