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

Question 1

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

A)leads to new knowledge or understandings as participants express their opinions and listen to those of others.
B)takes a standard form and serves a major purpose that can be effectively assessed.
C)features a series of orderly steps easily recognized by an observer and easily assessed.
D)underscores the importance of commonly held beliefs and values that can be assessed.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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

A)Constructing classroom discussion guidelines with students, promoting higher test scores, and developing a discussion topic that has disciplinary depth and engages student interest.
B)Constructing classroom discussion guidelines with students, constructing meaning that is memorable, and developing a discussion topic that has disciplinary depth and engages student interest.
C)Constructing classroom discussion guidelines with students, engaging in problem solving and critical thinking, and developing a discussion topic that has disciplinary depth and engages student interest.
D)Constructing classroom discussion guidelines with students, preparing the students in advance if the discussion, and developing a discussion topic that has disciplinary depth and engages student interest.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Teaching for thoughtfulness is

A)recommended exclusively for secondary social studies students.
B)appropriate for elementary students if they are prepared to engage in discourse.
C)easy to implement once the rubric has been designed and students are familiar with it.
D)recommended for classrooms that strive for high scores in recitation.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Narratives are powerful vehicles for teachers to use in helping students bridge the vague to the less familiar.

Question 5

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

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

Question 8

Discrete discussion skills students need to acquire include

A)selecting key ideas that can be repeated several times throughout the conversation.
B)assessing each other's comments and pointing out observed weaknesses.
C)using disciplinary knowledge, and elaborating statements with explanations, reasons, or evidence.
D)learning how to provide more questions than answers and engaging multiple voices in the conversation.

Question 9

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

A)recitation in order to create long-term memory.
B)interactive discourse, not mere recitation.
C)reflective discourse laced with recitation.
D)independent practice followed by collaboration.

Question 10

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

Question 11

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

A)stories of people pursuing goals that the students have done for themselves.
B)stories, lectures, or multi-media presentations that explain their teachers' experiences.
C)lectures, videos, or multi-media presentations that are within their own experiences.
D)graphic representations that draw on familiar cartoon characters.

Question 12

Research shows that it is difficult to evaluate discussions.

Question 13

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.

Question 14

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

Question 15

Before knowledge for students becomes truly generative,

A)teachers must elaborate and build new knowledge structures for the learners and assist them in recalling information.
B)students must elaborate and question the new content, examine it in relation to more familiar content, and build new knowledge structures
C)students must be able to recall the information when cued by questions or test items.
D)teachers must provide lots of opportunities for learners to practice recalling information for the standardized tests.

Question 16

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

A)desks and tables are arranged in rows in which students all face the same direction.
B)children seated on the carpet in designated spaces, typically in horizontal rows.
C)desks or tables are arranged in horseshoe shapes or pods.
D)desks or tables are arranged in a two-tier horseshoe-like circle.

Question 17

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

Question 18

Assessing is

A)difficult.
B)unnecessary.
C)easy.
D)impossible.

Question 19

Facilitating discussion requires

A)selecting a topic that students are interested in.
B)selecting a topic that deepen students' learning content.
C)constructing meaning that is memorable.
D)reinforcing related facts.

Question 20

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.

Question 21

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.

Question 22

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

Question 23

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?