Noteblog Discussions

Throughout the last semester and into this one, I have not seen very much discussions in my classroom at all. When I taught my own lessons last semester, I tried to get discussions going. However, since these students had not even had much practice with recitation type discussions, they were a little unsure of what to do. They wanted to raise their hands and be called on as well as have the questions posed for them. My discussions turned into recitation style discussions. I feel that this is because in other grades, this was all they had practice with. Also, there has not been any discussions led by my CT all year, as far as what I have seen.

I have discussed this with my CT. She has told me that she does not like "controlled chaos." She said that that is what she feels discussions will turn into. She was also very surprised that I was able to handle the students working in small groups for both my social studies and science lessons that I taught last semester. She told me that although she saw learning taking place, it was too chaotic for her and that she was glad I could handle it.

As far as what I have seen in language arts this semester, The CT just puts questions on the Smart Board and has each student answer them individually. They then switch papers and correct them. This is pretty much how all of her lessons go. There is no discussion or group work, just quiet, individual work.

I would like to use more discussion in my lessons this semester. I know that I will have to start out small and make them feel comfortable talking without raising their hands or having the question posed to them. I feel that having them discuss in small groups last semester was a good start. Hopefully I can get them moving towards more of a full class discussion later on where everyone is able to give their ideas.