Disk-ussions

By Jennifer Goodall

Disk-ussions Let's Give Them Something to Talk About

What is a "Disk-ussion"?
Talking about books, forming opinions, agreeing, disagreeing, acknowledging others' ideas, sharing... aren't these all the things that we want our students to achieve as readers? Well Ladies and Gentlemen, it has happened. Gather a bunch of students together that are reading the same book, divide them into smaller groups, and let them discuss it. Even better though, let them write and discuss at the same time. By creating a file for them in a word-processing software program, where they can communicate with one another, great things happen. To add to the experience, allow the students to choose code names. This provides a shield of anonymity that removes any fears that they may have about sharing their ideas. It also adds a little mystery that can inspire almost any student. During the 1998-9 school year, two other teachers and myself embarked on the "Disk-ussions" project with our grade eight English classes. We were thrilled with the results- the students spilled their thinking onto the screen by asking questions, arguing with the author, giving advice to the characters, empathizing with them and quoting significant words and phrases.

Reader Response
Adding to the validity of this project, is its foundation of academic theory. Louise Rosenblatt, a pioneer of reader response theory, asserts that when text and reader meet, a highly unique and personal experience occurs. Too often however, classroom reading is a transaction between a teacher and a reader, rather than between a reader and a text. In disk-ussions, the students choose the meanings that they bring to the text, and in doing so, take ownership of their reading.

The Benefits
Students

• Students got the chance to share their ideas in an informal "chat-like" setting. This encouraged them to keep reading, because they wanted to be part of the group. Also, they looked forward to getting responses.
• Students got a better understanding of the text. Because others' interpretations were shared, they got the opportunity to see perspectives they would not have, had they been limited to their own
• Students learned how to form an opinion and argue it. Oftentimes, students disagreed. They learned how to collect their evidence and articulate their beliefs. This is the groundwork for writing an essay.
• Students that were confused got a better understanding of the text. They had access to more than just "teacher talk". They learned from one another.
• Students got the opportunity to explore their ideas, and be rewarded for their process work. Asking questions was encouraged.
• The students gained technological skills, useful across the curriculum. Furthermore, some of them used technology to enhance their communication.
• Weak writers were liberated by being able to use spell check and by picking up the vocabulary of others. These students were unconstrained by other students' (and teachers') judgment. Many special needs' students clearly wrote with more confidence and with genuine feeling.

Teachers

• By using a disk-ussion model, the teachers were able to step out of the picture and let the students find their way. We became the guides on the side, not giving the students the answers, but allowing them to find them all on their own.
• The teachers had the opportunity to evaluate real process work. A mark is given based on growth over time, not simply on one piece of writing.
• The students were intrinsically motivated to write- they wanted to talk to their peers. Lack of work was not an issue.
• The challenge of responding in-depth to large numbers of response logs was solved with this project. Students responded more intensely than a teacher ever could and provided a more stimulating audience!

The Steps

• The ideal method is to create your disk-ussion groups on a pedagogical server. This can be set up with the assistance of your RÉCIT animator.
  
• Each student chooses a code name that the teacher records on a master list.
• All participating students are placed into groups. For example, two of our grade eight classes were placed into seven groups of approximately 8-10 students.
• Each group is given a name (we named each of ours after a different planet!). If the teacher is using disks, these should be placed in a central location. If a teacher is using a pedagogical server, the students from each group, simply need privileges to access this folder.
• We found that a written prompt at the beginning of the word processing document helped the students to a jump start! The first entry is a response to the prompt. Later entries become more complex, as students respond to several students and issues. Eventually the document is like a giant collection of conversational threads about literature.
• After the disk-ussion is well under way, it is a good idea to print each group's disk-ussion, so the groups can learn from each other's responses.
• The disk-ussion generally ends with the reading of the text. Self-evaluation and reflection proved very successful during our project, where the students expressed enthusiasm.
• The teacher can then print the entire transcript and evaluate the student's collective responses. Please see the attached evaluation rubric.

The Messy Business of Evaluation
Evaluating personal reactions to reading is always a complex experience for teachers- what is a good response? By eliciting and analyzing a large number of texts from our participating classes, we devised the attached criteria for assessing personal responses to literature.

Using Disk-ussions Across the Curriculum
While this project was conducted in English classes, the potential for it to work in other subjects is great. In content based subjects for example, students can discuss particular concepts and issues.

Disk-ussions and the Curriculum Reforms
Much of the philosophy of this project reflects our new curriculum reforms. The shared beliefs include:

• Learning is an active, constructive process.
• Learning is essentially the establishment of connections between new data and previous knowledge.
• Motivation determines the degree of students' involvement, participation and persistence in learning.