Classroom Discussion: A Method of Instruction and a Curriculum Outcome.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers’ thinking about classroom discussion. Teachers have multiple conceptions of classroom discussion, but these conceptions often intersect with two purposes for using classroom discussion: (1) discussion as a method of instruction, where the purpose is to help engage students in a lesson, and learn academic content by encouraging verbal interactions; and (2) discussion competence as the subject matter, where the desired outcome is for students to learn to discuss more effectively. To better understand teachers’ use of discussion in the classroom, this study examined teachers’ thinking about discussion with these two purposes in mind. Six high school social studies teachers were purposively selected to permit data collection from a theoretically interesting sample. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and a think-aloud task, and were analyzed using grounded theory's constant-comparative technique. Implications of these findings for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers interested in classroom discussion are examined.

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