ConversationalMoves

**Conversational Moves**
When participating in discussions students need to know how to move beyond just stating what they think and actually relating what they have to say to other comments and helping to move the comments forward. Most of my students need to be explicitly taught these "Conversational Moves"

I found a great table of moves at google books. [|The Learning Communities Guide to Improving Reading Instruction by By Valerie Hastings Gregory, Jan Rozzelle Nikas]

They list the following Conversational Moves Restating Inviting Acknowledging or Validating Focusing or Refocusing Agreeing Disagreeing Elaborating Requesting Clarification Providing an Example Signaling a Change Providing Evidence Posing a Question to the Group

I decided to divide these into 2 categories...concrete and abstract.

Acknowledging or Validating Restating Agreeing Requesting Clarification Providing an Example
 * Concrete** would involve Moves that involved less background knowledge and less evaluating and synthesizing of information.

Inviting and Disagreeing are their own group because I feel it takes additional social skills to do well and not use it as an attack on the person.

Signaling a Change Providing Evidence Posing a Question to the Group Focusing or Refocusing Elaborating
 * Abstract** involves more background knowledge and some evaluating and synthesizing.

Hopefully I have created a videotape with some students having an appropriate discussion. This video tape will be shown to the class and have the class brainstorm things that went well in the video. Depending on the group of students I will then take these lists of Conversation Moves (possibly cut down to 6) and talk to the class about learning how to do each one of these to help have a good classroom discussion. My tentative list for next year looks like this:
 * To specifically teach these skills I would:**

Lesson 1: Requesting Clarification, Acknowledging, and Restating Student Names for these 3: **I don't get it, I get it, Is this what you said/meant?** Lesson 2: Providing an Example, Agreeing, Providing Evidence Student Names for these 3: **Example, I agree, Because** Lesson 3: **Disagreeing** Lesson 4: Inviting, Signaling a Change Student Names: **Ask someone else to talk, A New Direction** Lesson 6: Focusing or Refocusing, Elaborating, Posing a Question to the Group Student Names: **Are we off Track, Add More**, **Asking a Question**

Although each lesson would not be identical, they would be 2 to 3 days each (30-45 min) First give examples of how to do each Move. Then we would practice as a group. Then would pair or trio students up and have them pull a topic from the hat (all fun stuff they know about...eg. skateboarding moves, Rap...) with the option to redraw ONCE. They would then be video taped acting out the discussion strategies of the day. The video would be downloaded to a computer and the students would edit it the next day in iMovie labeling the Moves they used to keep the discussion going. For final assessment they would create an iMovie of a discussion with everybody in the class (7 or 8 students) making sure all the moves were used and labeled. Bonus points would be given for any discussion they could keep going longer than 5 min. without sounding totally foolish :)

[|They Say I Say] [|Clueless in Academe]
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