Building Academic Language Sesson 2 10/29/15

Where have we been? On 10/1 we looked at: Data on an academic language gap Tiered Vocabulary Role of student talk in building academic language skills

Where are we now? Today’s presentations focus on: Activities using word walls & anchor charts Teaching Vocabulary Academic Conversation

Where are we going? On 12/10 we will return with lesson/implementation plans and reflections about how these techniques worked in our own practice.

Managing Academic Conversations October 29, 2015

OBJECTIVES: By the end of this session, you will be able to... Explain the three conditions for effective academic conversation Contrast meaningful talk activities with less-meaningful talk activities Identify methods of accountability for student talk Apply student talk structures to reach intended outcomes

“Many of the skills [for effective academic conversation] take a year to build, as do the relationships that support rich conversations” Zwiers (2011), p. 29

Why is student talk sometimes ineffective? Off-topic Students can’t work together Some students talk too much Some students don’t talk at all Might generate incorrect results/misunderstandings One pair/group finishes minutes before others Seems more efficient just to directly “tell”

Pre-conditions for Effective Student Talk Behaviors (e.g. eye contact, “keep taking” tactics, etc.) Attitudes ( e.g. respect, positivity, etc.) Clarity of purpose (why am I asking you to talk to one another → help you learn → puts info into your long term memory) Shared conversation norms (developed with the students) From Zwiers, Academic Conversations (2011), Chapter 2

The Three Conditions for Effective Academic Conversation

1.Meaningful Conversation Task 2.Accountability for Students 3.Structure of Talk Opportunity

1.Meaningful Conversation Task

Activity: HOW MEANINGFUL IS THIS TASK? Distribute the task strips among the participants at your table Take turns reading the strips out loud and discussing (as a group) where to place the task along the continuum Is it highly meaningful? Not meaningful? Somewhere in between? Where? Do this for all the task strips, then discuss the activities that ended up as the most “highly meaningful” and identify the common characteristics If you have time, discuss what could be added or changed to the less meaningful tasks to make them more meaningful as student talk activities

Features of Effective Conversation Tasks Require both partners to talk Require critical and creative thinking Take advantage of controversies and conflict Recognize and reduce ambiguity Encourage thinking based on principles, laws, and approaches of the discipline Build opportunities for transfer of knowledge and skills Provide choice and ownership From Zwiers, Academic Conversations (2011)

REFLECT Think about an upcoming lesson or topic. What would be an appropriate task or prompt for that lesson or topic that would foster highly meaningful student talk? Make a note of it!

2. Accountability for Students

Video: One Math Teacher’s Approach to Student Talk Video link: highlighting-things-i-heard How does this teacher create a classroom emphasis on student talk? Even without the technology he uses, how could you “Highlight Things [You] Heard?” during academic conversations? How might he measure groups or individuals and their use of student talk?

Options for Accountability 1.Teacher monitoring 2.Student self-assessment 3.Summarizing the learning from the conversation

3. Structure of Talk Opportunity

The Three Conditions for Effective Academic Conversation 1.Meaningful Conversation Task 2.Accountability for Students 3.Structure of Talk Opportunity