Recently,
our school tutor time programme has been focusing on using ‘talk’ effectively
in the classroom and, so far, I have introduced my tutees to the ‘Basketball’
technique of classroom discussion. This is where a central idea is ‘bounced’
around the classroom from pupil to pupil, resulting in an evaluation of the
best responses given, as opposed to the, fairly limiting, technique of a
teacher posing questions back and forth to individual pupils.
Our school
follows a vertical tutoring structure, whereby in one tutor group you will have
a mix of all ages, from 11-16. Two of my older boys asked if they could deliver
a session on ‘Basketball talk’ and generate a class discussion using this
method – a request which, of course, I was more than happy to oblige!
They began
the session by re-capping exactly how to use ‘Basketball talk’ and then posed
the question, which was based around the idea that, here in Portsmouth we
actually have a lot of activities to participate in (particularly for a
relatively small island), but we don’t seem to have enough advertising for
these activities. The pupils were asked
to think about whether there was enough for them to do in Portsmouth AND
whether it was advertised well enough.
The boys
allowed the rest of the tutor group one minute ‘thinking time’ in silence to
allow them to collect their thoughts about what they were going to say. Once
this time had elapsed, they asked one child to begin with his ideas. Then the
conversation really started to flow as the pupils took charge and led the
conversation themselves, without input from me, or indeed their older peers.
What was
nice about the session was the input from those pupils who may be deemed
‘quiet’ or ‘shy’. Where it was their fellow pupils encouraging them to talk and
‘’passing’’ the idea onto them (like a basketball!), suddenly these quiet
pupils were answering questions, giving opinions and, in once case even
contesting with a fellow pupil. Brilliant! Having a peer talk to you and ask
for your opinion can be a lot less intimidating than a big scary teacher stood
at the front of the class!
After the
conversation had come to a natural halt, we considered who had given the most
balanced argument and why. Evaluating the responses after the discussion can be
just as an important process as being involved in the discussion itself. It
allows pupils to reconsider what others may have said 2,3, 5 minutes ago and
think about the points they were making, rather than just ‘switching off’ after
‘their turn’.
Two points
to note that came out of this sessions, from the pupil’s perspective were:
1. Ensure ‘thinking time’ is used
effectively. Two of our pupils were slightly distracted and therefore had
fairly limited responses. Although interestingly, once they began to hear the
responses from others, they wanted another opportunity for input.
2. Beware of distractions during
‘thinking time’ and the discussions itself. Put everything out the way, so that
everyone can focus on each other and their opinions.
The pupils
felt that there were many benefits to this method, mainly, as noted above the
way that it allowed everyone to get involved in a safe and supportive way. When
questioned about the subjects that may best to utilise this method, the –
perhaps obvious – answers of English, History and PSHE were given. But then one
pupil piped up saying “actually every subject could use this as we talk in all
subjects!”
So there you
have it! Basketball talk – give it a go! You may be surprised where it can take
you and your class…
Rebecca
Davis
