Deepen Discussion - Puberty Curriculum

This is the second in a series of posts about engaging your students in puberty class. Read Part 1 HERE.

Strategy #2: Deepen Discussion

Discussion is a great way to guide students in personalizing and applying learning to the real world. It helps them make connections between new learning and prior learning… a key to remembering and using new information and skills. Discussion can also help students recognize how their education is relevant and useful to them; thus, increasing their investment in education. Try some of these strategies to engage students in meaningful discussions that reach instructional goals.

Construct your discussion questions thoughtfully:

Avoid yes-no questions (except when doing a “take a stand” activity).
Create questions that promote critical thinking.
Create questions to help apply the new learning to real life.
Create questions that allow multiple acceptable answers (not just one right answer).
Process responses after hearing several ideas.

Allow think time:

After asking a question, tell students to take time to think. Pause for 10-20 seconds before beginning the discussion. Then ask for responses.

Write out thoughts:

Ask students to record their ideas instead of taking verbal responses. This allows introverted students to organize their thoughts. It prevents verbally fluent students from dominating the discussion. It will encourage all students to respond to the questions.

Organize a variety of discussion formats:

Elbow partners: Instruct students to “turn to person sitting next to you and discuss.”
Pair share: Form pairs in a variety of ways to encourage students to discuss topics with students they might not talk to if they are allowed to select their partners.
Triad share: Form groups of three students to provide a less threatening discussion group than pairs. With triads, students feel less pressured to be the one talking than they do in a pair share.
Small group share: Form small groups to get a broader variety of ideas and still give everyone a chance to talk.
Large group share: Discussion in the whole group is the highest risk for students who might feel nervous about speaking up or giving a wrong answer. This is especially true if students laugh at or bully a particular student.

All group response:

Ask the question. Pause to give time to formulate an answer. Then, signal when it’s time to respond verbally. This works best if there is one brief, correct answer. It engages everyone and draws less attention to students who might not have the correct answer.

Sign, signal, or move a response:

Engage kinesthetic learners and provide physical movement by having students use their bodies to answer. Learning is enhanced by movement that crosses the midline.

Use white board paddles:

Ask the question. Have each student write their response on their white board paddle with a dry erase marker. Count down and signal for students to hold up their paddles. This engages every student; plus, you can assess student learning by scanning their answers.

Conduct a four corners activity:

Ask a discussion question and give four possible answers. Show the four options on a slide so students can remember which corner to select for their answer. Signal students to go to the corner that indicates their answer. Once there, they can discuss their response with others who are there. This works best with topics that will elicit a variety of responses.

Conduct a take a stand activity:

Ask a question that calls for students to select from two options. After each question, instruct students to go to the right or left to indicate their response. Once there, you can give them some time to talk to others who are there and discuss why they chose that answer. Then, call on a few students to share a few points from their discussion. This activity works best with questions that involve a choice between two options, such as “do you agree or disagree with this statement?” or “do you think this is true or false?”

Conduct a barometer activity:

Ask a question that calls for students to take a stand on an issue that isn’t clearly black and white. After each question, instruct students to go to one side to indicate total agreement and the other side to indicate total disagreement and somewhere in between if they have an opinion in between. Once there, you can give them some time to talk to others who are there and discuss why they chose that spot on the continuum. Then, call on a few students to share a few points from their discussion. Encourage students to change their position if they hear a compelling reason to change their opinion. This activity works best with questions that involve a choice with shades of gray.

This is part 2 of a six-part series on Engaging Students in Puberty Class. Read part 3 HERE.