Wed 9 March - Analysis of Classroom Discourse

Teacher's discourse moves in a class discussion:

- inviting participation (free invitation and “cold calls”)
- probing for explanations, clarifications and elaborations
- waiting for responses (allowing for appropriate “wait time”)
- providing information
- identifying and making links between comments
- clarifying and explaining meanings and ideas
- emphasizing salient points
- rallying attention; silencing noise
- giving/providing answers
- checking for understanding with binary questions ("Do you agree or disagree?"; "...right?")
- consolidating understanding/knowledge in anticipation of the next related point ("Now that we've seen that..., can you tell me...?")
- reading sections of text aloud for emphasis
- evaluating students’ comments
- redirecting conversation to promote democratic turn-taking
- summarizing and highlighting
- bantering to build rapport
- making deliberate mistakes to elicit student corrections
- instructions for further inquiry
- cajoling
- chastising