Weinstein and Mignano Ch. 10

It was interesting to find out that there are a lot of teachers who claim to have discussions in their classrooms, when in fact they are leading non authentic recitations which call on students to recite rote facts with no deeper thinking. "Discussion is a form of verbal interaction in which individuals work together to consider an issue or a question. The discussion is intended to stimulate a variety of responses, to encourage students to consider different points of view, to foster problem solving, to examine implications, and to relate material to students' own personal experiences." This definition of discussion, leads me to believe that this type of instruction should be done in every classroom by every teacher. Students are not only learning content material through deeper thinking, but they are also learning life skills through interacting appropriately with their peers. With discussion content becomes personal, and thus students can see all the different points of view each student has based on his or her personal experiences relating to the topic of the content. This type of instruction is one that is hard on both the students and the teacher. Discussion takes lots of practice, and lots of work by the teacher, but just like anything worthwhile in education, work is required. Recitation when done at the right done and done appropriately can be authentic and spur deeper thinking but usually recitation is done as an easy way out through rote questions that require rote answers. Through discussion where participation is mandatory teachers can evaluate the classes understanding as a whole much better and can see where instruction is needed. Discussion in my classroom would revolve around the student's interacting with each others answers to probing question by myself. As a teacher I would serve only as a mediator, making sure everyone is participating. This is something that I believe would create authentic and different learning opportunities for my students.