WEBVTT 00:00:05.016 --> 00:00:05.083 [Music] 00:00:05.083 --> 00:00:07.156 My name is Janice Dole. 00:00:07.226 --> 00:00:09.786 I'm Professor of Education at the University of Utah. 00:00:10.646 --> 00:00:13.336 Providing opportunities for middle and high school students 00:00:13.376 --> 00:00:16.916 to have extended discussions is really critically important 00:00:17.226 --> 00:00:19.396 for their growth and learning as readers. 00:00:20.026 --> 00:00:24.586 We want students to become critical thinkers as they read and analyze text. 00:00:24.906 --> 00:00:26.446 They need to interpret text. 00:00:26.526 --> 00:00:28.156 They need to make generalizations. 00:00:28.226 --> 00:00:29.566 They need to draw conclusions. 00:00:29.946 --> 00:00:34.456 They really need to be able to think critically and analytically about what they're reading. 00:00:34.886 --> 00:00:39.446 A great mechanism for accomplishing this is through extended discussions. 00:00:40.006 --> 00:00:45.376 When students have opportunities to talk in extended discussions, they talk with their peers, 00:00:45.636 --> 00:00:48.476 they make arguments, they express their point of view, 00:00:48.876 --> 00:00:53.496 they critically analyze what they're reading, and in general they do all the kinds of things 00:00:53.496 --> 00:00:56.966 that we want them to do to become critical thinkers and readers. 00:00:57.316 --> 00:00:59.446 If in a text discussion, for example, 00:00:59.646 --> 00:01:03.506 students ask a critical question such as "Well, why do you think that?" 00:01:04.046 --> 00:01:06.326 students then, when they go to read on their own, 00:01:06.446 --> 00:01:09.236 are going to ask themselves those same kinds of questions. 00:01:09.476 --> 00:01:10.366 "Why do you think that?" 00:01:10.366 --> 00:01:12.056 or, "Why does the author think that?" 00:01:12.636 --> 00:01:17.806 So, in this way, it's really important in terms of improving students' reading comprehension 00:01:18.206 --> 00:01:21.276 that they have opportunities to have extended discussions. 00:01:21.556 --> 00:01:26.616 They internalize those questions, and that kind of thinking as they read then themselves. 00:01:27.346 --> 00:01:30.756 When students engage in these kinds of extended discussions, 00:01:31.056 --> 00:01:34.176 they have lots of opportunities that other students don't have. 00:01:34.526 --> 00:01:40.016 Some of those include the opportunity to work with each other, not just the teacher, 00:01:40.096 --> 00:01:44.446 not just to answer their teacher's questions but to actually answer each other's questions. 00:01:44.806 --> 00:01:47.506 They would not normally have an opportunity to do that. 00:01:48.166 --> 00:01:50.546 It's important that the questions that are asked 00:01:50.546 --> 00:01:53.536 in an extended discussion are authentic questions, 00:01:53.846 --> 00:01:58.486 and what I mean by that is they're not questions that the teacher will ask where he 00:01:58.486 --> 00:02:03.646 or she already knows the answer, but they're questions that really arise out of the discussion. 00:02:04.096 --> 00:02:07.936 They're debatable questions, or they may present a point of view. 00:02:08.156 --> 00:02:09.866 Someone may present a counterpoint. 00:02:10.136 --> 00:02:12.046 They're questions that are real questions. 00:02:12.616 --> 00:02:17.666 Some teachers might think, "Well, this is a great strategy to use in AP classes 00:02:18.106 --> 00:02:21.186 and advanced classes but not for my students. 00:02:21.186 --> 00:02:22.576 This wouldn't work for my students." 00:02:22.886 --> 00:02:26.436 Well, what we would argue very strongly is that these kinds 00:02:26.436 --> 00:02:28.676 of discussions work for all students. 00:02:28.926 --> 00:02:33.356 Some students may need a little more time to get used to an extended discussion, 00:02:33.696 --> 00:02:37.076 and they may need your help and your support in learning how 00:02:37.076 --> 00:02:40.016 to think critically and deeply about ideas. 