The Lost Art of Classroom Conversation

Okay, so Dave posed a question that I have been pondering...and pondering...and pondering.

It's time to move from the pondering stance to the writing stage. (I love to let thoughts "cook" in my brain, but if I never actually pull them out of the oven, they really start to smell.) So I'll put on my writing potholders and see if this thing's done yet.

Dave asked: Does technology assist conversation or activity? Or both? Or neither? He framed his question in the context of the growing tendency of teachers to substitute activity for conversation within and beyond the classroom.

First of all, I agree with the assertion that teachers do tend to replace conversation with activity. It is rare to see an authentic, sustained, meaningful conversation or discussion in a classroom.

Conversation is disappearing as an instructional tool for several reasons. First, conversation is not part of the assessment process. If it can't be captured as an indication of student growth and added to an assessment folder, its chances for survival in the classroom will rapidly decrease.

There is also the perception that conversation is simply a waste of time. Most teachers seem to feel that there is more value in students busily filling in a worksheet than engaging in meaningful dialogue.

A third reason for the decline of conversation in the classroom involves a lack of training. Teachers are not taught to see the value in conversation or to foster such discussions. If they don't know how to do it, or why to do it, they probably won't attempt to do it.

Okay, I have only dealt with one small part of Dave's question. I need to think about the rest of it. Back to pondering...