Talk partners
Productivity and purpose - a spark.
Thoughts and musings
Today’s spark (the igniting of a glimmer1) is around an area which I don’t think is as easy to action as it sounds. Talk partners. As a further offering from my glimmer, ‘Raising Participation’2 I would like to explore thoughts and ideas around what effective talk partner opportunities can look like.
This week I was fortunate enough to see an exceptional showcase of the Opening Doors principles and strategies in action. As the children displayed true joy for exploring Charles Dickens’ ‘David Copperfield’ in Year 6 and Christina Rossetti’s ‘What is Pink?’ in Year 2, I was further struck by the ease and purpose that their peer conversations and discussions displayed.
So much so, that the Senior Leaders from local schools (who I had the pleasure of spending the day with) and I couldn’t help continuing to return to this in our discussions. Observations included:
Did you notice how there was no time wasted between the discussion question being posed and the talk happening?
Could you hear the language being deployed as the children opened their point, built on or contested?
Wasn’t the sense of productivity in the talk palpable?
These questions obviously got me thinking. “Turn and talk to your partner,” is a sentence uttered by many educators within most lessons. However, is this discussion always the most productive it can be and is the purpose of it clear?
Ideas and practical suggestions
So, how can we ensure that when a child turns to talk to their partner, discussion is productive and purposeful? Below are two suggestions which I hope can be actioned with minimal time spent preparing. Think of these as an opportunity for reflection and evaluation when considering the role of talk partners in your daily lessons and learning experiences.
To ignite some further thoughts and discussion, I landed on two overarching considerations which hopefully encourage the aforementioned further exploration when reflecting on how talk partners currently work in your current classroom or setting. I felt that the embedding of these was clear in the school I recently had the pleasure to visit - so much so that effective talk partner discussion was not only second nature for the adults and the children, but also authentic.
1. Routine
I have spoken a number of times about how routine can provide positive frameworks for staff and pupils - particularly when motivated by ethos and choice. To embed effective talk partner opportunities, there needs to be signals and a clearly explained rationale for why the talk is happening and what the purpose of the talk is.
So, what may need to be considered when embedding an effective talk partner routine?
Talk to the children openly about the ‘what’ and the ‘why. The phrase, “turn and talk to your partner,” may be as deeply ingrained as, “tuck your chair under the table.” Habit. And, if positive habits around the rationale for talk partner work are not there, they need to be re-framed. Do the children know ‘why’ they are having the opportunity to discuss this particular question or point? Do they know ‘what’ the purpose of the talk is?
Have a physical cue. This could be a phrase, a hand gesture, something that signals to the children that this is now their time to purposefully and productively talk. When this cue is announced - pair it with movement. I am a huge fan of Mel Robbins. Her book ‘The 5 Second Rule’ has had a tremendously positive impact on my life. The thought process is that when you reach number 1 on the countdown to doing something that you are putting off, or need a bit of extra motivation to achieve, you move. The movement signals action to the brain to focus on this particular goal which you want to achieve.
Move! Oracy Cambridge and Voice 21’s ‘The Oracy Skills Framework and Glossary’3 is an incredibly helpful tool to exemplify and support effective strategies for developing and embedding oracy skills. When exploring the ‘Physical’ strand, considering the importance of children making eye contact, using facial expression and potentially adding gestures is important to model and develop. In signalling that it is “talk partner time” how can children physically move to not only activate the agreed routines of this discussion but also so they are facing each other? Do they turn their chairs inwards? Move into triangles, with knees touching? How is their physical positioning and stance intentionally different to the moment before they entered the talk partner activity?
2. Scaffold
What was clear, as I listened in on goosebump-inducing discussion around how a young David’s polite reaction to the pungent smell of fish reflects his amiable character, I was struck by the stock phrases I heard children opening their discussion points with. These phrases were not part of everyday language. They had a place in the realm of exploratory talk and debate. Openers such as, “I would like to add on…”, “This reminds me of…”, “Can I offer a different perspective” can be introduced, modelled, sign-posted and celebrated to promote productive and considered talk.
So, once you have decided on the openers which you would like to model and embed, how can this be done effectively to promote longevity and authenticity?
Display them. This doesn’t need to be in a fancy way but they do need to be visible and present. Depending on how you are rolling out and building up openers (in your classroom, Year Group or school) consider how you will ensure that children (and adults) see these. Beyond physical wall spaces, perhaps these are also shared on your school’s website or on newsletters home. The more places these are seen the stronger the importance grows.
Model them. These phrases may be new to the children and understanding how to use them correctly, in context, is the first way to clearly exemplify how to deploy them. Community is important here. Yes, it will be beneficial for you to use these (where accurate and appropriate) in your teaching but how about in conversation with other adults? In assembly? As a challenge to be practised at home with parents (perhaps sharing a video, modelling some times where these phrases may be used)?
Celebrate them. As these phrases become more authentically embedded in talk partner discussion (and beyond) it is important to recognise and celebrate when they have been used well. This is also a great opportunity to analyse why they have been used well. If a child accurately opens with, “I see your side, but I think…” take some time to place this interaction under a celebratory microscope, to walk the class through why it was an impactful phrase and what the effect of using this opener had on the rest of the discussion. The child will gain a feeling of pride and affirmation and the rest of the class will have a further model to apply to subsequent talk partner discussions.
Find out more…
I have reference the fabulous work of Voice 21 in this week’s ‘spark’. In addition to exploring their amazing website full of research and ideas, the resource ‘Let’s Talk!’ gives a sample of discussion openers which may help develop your class or school list:
Further recommended and insightful oracy discussion and exploration can be found with Mary Myatt and Rachel Higginson in a series of webinars:
The enthusiasm and motivation to have such rich discussion during my school visit this week was made possible by the use of engaging, high-quality texts and carefully planned learning experiences, made possible by the Opening Doors principles and frameworks.
Do you also feel like you could be inspired by Mel Robbin’s ‘5 Second Rule?
Great tips Laura.