00:02:40.356 --> 00:02:41.506 All students can do it. 00:02:41.506 --> 00:02:42.656 They do it all the time. 00:02:42.986 --> 00:02:47.816 It's just are they going to do it about the kinds of things that you are interested in 00:02:47.876 --> 00:02:49.386 and you want your students to learn. 00:02:49.736 --> 00:02:55.016 The teacher plays a critical role in allowing extended discussions to take place 00:02:55.116 --> 00:03:00.176 and providing the kind of atmosphere in which these discussions can occur. 00:03:01.166 --> 00:03:04.896 From the very first day where the teacher begins an extended discussion, 00:03:04.996 --> 00:03:08.236 he or she can make or break the discussion. 00:03:09.046 --> 00:03:14.106 A teacher can make the discussion by responding positively 00:03:14.446 --> 00:03:16.486 and supportively to students' comments. 00:03:16.806 --> 00:03:21.786 A teacher can break a discussion very quickly by turning a student off, 00:03:22.056 --> 00:03:24.936 rejecting an idea or a thought that a student has. 00:03:25.646 --> 00:03:31.326 So, the teacher, first of all, needs to create a very supportive environment where it's okay 00:03:31.326 --> 00:03:37.446 to express ideas, where it's okay if you get something wrong, where it's okay to take risks. 00:03:37.916 --> 00:03:40.656 That kind of an environment is the kind of environment 00:03:40.656 --> 00:03:43.166 in which an extended discussion is going to thrive. 00:03:43.566 --> 00:03:49.056 It's also important for teachers to create procedures and routines for students 00:03:49.546 --> 00:03:53.396 that provide them with an environment where they know what to do 00:03:53.396 --> 00:03:55.326 and how to have an extended discussion. 00:03:56.026 --> 00:03:58.346 Teachers may begin with cooperative learning groups, 00:03:58.396 --> 00:04:03.116 and they may assign students to particular roles in those cooperative learning groups. 00:04:03.536 --> 00:04:05.646 One student may be the leader, for example. 00:04:05.646 --> 00:04:07.446 One student may be the note-taker. 00:04:07.776 --> 00:04:11.906 Another student might be the manager, the task manager for the group. 00:04:12.336 --> 00:04:17.846 In this way, there is a structured environment for students to have the extended discussion, 00:04:18.116 --> 00:04:21.745 and this helps make the procedures a lot easier for students. 00:04:22.276 --> 00:04:26.586 Schools can support teachers as they learn about extended discussions. 00:04:27.116 --> 00:04:32.236 I think the first thing that teachers have to experience is an extended discussion themselves. 00:04:32.646 --> 00:04:37.646 I think teachers need to spend some time talking about an issue, a problem, a topic, 00:04:37.646 --> 00:04:41.356 maybe a controversial one, in an extended discussion themselves. 00:04:41.726 --> 00:04:44.606 They need to experience what that feels like as a student. 00:04:44.876 --> 00:04:47.586 I think that's really one important way to help them 00:04:48.026 --> 00:04:51.156 to implement extended discussions in their classroom. 00:04:51.546 --> 00:04:54.436 The point is that teachers have the experience themselves, 00:04:54.786 --> 00:04:57.556 and it's then much easier for them to see what it looks like. 00:04:58.116 --> 00:04:59.506 The other kind of support, I think, 00:04:59.546 --> 00:05:03.326 that's often very helpful is to have another teacher-for example, 00:05:03.326 --> 00:05:09.196 a peer or a coach-watch what a teacher does as she tries to present an extended discussion 00:05:09.196 --> 00:05:12.476 to students and then provide some feedback to that teacher. 00:05:12.776 --> 00:05:16.746 That level of support at the classroom level in teachers everyday 00:05:16.746 --> 00:05:20.976 at work experiences really seems to help them figure out how to do it on their own. 00:05:20.976 --> 00:05:21.000 [Music]