Cultivating Students’ Academic Conversation Skills

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CultivatingStudents’AcademicConversationSkills

JeffZwiersPortland,MaineBREAKOUTSESSIONJeffzwiers.org/October19

Understanding Language Language,Literacy,&LearningintheContentAreas JeffZwiers

Evaluate & Compare(Argue)

Listening-Speaking

Pose 1st Idea

Listening-Speaking

Support Idea Listening-Speaking

ClarifyIdea

Listening-Speaking

Build

& Choose

ASLSigns

REVIEW:ConstructiveConversationSkills


Pose 2nd Idea

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NumberedHeadsTogetherCreateaposterWritealabreportSolveawordproblemWriters’WorkshopSimulationAnalyzeapaintingDramatizationDebateGiveOne,GetOne*

FourCornersGames(Bingo,Jeopardy)GalleryWalkWholeClassDiscussionThink-Pair-Share*LiteratureCirclesJigsawSocraticSeminar

Readers’WorkshopWriteaPrequel/SequelMakeaPodcastAnticipationGuidesHomework


e.g.,GalleryWalk


BEFORE- Tendstoconsistof:

• Onepersonrepeatingsamedescriptionofaposter

• Multipleotherslistening• Doittomaketeacher

happyandgetoutofseats

AFTER- Withfeaturesapplied:

• Giveapurposefortalkingandlisteningtosharer(e.g.,Youwillusetheinformationtohelpyoudecidewhichpersonsbelonginourhistorybook…)

• Postersshouldbeondifferenttopics• Aspresentertalks,“audience”promptsfor

clarificationandsupportofideas• Teachermodelsuseofskillsbylisteners• Listenersparaphrasetomakesuretheygotit.• Presenterpushesselftoimprovemessageeach

time

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QUANTITY⎕ #ofTurns⎕ Lengthofturns⎕ Equity

QUALITYUseconversationskills:

⎕ Pose ⎕ Clarify ⎕ Support ⎕ Evaluatetoauthenticallybuildandargueusefulideas

OTHERKEYSKILLS⎕ Listening⎕ Speaking⎕ Thinking⎕ Content⎕ Nonverbal⎕ ValuingIdeas


PROMPT:⎕ Useful&EngagingPurpose⎕ Needtotalk+Uniqueideas⎕ ClearandHelpfulDirections

2.SilentSupportCards(fromtheCOAT)

Askforan(another)exampletosupporttheidea

Paraphrasewhatyourpartnersaid

Askyourpartnertoclarify(Why…How…)

Showthatyouarelisteningwithyoureyes,nods,posture

Poseanalternativeideaandstarttobuilditup

Stayfocusedontheconversationprompt/purpose

Encourageyourpartnertotalkmore

Summarizetheconversationupuntilnow


Buildupthefirstideafirst

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A:So,whatdoyouthinkthepoemisabout?B:Ithinkmaybesomethinglike,Yougotta be

yourself.Whatdoyouthink?A:Ithinkit’saboutbeingoutinnature,that

it’sgoodtoseeplants…Oh,OK,So,whydoyouthinkit’sabout‘beyourself’?

B: Cuz itsayshedoesn’twanttobegrowinginclustersinthevalley,andstandalone,andlikenotstuckinapotofdirt.

A: Ilikethat.Andthetitleis“Identity”B: Yeah…

Howdoesthathelpus?A:Identitymeanshowyou’redifferent...

UsingtheCards– 5th Gr.ELAIdentity (excerpt,byJulioNoboa Polanco)

Letthembeasflowers,alwayswatered,fed,guarded,admired,butharnessedtoapotofdirt.I'dratherbeatall,uglyweed,clingingoncliffs,likeaneaglewind-waveringabovehigh,jaggedrocks.

I'dratherbeunseen,andifthenshunnedbyeveryone,thantobeapleasant-smellingflower,growinginclustersinthefertilevalley,wherethey'repraised,handled,andpluckedbygreedy,humanhands.

IfIcouldstandalone,strongandfree,I'dratherbeatall,uglyweed.

Buildupthefirstideafirst

How does the title support the idea?

