Speaking and Listening

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I always found classroom discussions to be a beneficial way for me and other students to learn and have their voices heard. However, in my early classroom discussion experiences, there weren't any designated listening/response strategies that would have been beneficial for a discussion. In our reading, I thought there were some beneficial strategies to create a stimulating conversation. For example, it is essential to ask questions that are "open-ended inquiries" rather than "simple clarifying questions" (132). By asking more complex questions, you can receive more complex answers, therefore sparking more discussion material as the conversation moves forward. While I was in high school, classroom discussions occasionally lacked stimulation because students, including myself, didn't know how to ask proper follow-up questions. I feel that if strategies for open-ended questions were presented early-on in my high school experience, classroom discussions would have been more thought-provoking. 
As a future educator, holding a classroom discussion feels very nervewracking. I want students to be able to respectfully listen/speak to one another, consistently participate, and ask appropriate questions. However, I had a difficult time brainstorming on how to bring these expectations to a reality in my future classroom. On page 133 of our reading, The Teaching Center for Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, provided some really thoughtful strategies for teachers to have productive discussions. In particular, I found that asking students for wait time is one of the better approaches. I feel that this is one of the better strategies because students can process information before providing feedback for the discussion. This way, students can have more thoughtful answers. I also feel that giving wait time for students would be a great way to avoid interrupting one another. In my future classroom, I will 100% integrate wait time for my classroom discussions.

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