E12 - Pupil Discussion In The Classroom

In this episode of the podcast Femi and Matt explore the topic of ‘discussion in the classroom’.  They try to tease apart nuances such as the difference between pupils having to explain the work to each other because the teacher’s explanation was not good enough versus pupils engaged in a rich discussion that extends thinking from an existing strong foundation of knowledge.  They examine the pros and cons of classroom discussion along with possible traps and pitfalls, teachers asking for silence versus ‘silence just happens naturally’, and ‘casual classrooms’ and what this suggests about the level of challenge and the quality of learning.Towards the end Matt and Femi shift gears slightly to talk about the importance of students ‘learning to learn’ and discuss some ways to create the learning environment that you want in your classroom early on in September.