HLTP: Leading a Class Discussion (Growth)

Class discussions are by far, my favorite classroom activities.

They are already so much fun for my students and me, and I have
worked hard this year to make them even more meaningful. Attached
are two videos: a class debate we did after the Hamlet anticipation
guide in the fall, and a debate we did after the Frankenstein
anticipation guide this spring. By comparing the two videos, one can
see that in the most recent one, students are much more engaged with
one another, which was my main goal with this high-leverage teaching
practice.
In the fall, I thought the Hamlet debate went rather well. My
students were respectful, and all made good points about parents
treating their children equally or not. However, I saw a couple things
that could be improved. Firstly, I realized that I needed to talk less. I
noticed that I basically reworded a students argument or added in my
own opinion after almost every student participated. I essentially
needed to remove myself from the debate just a bit, so students would
not see me as the sole leader in the room.
Secondly, I noticed that almost all of my students from the fall
semester talked through me during the debate. Rather than looking at
another student when responding to that students point, they would
look at me. I completely understand why they did this. Its natural;
they look at their teachers all day long. I also give them my undivided
attention when they speak, so it seems normal to look at their listener.
I needed a way to make the conversation flow from student to student,
without any teacher interference.
In the Frankenstein debate, I would argue that the improvement
is clear. In order to remove myself a bit from the conversation, I placed
myself behind my students, instead of in the middle of the room, so I
was no longer the center of the action. My students no longer felt
inclined to send the conversation through me, since I was not in their
direct view. Instead, they faced each other. In the second debate, only
one student directed her argument at me, which was when I said,
Make sure youre talking to them. Im not debating. She smiled and
quickly redirected her words to the opposing side. By taking a seat
among my students, I made myself less of a leader, which, ironically,
made me more of a leader.
I knew that removing myself from the center of the debate would
help the conversation flow between students, but I anticipated that
naturally, they would turn to me to see who would be called on next. In
the Hamlet video, you can see many students with their hands up,
waiting for their turn to speak. I, of course, chose who would speak

next. This was just another way that the conversation was teacher-led.
I knew that I needed a concrete way to move the conversation from
student to student, without the need for teacher interjection. The
solution came in the form of a koosh ball. Using a ball to facilitate a
classroom debate was one of the easiest, but most useful tactics Ive
used this year. Instead of raising their hands and looking at me for
permission to talk, my students raised their hands and waited for their
classmates to toss them the ball, allowing them to speak.
The koosh ball was the perfect solution for many reasons. Firstly,
it allowed students to step up and be independent. They no longer
looked to me for instruction. Instead, they had to make the kind of
judgment calls that teachers make. They actually had to think about
whom they should throw the ball to. If a certain student had spoken
five times already, they knew that they should give someone else the
chance to talk.
The ball also made my job as a facilitator a lot easier. Of course,
students no longer looked to me for the confirmation to speak.
However, it also cut down on the amount of times that I had to calm
the class. Debates can get pretty intense in our classroom (which I
love), but the koosh ball helped remind everyone exactly who was
supposed to be talking. It was a tool that helped the class govern
themselves. Many times, if a student talked out of turn, cutting off
someone else, a student would simply remind him or her to respect the
ball, and we would move on with the debate.
Overall, although I enjoyed the Hamlet debate in the fall, I am
extremely proud of the growth that can be seen in the Frankenstein
debate from this spring. By taking a step back from the conversation
and implementing tools such as a speaking ball, the conversation
flowed much more freely between students, without as much teacher
interjection. As a student teacher, those are my favorite kind of lessons
the kind where the teacher can sit back and watch her students think
critically about the subject matter, argue their opinions, and listen to
others, while staying on task the whole time. Lessons like these
debates are very fun for students, and they become so much more
meaningful when we give them the independence they need in order
to better learn from each other.