Dialing up the dialogic...

Today was a good day!  Since our class last Saturday, I've been trying to figure out how to include more dialogic discourse into my classes while making sure that I am still able to meet the objectives of the lesson - which in this case, was introducing descriptions, and then completing a group plan as a model for a plan children will complete for homework.

On the whole, I think my class went well:
*we covered descriptions
*the children had more opportunities to speak freely, and even though I guided them through the activities, they had freedom in terms of what they talked about
*we managed to work together on the group plan - and they did really well
*we didn't run over time!

During the class, I felt as though the children were really talkative, and they listened to each other well.  They commented on each other's stories, helped each other and in general, took an interest in the topic.  
After watching the video, I do think that there's been an improvement on last week's class.  I think the energy was better, and I think the children seemed like more active participants.

If I were to reflect on the class according to the CD and CI features we've covered, I believe I would see an improvement, but I realise that I still have a ways to go.  For example:
I feel as though I made progress towards having dialogic discourse - but I don't think the class was truly dialogic in nature - I did still steer them towards certain directions.  I realise this may not be ideal, but I also think that if I didn't our time would run away with us, and the objectives wouldn't be met.

I tried asking more open-ended referential questions, and I definitely feel as though I got a lot more from the children in terms of content, and I enjoyed having a 'freer' conversation.  I feel as though me having a good time may be a good indication that they are having a good time too, and that's great!  I also think the referential questions enabled the children to give slightly longer answers, giving them more of a chance to explain things to the group.  I feel as though being able to answer the open ended questions had them relaxing a little - in that there weren't really "right or wrong" answers.

I noticed that I did do some recasting, and some repetition...probably more than I would have thought I'd have.  When I watched the video and noticed the repetition...I tried to 'go back' and think of why I would have repeated what the child said...it was rather sad to see that I couldn't really find a logical reason for some of them...It makes me think of that cellphone app "Talking Tom" when you speak into your phone and a cat repeats what you said???  (Why WAS that app so popular????)

I gave some positive feedback in the form of comments and added in some of my own stories/anecdotes which hopefully encouraged children to keep sharing their stories, and gave them a sense that I was acknowledging not only their stories, but their participation.

I would definitely like to continue working on making the class even more dialogic.  I realised, after the last video, that for the children, a writing class is probably NOT the thing they're looking forward to.  I think if I'm honest, I'm usually really lazy and tend to have short introductions (note: not warm ups...more like a short greeting) and then I dive straight into work... it can't be fun at all.  Today - but making it a little more interactive, I feel as though the energy was up, and the children were more interested in working together when it came time to do the group model.  

I said once before that I felt as though I was performing for the class, and that I had constructed some 'random' activities that I thought would help in the recordings... Well - I am happy to report that i no longer think I am performing... but I am REALLY excited about the way in which I'm really motivated to work on my classes following on from what we're learning.  I keep talking to friends and colleagues, and it's so interesting to see that so many of us who have been here for a while...kind of just go through the motions.  I am definitely a culprit of having said "well, you know...I've been in this job for like 5 years, so I know the drill - I know how to teach this..." and after just 3 weeks - I realise that  I really have become 'that teacher' who comes to class without a concrete plan of what they're doing...because they feel they have enough experience to 'wing it.'  I've probably been boring the socks off some classes for a while...and maybe spent the rest of the classes enjoying the sound of my own voice. 

I'm so happy about the fact that I now find myself THINKING about my classes, THINKING about the children and their strengths, their weaknesses and the opportunities I can create for them, THINKING about what works, THINKING about what doesn't work...and WHY...(something I am sure I haven't really thought about for a while...at least, not for longer than the 30seconds after they have left the classroom...)

It's not going to happen at once, but seeing small changes that are headed in the right direction...is just awesome.

By the way...two things about the video:
1. I somehow managed to but myself out of the frame for the first few minutes...then
2. My phone ran out of space - so I deleted some stuff and started again, so there is an interruption.