As students gained more awareness of how discussions work, the teachers and I showed students examples of less effective discussions and students used the rubric to score them and discuss their goals for their own discussions. Finally, we used the rubric as a reflection tool at the end of their own discussions to help them set individual goals. Our goal for them always was to transfer the formal aspects of conversational norms and moves to their own, informal conversations as they worked and interacted with each other.
Principle 4: Encourage and support students in initiating conversations.
As McKeown and Beck (2015) and Nystrand and Gamoran (1991) described, student-led, inquiry-based discussions are much more beneficial for learning than teacher-led discussions, yet teachers will likely experience hesitation from students in the beginning, given their lack of experience. After all, it sometimes feels safer to answer questions than ask them, probably because they are used to it, and especially if they’re not sure what questions to ask. Even after students have observed and practiced with feedback, they will still need support through a gradual release of responsibility until their conversations feel natural and they gain independence. In the following example (Richardson, 2017), an intervention group was minimally prompted to discuss Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney. Although routines and procedures for book discussions had been established with previous books, there was still some hesitation about how to get started.
Literature discussion rubrics also included procedural items, like:
1. I brought my reflection log and book to the group.
2. I asked questions to enhance the conversation.
3. I kept the conversation going by adding to my peers’ ideas.
4. I supported my thinking with evidence from the text.
5. I made connections to other texts or my own experiences.