Being introduced to The Cult of Pedagogy by Jennifer Gonzalez was a big AHA moment for my own teaching practice and how I can continue to improve! The podcast titled The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies completely changed my thinking and approach to facilitating meaningful and engaging classroom conversations. As Gonzalez states in the podcast, teachers often write “discuss” in their lesson plans, in the classroom this usually looks like teachers doing the talking and a few students volunteering answers when asked. This is something I have also unfortunately done much too frequently in my prior lesson planning. I often write down the word “discuss” without really thinking through what that looks like in the classroom. While my intentions are to boost engagement and hear the students’ voices, what usually ends up happening is two or three of the most vocal students dominate the discussion while the other voices are silenced.

This podcast supported my learning by providing me with concrete and intentional strategies for facilitating student-centered class discussions. Rather than leaving discussions open-ended, these strategies promote structure and purpose for myself and my future learners. The podcast explains that meaningful discussion is not something that just happens by chance. Classroom discussions have to be engaging, organized, and equitable to be successful. This has made me think much more deliberately about how I can invite all learner’s voices and perspectives into the classroom discussions.

As I am preparing for my Grade 1/2 practicum, several strategies from this resource stand out as effective for primary learners. The Think-Pair-Share strategy is one I plan to use frequently, it gives students time to process their thinking, rehearse their ideas with a partner, and build confidence before sharing with the whole class. Another strategy I hope to incorporate is Concentric Circles. What I believe will work well with using this strategy in a primary classroom is that it takes the pressure off of class wide sharing, gives students the chance to converse with many different peers, and allows for much needed movement breaks to keep engagement. Lastly, I plan to incorporate simplified versions of Gallery Walks into my practicum planning. I love the stations based format of this discussion strategy, as it promotes movement and small group collaboration. I also think to make Gallery Walks more primary friendly, the discussion prompts or tasks can be made to be more visual based over text heavy prompting.

The UVic Teacher Education Competency this reflection connects to is #11: Implement pedagogically context-appropriate sound practices linking assessment for/as/of learning, planning for learning, instructional strategies and approaches to engage all students in relevant and personalized learning. By intentionally choosing discussion strategies that meet the developmental needs of primary students and promote the inclusion of all learners’ voices, I am planning with purpose and my students in mind heading into my practicum. My goal moving forward with my lesson planning is to replace my vague “discuss” wording with clear, inclusive strategies that promote engagement and meaningful classroom conversations for all learners.