Teacher Tool Box: The Instructional Conversation as a Tool

This past semester I was introduced to an important tool in the classroom...the instructional conversation.  When I first heard the name and began to think about the concept, my first reaction was "Oh...ok so we provide information to students in an informal setting where we encourage conversation."  Um...No-not quite.  Looking back now after having practiced and analyzed my own instructional conversation with students, I see that it is much more than encouraging conversation.

This tool is one that can serve many purposes in the classroom.  The first that comes to mind is to create a community of learners.  I know that if I have set the classroom expectations and created a foundation of trust and warmth, students will be more likely to participate in classroom discussions.  These discussions could be done in the instructional conversation style.  By involving all students and making them feel their thoughts and opinions are valued in the classroom, talk between students will increase and their learning will as well.  Peter Johnston introduced me to the term and idea of a dialogic classroom in his book, Opening Minds.

He says,  "A dialogic classroom is one in which there are lots of open questions and extended exchanges among students.  These are not classrooms based on the delivery of facts. They are classrooms in which there are multiple interpretations and perspectives-classrooms in which facts are considered in different contexts and in which people challenge each other's views and conclusions" (Johnston, 52).  If this doesn't scream community of learners I don't know what does.  This kind of teaching excites me and hopefully the students in my future classroom.

Another purpose for engaging in instructional conversations is to help students develop a critical literacy lens and identity when it comes to reading text but also the world around them.  The topic of critical literacy is a big one and one that I would like to explore in a blog post in the near future (so stay tuned) but I like to think of it as thinking critically about the power relationships, perspectives, and positioning that are presented in text. By having students converse about what they see and notice, their worlds will be enlarged and enriched.  The teacher talk during these conversations needs to be present in order to get the conversation started and moving in a some what focused direction.  These snippets of teacher talk (and they should be snippets...I'm working on this part) are an opportunity to pose questions to students to get them thinking critically about what they are being asked to assume about the people and world around them.  Whether these people exist in a fictional text or an informational video, students should be given tools to talk with people around them and express their opinions and findings. This is how we ensure our students have a voice in the classroom and in the world.  These young, critical voices can make great change.

As a tool in the classroom, instructional conversations can serve many purposes (I didn't even scratch the surface).  Most important to me is that students understand they are in an environment where their voice matters and where they can explore topics, with their classmates, on a deeper level.  Giving students spaces in the classroom to communicate and try on a critical lens will serve them for the rest of their lives.