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November 2014 | Volume 72 | Number 3 Talking and Listening
Naomi Thiers
The importance of speaking and listening skills is expressly elevated in the Common Core State Standards. In addition, major companies list "good communicator" as one of the top 10 attributes they seek in employees. But as author Erik Palmer puts it, "We do expect students to learn to speak—but we don't teach them how"—and the same might be said for the skill of listening. This issue shares concrete ideas on "teaching them how."
Erik Palmer ("Now Presenting,") writes about how poorly most students speak, even when presenting formally. He insists classroom teachers must take on this problem, too.
For school leaders: A big reason we don't teach speaking, Palmer claims, is that most schools and districts have no people or resources to help teachers learn to teach speaking skills. Is this true in your district?
Ask around a little: Are there teachers in your school(s) who have taught speaking skills—perhaps as an elective or as debate coaches or even with Toastmasters clubs—who might lead a workshop on this for colleagues?
Paula McAvoy and Diana Hess, ("Debates and Conversations—From the Ground Up,") have observed class discussions in secondary classrooms for years. They write that although there's a lot of "student talk" on controversial issues in classrooms, it mostly flows through the teacher—with a teacher posing the questions and "pushing back" on students' answers—rather than between students. Teacher-directed discussion is a good scaffold when students are learning to have civil discussions. But, these authors say, "Too many teachers never remove this scaffold. If one aim of democratic education is to prepare students to deliberate together about political issues, then the teachers are keeping the training wheels on" (p. 50).
McAvoy and Hess, Alexis Wiggins ("Spinning the Web,"), and Elizabeth A. City ("Talking to Learn,") all stress the need to eventually have students facilitate class discussions. Wiggins goes so far as to sit at the back of the room without making eye contact as students conduct a group discussion. She makes this student facilitation work by introducing—and practicing—a set discussion routine and using a rubric that shows what students need to make happen within a good discussion (focus on one speaker at a time, try to resolve big questions, encourage shy students, and so on).
These ASCD resources—and two free websites—will help get your students speaking, listening, and learning better.
Copyright © 2014 by ASCD
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