Essential Functions
• Teacher prepares for classroom discussion by establishing a classroom climate that
promotes active participation.
• Teacher prepares to assess classroom discussion and has a well-developed plan and
implements a plan for both student and group evaluation.
• Teacher creates a scaffold of student understanding of the context for the discussion.
• Teacher plans and models what classroom discussion looks like and sounds like.
• Teacher observes and monitors student participation and thinking throughout the
discussion process.
• The teacher has created a plan for both student and group evaluation of classroom
discussion.
• Teacher provides high-quality opportunities for group as well as individual selfassessment.
Learning Package Components
• Monologic and dialogic talk
• Functions of classroom discussion
• Academic conversations
• Benefits of discourse
• Techniques for implementing focused discussion
• Assessing learning during discourse
• Feedback during discourse and questioning
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