Gr. 1-12 Discussion Protocol (for groups of 3)
Discussion Protocol for Students or Teachers!
This is a strategy from Connie Hamilton. Discussion has a high impact on learning (0.82, Hattie).
Talk Triad
- It doesn't require any prep
- It is appropriate for all ages
- It is easy to teach to students
- It provides an important role for every student
- It meets the needs of all types of learners
- It supports both speaking and listening
It gives the teacher two opportunities to listen in on student talk.
How it Works
- Put students in groups of 3 - and let them choose A, B or C.
- Person A is the responder - their job is to respond to the prompt or question that's given.
- Person B is the questioner - their job is to keep Person A talking the entire time about the prompt/question.
- Person C is the summarizer - their job is to listen carefully and summarize what was discussed.
- Next Clarify that everyone knows their role and how to do it.
- Launch the question/prompt and set a timer for your desired time (60 to 90 seconds likely)
- Give a 10 s warning, then 3, 2, 1 Stop.
- Ask the summarizer to share what they heard A and B discussing. The summarizer gets half the time of the first time. E.g., if A and B discussed for 60s the summarizer gets 30s.
- Repeat this 2 more times with new prompts/questions so each person gets to try out each role.
Sample Questions/Prompts
- What is something you learned today?
- How might you use your new learning outside the classroom?
- What are your next steps to keep learning?
- How do you know you met the learning outcome or goal or target today?
Or you could include content specific questions to the work being done. E.g., How are light and sound the same?