My thoughts on my experiences with
discussion during lessons:
As educators, we
should encourage our learners to verbalize their opinions in classroom
discussions. In addition to allowing students to express their ideas and
opinions; discussions assist them in discovering the ideas and opinions of
their peers and let them see things from the perspectives of others. During the activity of think-ink-share with a grade 2 class, discussing the similarities and differences of kites and birds, one
child said that kites and birds were alike because they were nouns. At first
the others did not see but when she explained that kite is the name of thing
and bird is the name of an animal the other members of the group agreed with
her and added it to their lists of similarities. Class discussions prepare students for real
life experiences, giving them opportunities to be tolerant of the varied and
opposing points of view of others.
Students are also given opportunities to respect each other. During the activity, as one person shared,
the others listened. They were quite
comfortable and everyone contributed to the discussion. They had diverse
information but no one put down the other.
Some interesting and imaginative answers came out (showed that there were some critical thinking) and it was quite interesting to note
how the students got aha moments and how they accepted points of views from
other students that they did not see initially.
I think that this type collaborative learning enriches and enhances the whole
learning experience.
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