Title: Effective Classroom Discussions - Educational Leadership
Headings: Effective Classroom Discussions
Effective Classroom Discussions
Five guidelines can build students' higher-order thinking skills.
Listen, Attend, Apprehend
Clarify What Students Mean
Give Students Time
Appreciate Students' Ideas
Accept Lack of Closure
Balanced Classroom Instruction
References
KEYWORDS
Requesting Permission

Content: Teachers can create such a climate by being mindful of the essential conditions of interactive teaching. Listen, Attend, Apprehend
On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer that teachers should listen to what students say. But in the real world of the classroom, with its many pressures and demands on a teacher's time, it can be difficult to pay full attention. "Of course we listen to our students!" protested one teacher. But the combination of listening + attending + apprehending has dimensions that go beyond merely hearing a student's words. It includes carefully observing the student's nonverbal behaviors, voice inflection, and word choice, as well as what the student emphasizes or leaves out. Teachers who attend to all these dimensions are doing what Friere (1983) calls apprehending —taking in and making meaning of the totality. Here's an example from a 6th grade social studies class in which students are discussing the electoral process: Teacher: