I’ve been engaging in small group discourse with my Math students for 6 years. I figured I “knew a thing or two because I’d seen a thing or two,” to quote Farmers Insurance commercials. So when I recently attended a professional development course on Engaging in Discourse in Small Group Instruction, I figured I’d learn little but be able to share a lot.
The PD I went to was taught at Region 17 Education Service Center by Carol Julian (she’s awesome and if I ever get the chance to attend anything else she teaches, I will be first in line). One of the resources she based her instruction on is called, “Making Sense of Mathematics for Teaching the Small Group” by Juli K. Dixon, Lisa A. Brooks, and Melissa R. Carli. Here is a picture of the cover:
I loved the book. It will be a resource I will use again and again.
A feature I love! Is that there are video examples sprinkled throughout the text that show Juli Dixon with students demonstrating the ideas she discusses. The video examples are accessible by QR code so are easy to access with any device with a QR code reader.
One of the most PROFOUND things I noticed when accessing the video is the use of wait time.
I know, I know. You’re thinking the idea of wait time has been around for a long time.
I give wait time when I ask a question. BUT, I suddenly realized I was using it incorrectly.
Let me explain.
Ms. Dixon reads a word problem (or a student does). Then she gives her students time to solve it without saying a word.
WHAT!?
If a student isn’t circling important numbers, underlining the question and solving immediately, I swoop in with my cape on and rescue them with scaffolding and guiding questions. Then, at the end of the year, in frustration, I say, “These students wait for me to tell them what to do before they’ll even try.” Why? Because that’s what I’ve taught them.
By giving students the opportunity to make sense of the problem themselves, I am giving them the opportunity to decode the problem, try their own solution that makes sense to them, and gain confidence in their problem solving strategies.
A companion practice is to follow up answers with clarifying questions but not to say “Yes, that’s right,” or “No, that’s wrong.” Those statements bring discussion to an abrupt stop! If they are right, I can guide the discourse into enrichment. If wrong, I can guide with questions like, “How do you know…” or “Tell me what you’re thinking…” to lead the student to make the discovery on their own (a discovery that will most likely stay with them much longer than if I tell the answer).
All told, I can’t say enough great things about this book. I’ve only shown you the tip of the iceburg. In this book, Dixon discusses:
- Purpose of small group learning
- The correct use of guiding questions
- All about TQE and how to use it to successfully plan and implement small-group tasks
- All about how to engage students in productive discourse
She also gives best practices for small group discourse and discusses the TQE process for delivering lessons. It’s a small book, 74 pages and it’s published by Solution Tree. But it’s SUPER Powerful.
P.S. I bought mine from Amazon.
