When I ask my students to stand up and discuss or debate an issue that they care about or know a lot about, there are a few kids who nail it. They are often the confident ones who enjoy the attention but in my level 2 class, most lack the confidence or the skill to stand in front of their peers and share their opinion for a number of different reasons.
At our Power-up homework centre recently, DJ Tuaru, who runs the sessions, took the students who attended through the power of 'Talanoa', which looked at encouraging students to voice their informed opinions on an issue that interests them. We discussed the meaning of 'Talanoa' and I found it empowering to be reminded that our Pasifika people were an oral people and that generations of our elders passed on their knowledge through song, music and storytelling. I asked DJ to come to my level 2 class, to share his presentation and help run a debate around what my kids had been learning about. I wanted to see how the students would respond with the lesson.
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My students had just learnt about 2 different perspectives from the same religion in Israel who wanted different outcomes - the Israeli Defence Force and the Orthodox Jews. We wanted to see if they could argue the perspectives from those viewpoints and respond to each other. My recording of the lesson is below.
(Please note: When debating, the students perspectives where in role play).
Reflection: On reflection, I could see how hard it was for the majority of the class to speak up. I wonder if it was the environment or their lack of knowledge of the context or other reasons. I will have a follow up discussion this week and feedback from the class to see how they felt about it. My next steps will be to organise smaller conversational groups, to support those who would not speak or were less confident and to allow them practice to hold conversations through different prompts and to mind map their responses. I will also look at other strategies to encourage our students with the 'Talanoa' and ask Dr Jannie about ways to support our kids with conversations.
(Please note: When debating, the students perspectives where in role play).
Reflection: On reflection, I could see how hard it was for the majority of the class to speak up. I wonder if it was the environment or their lack of knowledge of the context or other reasons. I will have a follow up discussion this week and feedback from the class to see how they felt about it. My next steps will be to organise smaller conversational groups, to support those who would not speak or were less confident and to allow them practice to hold conversations through different prompts and to mind map their responses. I will also look at other strategies to encourage our students with the 'Talanoa' and ask Dr Jannie about ways to support our kids with conversations.
Acknowledgements: Thank you Mr Tuaru for your inspiring lesson.
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