The Power of Voice
The benefits of using turn & talk routines in the classroom
Teachers pose many questions in their classroom throughout the day and sometimes the response from students can be deafening silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Getting students to talk at the right time about the right information can be as simple as embedding turn and talk into your daily teaching routine.
‘Turn & talk’ is a highly effective instructional routine used in the classroom to promote discussion between students. It increases the opportunity of all students to engage in meaningful discussions about their learning, ask questions, clarify misunderstandings and share any new learnings they may discover. It gives all students the opportunity to share their thinking and deepen their own metacognition, and best of all it can be used across all content areas at any grade level.
The routine itself:
Typically speaking, the turn and talk routine involves 2-3 students engaging in a meaningful discussion whereby students physically turn their body to engage with a peer. It consists of 3 basic steps. Firstly, the teacher prompts the students with a question or point of discussion, then students engage with one another through taking turns to speak and then listen, usually 1-2 minutes in total.
Put simply:
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Teacher prompts the students with a question or point of discussion.
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Student 1 responds whist student 2 listens.
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Student 2 responds whilst student 1 listens.
Why use it in the classroom?
Posing questions to a whole class can often limit the discussion and only open up a response to a select few in the classroom, with students either choosing not to respond or the same students answering the questions time and time again. When turn and talk routines are embedded into the classroom and clear expectations have been established, all students have a chance to share their thinking in a low-risk situation. During this time, students become more engaged in their learning and over time ultimately develop a willingness to share with a larger audience. Research shows that having multiple opportunities to respond and actively engage in content learning improves student learning (MacSuga-Gage & Simonson, 2015).
When to use it:
Turn and talk can be used at any time during a lesson to encourage accountable talk. Students can be paired strategically or more fluidly based on who they are seated next to. Turn and talk can be part of the mini lesson for students to share prior understandings about a topic, recap prior learning, process new learnings, clarify thinking, discuss and share ideas with others or as part of the share reflection time to review and articulate new learning. The teacher’s role during this time is also one of great importance whereby they rove between students gaining a deeper understanding of their thinking, as well as scaffolding the discussion where needed.
schoolED can provide support with the following:
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Educate teachers of the benefits and importance of ‘talk’ in the primary classroom F-6
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Model lessons or the implementation of turn & talk routines within the classroom
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Set up daily classroom routines where turn and talk can be utilised across all curriculum areas
