Three Resources on Oral Language

I recently promised to review and blog about three oral language resources.  Here are my "Coles Notes" on the three articles read, along with a few reflections at the end...

LNS Monograph: Talk About Listening

• Listening is a “pervasive communication event” (LeLoup and Ponterro, 2007)
• Listening is more than hearing – active “meaning making”
• Students benefit from explicit instruction in listening
• “listening, speaking, reading & writing build upon one another”
• Students need to be trained to have “silent conversations”, tune in to their “inner voice”
• Using higher order questioning engages students and helps them to listen more effectively
• Teachers model by being engaged themselves!
• Incorporate relevant and current texts; include newspaper clips and guest speakers
• Listening is more than “not talking”
• Integrate other strategies (Graffiti, Inside Outside circles, Carousel, etc.)
• “teachers engage in constant dialogue with their own inner voice to challenge assumptions, problem solve and deepen understanding of the teaching/learning process.”

Peel's Transformational Practice on Accountable Talk

• Students benefit from extended opportunities for focussed discussion
• When students explain their thinking, they often clarify their understanding.   – only for extraverts though!!!!
• Friend talk vs. formal conversation skills
• Explicit teaching of vocabulary is critical
• Talking and listening is strongly linked to thinking (Fisher, Frey & Rothenberg)
• Co-construct criteria with students, of what effective “talk” sounds like
• Lots of jargon and big words/phrases w/ very few specifics on “how to”
• Think alouds to help students focus on their inner voice (e.g., “what helped you make that connection?)
• Keep interference to a minimum (ask probing questions as needed), but do make use of this assessment opportunity; listen as students are talking, and use this data to make informed decisions about future instructional direction
• Regularly occurring
• Integration of effective questioning
• Importance of peer-peer interaction, student-initiated questions (of each other, of the teacher)
• Integration of other instructional techniques, organizers, etc. (e.g., TPS, placemat, etc.)
• Use of student’s first language ok

Conference Handout
about Grand Conversations

• GCs are characterized by spontaneity rather than predictable questions
• concept of GCs emerges from Peterson and Eeds’ research on using literature in the classroom
• students have a chance to explore new ideas and feelings (hopelessness, love, alienation, etc.)
• Students have a say in choosing issues to talk about
• Respect for other viewpoints is developed
• Students “learn that what they have to say is valued, and that they are expected to have their own opinion”
• Outlines researchers’ journey over five weeks in a Grade 2 classroom – lots of choice built in; very practical ideas!!! :-)
• Asking too many questions limits the rich discussion!
• Prep for the GC with various “warm up” activities (outlined in the handout)
• Begin by asking “Who would like to begin? or What did you think?” (Tompkins, 2007, p. 348); can be done in small or large group
• Wrap up a GC with a summary paraphrase 

Reflections...
A number of themes recurred throughout the three documents.  I have reflected on some of them in another blog post.