This is a key chapter in the text, because without constructive and meaningful discourse among students, a math workshop will not be successful. My favorite quote in this chapter is, "When students are engaged as learners, sharing, discussing, and evaluating one another's thinking in a mutually supportive (emphasis mine) setting, they are constructing their own understanding of the concepts at hand". I love this… It's difficult to do, but if you can, the math that will be happening in the classroom will be wonderful!
Hoffer contends that discourse:
- Engages learners - students want to talk to each other. Working together gets them excited.
- Promotes understanding - it helps students explain their reasoning and talk over ideas.
- Develop communication and collaboration skills - they need to know how to work together.
- Supports academic language development - students need to know, understand, and use the vocabulary.
In order to promote discourse there needs to be an atmosphere of respect in the classroom. Students need to feel welcome to share ideas or questions. I really liked the prompts that are listed on pg. 76 - 77 and I plan to post them in my room.
This chapter holds a wealth of information on discourse, all of which I really enjoyed. I'll have to read it again and figure out what I missed the first time, but all the ideas are easily implemented and worthwhile.
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