Using the Cards – 7th Gr. Science

1Karla: So,whydosquidshaveink?2Maya: Forwriting.3Karla: Whatdoyoumean?4Maya:Inkisforwriting.5Karla: Squidscan’twrite…

OK,sowhatdoyoumeanthattheywrite?6Maya:Notwithpenslikeus,butlikemaybeonarock.Liketomarktheirplace.7Karla: Idon’tunderstandthat,butIthinktheygotinkto..,theyescape.Likethepicture.8Maya: OK…

Howdotheyescapewithink?9Karla: Theyletitoutanditmakesacloudsothey,youknow,canswimaway.10Maya: Andmaybeitpoisonsthefish?11Karla: Idon’tknow;Ithinkjellyfishhavepoison.12Maya: Ihatejellyfish:thepoisonones.13Karla: Peoplediefromtheirstings,Ithink.

Askyourpartnertoclarify(Why…How…Whatdoyoumeanby)

Askyourpartnertoclarify(Why…How…Whatdoyoumeanby)

Stayfocusedontheconversationprompt/purpose

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UsingtheCards

Alex: Whatcausedthefall?Carlos: Thebooksaiddiseaseandwar.Alex: Italsosaidcropsandpolitics.Carlos: Allofthem,Iguess.


Mario: Ithinkit’sdivide7in25,butit’snot,notdivideeasy.Sam: Justchangeit.Mario: What’sthatmean?Sam: Change7to21.Mario:Wecan’tdothat.Sam: Yeswecan.Andit’saloteasiernow.

Constructive Conversations in 9th ELA

Context

• Sheltered9thgradeEnglishclass

• Intermediateandearlyadvancedspeakers.

• HavereadToKillaMockingbirdandOfMiceandMen

• Focalconversationskill:supportingyourideaswithexamplesfromatext.

• Somepromptsareontheboard

ThisClip• Prompt:“Whatdoyouthinkanimportantthemeinthisbookis?”• Howdotheyclarifyandsupportideas?(“Whatdoescouragemean?”“Canyouelaborateonthat?”“Canyougiveanexamplefromanotherbook?“Howdoesthisapplytoourlife?”)

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YourTurn(Triads)"[...]Ifyoudon'twantahousebuilt,hidethenailsandwood.Ifyoudon'twantamanunhappypolitically,don'tgivehimtwosidestoaquestiontoworryhim;givehimone.Betteryet,givehimnone.Lethimforgetthereissuchathingaswar.Ifthegovernmentisinefficient,topheavy,andtax-mad,betteritbeallthosethanthatpeopleworryoverit.Peace,Montag.GivethepeopleconteststheywinbyrememberingthewordstomorepopularsongsorthenamesofstatecapitalsorhowmuchcornIowagrewlastyear.Cramthemfullofnoncombustibledata,chockthemsodamnedfullof'facts'theyfeelstuffed,butabsolutely'brilliant'withinformation.Thenthey'llthinkthey'rethinking,they'llgeta sense ofmotionwithoutmoving.Andthey'llbehappy,becausefactsofthatsortdon'tchange.Don'tgivethemanyslipperystufflikephilosophyorsociologytotiethingsupwith.Thatwayliesmelancholy.(Bradbury,1953)

Workwithapartnertoco-constructwhatyouthinkisthemostimportantthemefromthistextandhowitmightconnecttotoday.Builduptwodifferentthemesandthenevaluatewhichisstronger.

Building collaborative argumentation skills with the

ARGUMENT BALANCE SCALE

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ACTIVITY FOR SUPPORTING IDEAS:ARGUMENT SCALE

Claim/Position Claim/Position

3.ArgumentBalanceScale

Should pizza be a reward for reading?Yes No

Reason/Evidnc/ExpGetskidstoread

Reason/Evidnc/ExpPrevents dropouts,

crime, jail costs

Reason/Evidnc/ExpKids need to eat

Preventdropouts&jailcosts

Getsthemtoread

Kidsneedtoeat

Stayafterschool

Pizzatastesgood


Nothealthyfood

Expensivetorun

Needtoexercise

Notgoodmotivationforreading

Somekidsdon’tlikepizza

Understanding Language/SCALE

ArgumentScale

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Should pizza be a reward for reading?

Claim/Position Claim/PositionYes No

Reason/Evidnc/ExpNot good motivation

Reason/Evidnc/ExpNot healthy food

Reason/Evidnc/ExpExpensive

Compare the evidence on both

sides (use criteria)

Reason/Evidnc/ExpGetskidstoread

Reason/Evidnc/ExpPrevents dropouts,

crime, jail costs

Reason/Evidnc/ExpKids need to eat

Understanding Language/SCALE

ArgumentScale


2D-Scale

ArgumentScale

Choose a side and argue why it “weighs more”

3-DVersion

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VideoExample

CONTEXT5th gradeLanguageArts/ELDclassAdvancedandearlyadvancedpartners.

