one-day Professional Development Workshop: 
Increasing student-to-student dialogue in the classroom

  • Differentiation
  • Academic Language Development
  • Assessment of Oral Language Skills
  • Engagement and Motivation
  • 21st Century Skills
  • Inclusion
  • Content Understanding and Performance
  • Student-centered Learning 
  • Literacy Skills
The project leaders have designed a one-day workshop for faculty members of any grade level or subject area who may be interested in enhancing their curricula with student dialogue activities.   The day includes two parts: a morning session dedicated to introducing the research and rationale behind increasing student-to-student dialogue, as well as the opportunity to participate in core skill activities based on Zwiers and Crawford's (2011) "Five Core Skills for Academic Conversation"; and an afternoon session for the collaborative development of new core skill activities to be integrated into each teacher’s classes.

The morning:
  • Rationale and process
  • Meaningful moments in student dialogue
  • Common language: academic and content vocabulary activity
  • Research-based skills: participate in 5 Core Academic Conversation Skills activities with colleagues

The afternoon:
  • Application and collaboration
  • Lesson or activity development, individualised to enhance each teacher's curriculum

Result

By the end of the one-day workshop, teacher participants will have:
  • A complete lesson or activity, designed to increase meaningful student-to-student dialogue, to implement in their classrooms
  • An increased understanding of the academic research behind the use of the 5 Core Skills and their benefits to students
  • A refreshed understanding of the collaborative process of lesson design and reflection
  • Access to all workshop-developed activities and lessons, for adaptation for use in additional courses
  • A foundation for further participation in the Talking in Class student dialogue project.  This includes the option of fully exploring the process of prediction/implementation/reflection, using video as a means of evaluation of teaching practice, aligned with Domain 4 of the Danielson Framework.
Picture
TiC faculty workshop at ACS Hillingdon Middle School
Feedback from participants at the end of the workshop

Project team members at ACS Cobham enjoy the 
workshop day

   
Sample workshop schedule - the day begins and ends with participant feedback to determine individual needs.
Project participants download the Workshop Guide iBook, providing an outline of the research and the day’s activities, prior to attending.

Interested in Participating?
The TALKING IN CLASS workshop is available for educators of any subject or grade level.  If you would like to learn more about bringing this professional development opportunity to your school, please contact Jake and Brianna.