I really liked the article on instructional conversations. Often times structured conversations such as these are overlooked in teaching and are not given as much attention as they should have. Not only does it build comprehension but it develops the student's skills in debating, and arguing orally. This forces the student to think about what they are going to say and say it, which requires quite a bit of thought process. I loved the part where the article states "Perhaps most important (in a discussion), he or she (the teacher) manages to keep everyone engaged in a substantive and extended conversation, weaving individual participants' comments into a larger tapestry of meaning." After reading this quote it makes me think of a composer in an orchestra, the teacher must direct students in the right direction and weave the thoughts of each students into each other to not only comprehend whats being talked about, but to explore new areas in the discussion as well.
The other thing I liked about the IC article is that it explains that instructional conversations take time to be able to teach. No one is born with the ability to lead a perfect discussion and it takes a considerable amount of work and training to be able to do so. The 10 different things required in an IC is a start to becoming more literate in leading an IC and practice practice practice will improve skill. Overall I love the idea of an instructional conversation and would use them in my class often.
Kyle Williams
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Kyle, I LOVE your "composer of an orchestra" analogy! That is wonderful, and absolutely true. During these class discussions students will be able to learn so much from their peers that we probably never would have been able to think about. Students learning from each other is a marvelous thing in itself, but sometimes during this process it will definitely be the teacher's job to connect different ideas in a way that will show students a brand new way of thinking about it all. Discussions can often result in lots and lots of random ideas that somehow have an underlying connection, and when the teacher steps in, even if just for a moment, they can provide a meaningful connection that weaves them all together. Just like all of the parts of music that come together to make the song, the teacher composes an underlying connection to give the perhaps scattered, arbitrary thoughts a meaning.
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