Afterreadinganarticleonaprogramthatgivespizzaasrewardforreading,studentsdiscusstheiropinionsontheissue.

THISCLIP• Watchforsupportingopinions, buildingonideas,andclarifying• Noticeifandhowthebalancescalehelpsstudentstoextendtalk• Considernextstepsbasedonthisconversation

Growing conversation skills in math with the

Math Paired Conversation Protocol

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Math Paired Conversation ProtocolSupposeittakestheAlmondRiver4years,byitself,tofillareservoir,andCampbellCreek,onitsown,6yearstofillit.Ifbothareflowingintothereservoir,howlongwillittaketofillit?Workwithyourpartnertocomeupwithtwoormorewaystosolvethis,justifyingideasalongtheway.

ConversationPrompts

ELALiterature:CollaborativelydecidewhetherornotAtticusshouldtakeastandtodefendTomRobinson.Co-buildbothsidesupwithevidencefromthetextandexplainhowtheevidencesupportseachside.Thendecidewhichsideweighsmoreandwhy.Usesupportlanguagesuchassupport,evidence,because…Alsoremembertouseeffectivenonverbalcommunication.

q Thereisanengagingpurposeforconversingthat(a)connectstolessonobjectives,and(b)requiresthinking&doingsomethingwithideas(e.g.,create,clarify,argue(=>consensus),decide,rank,solve,evaluate,combine,compare,choose,fortify,build,&transform)(+Agency)

q Thereisaneedtotalk(infogaps;bringuniqueideas)

q Therearecleardirectionsforhowtoconverse(languageuse,thinking,contentconcepts…)


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ConversationPrompts


ELAExpository:Decidewhetherornottoraisethemaxnumberofhoursperdaythatteenagersshouldusescreens.Engageinacollaborativeargumentconversationinwhichyouandyourpartnerbuildupbothsidesoftheissueand.Useevidenceanddiscussthecredibilityofsources.Discussandnegotiatetypesofscreentime,ifnecessary,foryourfinaldecision.Useevaluationlanguagesuchasoutweigh,weak/strongbecause,credible,etc.


Math:Workwithyourpartnertocreateawordproblemthatrequiresthesolvertosolveitusingtwoequations.Bothofyoucontributeideasandthendecidewhichwouldmakeforthemostinterestingproblemforyourclassmatestosolve.Makesuretheproblemisclear;itcancontainextrainformationandnumbers,ifyouwanttobetricky.Makesuretosetupwhatishappeninganduseconsistentunits.

ConversationPrompts


ELAExpository:Decidewhetherornottoraisethemaxnumberofhoursperdaythatteenagersshouldusescreens.Engageinacollaborativeargumentconversationinwhichyouandyourpartnerbuildupbothsidesoftheissueand.Useevidenceanddiscussthecredibilityofsources.Discussandnegotiatetypesofscreentime,ifnecessary,foryourfinaldecision.Useevaluationlanguagesuchasoutweigh,weak/strongbecause,credible,etc.


Math:Workwithyourpartnertocreateawordproblemthatrequiresthesolvertosolveitusingtwoequations.Bothofyoucontributeideasandthendecidewhichwouldmakeforthemostinterestingproblemforyourclassmatestosolve.Makesuretheproblemisclear;itcancontainextrainformationandnumbers,ifyouwanttobetricky.Makesuretosetupwhatishappeninganduseconsistentunits.

Science:Inyourconversation,comparethedatathatyougotinthelabwiththatofyourpartner.Ifthedataaredifferent,jointlycometopossibleexplanationsforthis;ifsimilar,explainwhy.Makesureyourexplanationsareclearandusescientificlanguagesuchas:Webelievethatdifferencesinthedataaredueto…”Comeupwithafinalconclusionthatdescribeswhatyoulearned—orweresupposedtolearn—fromthelab.

History:Youwillco-authoralettertoahistoryjournal.ConversewithyourpartnertodecideifLincolnwasmoreinterestedinabolishingslaveryormoreinterestedinpreservingtheUnion.Useevidencetosupporttheclaimsoneachsideandevaluatethevalueoftheevidence,alongwithanybiasthatmightexistinthesources.Usehistorianlanguagesuchas“Thisisstrongevidencebecause…”

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NEXT STEPS

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Cultivating Students’ Academic Conversation Skills

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