The Teacher's Guide to Leading Student-Centered Discussions
Talking About Texts in the Classroom
This book is a model for text-based discussions and provides a framework to make decisions that lead to student-centered conversations focused on the understanding of ideas. The book is divided into three sections. The first is for teachers new to student-centered discussions and describes the "science" of leading a discussion: the basic elements of student-centered, text-based discussions, and how to plan for them. The second delves into the "art" and "magic" of leading discussions and provides a framework for making decisions during discussions as the conversation develops. The third section offers a rich collection of strategies for problem-solving when discussions aren't going well and to guide the reader toward continuous improvement of facilitation skills. The book's decision-making framework stresses safety, authentic participation, challenge, and ownership, all of which will help teachers move from a basic level of understanding of discussion facilitation skills to a deepened understanding of the discussion process and the teacher's role within it.
"Practical and beneficial to teaching and learning in today's world ...the book provides good strategies for helping teachers facilitate meaningful academic discussions in the classroom setting."
"There is a great deal of relevant, practical information in this book for teachers to use to improve the quality of seminars."
"A teacher can take this text and learn to facilitate a seminar. The examples are very useful and after some practice, I believe I too could manage a seminar discussion successfully."
"I loved the case stories/examples of classroom seminars/discussions that illustrated the author's points...I was able to relate to many of the problems that some of the teachers faced in their seminars...The book will make a distinct contribution to the field."
"There are two reasons why this book is so important now. The first is the vitality of the subject: true classroom dialogue may be our only hope for helping our students become civil as well as thoughtful citizens. The second is that the authors practice what they preach. They assume from the first page that teachers themselves are thoughtful professionals, capable of making the subtle decisions discussed in these pages. The result is a book that should lie open on the desk of any teacher who is truly interested in teaching students to think."
"As a teacher and teacher educator, I have led hundreds of student-centered discussions and in reading this book I discovered new ideas and strategies that will help me improve the quality of my own classroom discussions. I believe there are strategies in this book for all teachers, novice to expert."
"A strong student-centered discussion is a teacher's dream - a classroom of students energized by intellectual exchange. That's why Hale and City's book is such a gift. This book is packed with strategies for facilitating great discussions. Whether you are new to student-centered discussions or an old-pro, their book will help you think strategically about how to take your classroom to the next level."
"I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to teach students to improve their listening, critical thinking, social, or college success skills."