Overview: Structures for discourse provide students with specific roles or tasks to complete and, often, equal time for talking.
Example Strategies:
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| A/B Partner Talk | One student is Partner A and one student is Partner B. Students get time to think about a specific prompt or prompts and then follow the specific tasks assigned to each partner. One example would be to have each partner respond to the prompt, revoice what their partner said, and then as a pair identify similarities or differences in their responses. This structure is endlessly adaptable to different prompts and discourse tasks for the pair to follow.
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| Discussion Diamond |
A small group gets a prompt and students get time to individually reflect and write (or draw) a response in their corner of the Discussion Diamond paper/poster. Then each group member gets time to read what they wrote and explain it as needed. The other group members have time to ask questions or make connections. After each member has read, the group discusses areas of agreement and disagreement and records them in the middle of the diamond.
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| Thinking Routines | Thinking Routines, designed by Project Zero at the Harvard School of Education, are a set of steps or questions to help scaffold and support student thinking. They can be used to support thinking before partner or group conversations and some include conversation as part of the routine.
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| Group Roles |
Students in a group are each given specific roles. These roles relate to specific types of thinking or collaboration rather than tasks like “time-keeper.” Roles often come with role cards with example prompts to use. |
| Jigsaw |
Students are divided into heterogeneous groups. Within each group, each member becomes the expert in one portion of the group’s full task. Members get time and resources to become an expert in their section, either working alone or with all of the students from the other groups assigned to the same section. Then groups reassemble and each member presents their portion to their group and the group asks questions. Each member is ultimately responsible for all of the information.
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| Partner Feedback |
Students work individually on a written product and then follow a set of steps with prompts to guide their feedback conversation and revision. |