Exam 8: How Can I Structure Classroom Discourse to Help Students Develop Social Studies Understandings

Recent theory and research suggest that even in the early grades when students are just beginning to acquire a content base, teachers' questions should be designed to emphasize

Teaching for thoughtfulness is

Effective classroom discussions look different from classroom to classroom but tend to involve the following:

Before knowledge for students becomes truly generative,

Children can understand information about long ago and far away when the information is represented as

Teachers are cautioned to make room for discussion in their classrooms.

According to Diana Hess, one of the common agreed upon features of discussion is that it

S ocial constructivists emphasize teaching that features sustained dialogue in which participants pursue a topic in breadth.

What is the social constructivist view of teaching and how is it different from many traditional forms of instruction? How can a social constructivist view lead to powerful learning?

Creating optimal physical space for productive classroom discourse, particularly discussion, typically means

Facilitating discussion requires

Imagine one of your top priorities for social studies instruction in the upcoming year is to engage students in reflective discourse about powerful ideas. Sketch out your proposed plan and explain your rationale.

Students need to understand that for the purpose of reflective discussion, they need to work independently to deepen their understandings of meaning and implications of content.

Discussion is a particular kind of discourse, characterized by the fact that it is oral and involves a sustained exchange of ideas among participants.

Discrete discussion skills students need to acquire include

Teachers in the early grades usually have to assume most of the burden in conveying new information to their students using narratives, books, photos, physical artifacts, and other instructional resources.

It is less important for younger students than older ones to offer curricula featuring networks of knowledge structured around big ideas.

Constructivists believe that students learn by making connections between existing information and networks of prior knowledge.

What are the benefits of using narrative structures as teaching tools? What are the potential challenges?

Students typically do not draw on their prior knowledge unless they are prompted to do so.