BYU Teacher Education Department., Dept. of Ed. Psychology, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, & CREDE (n.d.). Instructional Conversations for Equitable Participation. Equity Press. https://equitypress.org/iceps
Teacher and student interactions in small group instructional conversations foster opportunity for every student to contribute as meaningful participants.
Note: Scores not included
4a: Teacher Promotes Talk from Everyone
Teacher consistently provides opportunities for students to contribute
T: “Okay, tell me what to write.”
T: “So it helps us to remember the story better, it helps us to feel what the characters are feeling?”
Teacher and student talk here is considered close to equal, though teacher talk may appear high due to modeling expression, questioning, restating, etc.**
This may occur for certain reasons
This could be the case when working with younger aged students
There may be times when higher teacher talk is necessary in order to explain, model, and elaborate on a topic or lesson
Teacher provides clear expectations
T: “I want everyone to share what they are thinking, okay?”
Each student takes turns sharing a connection and the teacher writes each contribution down on chart paper
T: “Now, let’s see about the connections. Can I start? I’ll show you mine and then you can do your own.”
T: “You were like Tommy? You guys were kind of the same. So when you make those connections, you guys are kind of the same.”
Teacher adds her own and all three students’ contributions to the group poster
Teacher provides the opportunity for all students to participate, share, and reflect on others’ comments and contributions
T: “Can you guys read this with me?”
Teacher appears attentive to students and clearly provides nonverbal cues of active listening, which helps to create a positive climate that encourages students to feel comfortable in sharing
4b: Teacher Distributes Attention Equitably
Teacher consistently rephrases and expands on students’ contributions
Teacher wants students to guide her in what to include on the poster and asks follow-up questions
Examples of T’s follow-up questions: “Did that help you understand Tommy a little better?”; “What did the book remind you of?”; “So how was that a connection? How does that help you understand this story?”
When other students are talking more often, the teacher consistently brings in quieter student to share and does so in a comfortable way
One student is less verbally expressive during the activity but is open and willing to share when prompted by the teacher
T: “Let’s give her a chance to share”
T: “Oh I remember that part, (turns to quieter student) do you remember that part?”
When asking students questions, teacher presents with positive and supportive affect and gives students wait time to demonstrate belief in students’ ability to contribute
4c: Teacher Equitably Redirects as Needed
Students are largely on-task so there appears to be no need for teacher redirection of student behavior
There are brief moments of distraction within the classroom, but the teacher is able to quickly and subtly bring students back to the task
4d: Students Contribute Meaningfully
Students listen, share, and read
With teacher guidance, students relate their personal experiences to events and characters in the story to help them understand the story better
T: “When Tommy’s grandpa was sick…so how did that help you understand the story? It felt the same?” / S nods.
Students also show nonverbal participation and engagement when not sharing
Even the student who contributes less verbally still demonstrates engagement in the activity
Through connections to personal experiences, students appear able to contribute meaningfully to the activity
T: “Im wondering, we’re wondering about how that is like your life. Is there anything that has happened to you that reminds you of this story?” / S describes the experience of his mother teaching him how to walk.
**Regarding talk ratio: see notes in 4a
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