This document provides discussion techniques and activities to facilitate structured talk in the classroom. It discusses the importance of talk in developing understanding and learning. Various types of structured discussion formats are described, including circle time, philosophy for children, rainbow groups, pair talk, listening triads, and envoys. These activities encourage speaking, listening, sharing of ideas, and developing concepts. The document also provides information on stimulating further discussion through techniques like jigsawing, value continuums, hot seating, and freeze frames. The overall summary is that structured discussion activities can help students learn through articulating and exploring ideas together.

1. Discussion Toolkit
Made by Mike Gershon – mikegershon@hotmail.com

2. Why talk?
An empty workbook, or lack of ‘product’ from a lesson, is often
deemed a failure. This belief, supported as it is by much of the
reporting and inspection process used to assess schools, can lead to
the assumption that work or learning done in lessons should be
tangible. There should be something to show. Much research and
personal experience suggests that understanding does not stem solely
– or necessarily most effectively – from writing or creating something.
Therefore the assumption that learning, deep learning, must always be
evidenced by a physical product is false.
Lev Vygotsky, the Russian psychologist, wrote that speaking and
thinking were intimately linked. The process of speaking helps us to
learn by articulating our thoughts and developing the concepts we use
to understand the world. Communication and understanding improve
with practice. Therefore, the opportunity to talk is vital in order to
develop understanding.
Of course talk in itself is not simply enough – the talk must be
focussed on what is desired to be developed. Just as an unfocussed
piece of writing will lead to unfocussed results, so it is true of
discussion and debate. The activities described in this toolkit are all
intended to help facilitate and scaffold talk so that it is purposeful,
structured (or deliberately unstructured) and appropriate to the
students and setting. If nothing else, encouraging and valuing talk
sends out a message that communication is important – both listening
and speaking – and that it is a good end of itself.

3. Different Types of Talk
Mercer (1995) identified three
different types of talk:
• Disputational (claim and then counterclaim)
• Cumulative (repeat, confirm, elaborate)
• Exploratory (critical and constructive)
The last two tend to be most common in PSHE, as
students are encouraged to explore emotions, values,
identities and other such personal positions.
Disputational talk may have a place from time to time,
however its argumentative style is unlikely to create a
safe and comfortable environment. It may also make
students feel reluctant to talk for fear of their personal
positions being attacked.
Cumulative talk is excellent for creating an accepting,
safe atmosphere. Here, “speakers build on each other’s
contributions, add information of their own and in a
mutually supportive, uncritical way construct together a
body of shared knowledge and understanding.” (Mercer,
Words and Minds, 2000)

4. Activities for discussion
and debate
Below are a variety of activities which can be used to
facilitate discussion and debate. Either scroll
through, or start the slide show and click on the links.
Circle Time Philosophy for Children
Rainbow Groups Snowballing
Pair Talk Listening Triad
Envoys Jigsawing
Value Continuum Hot Seating
Distancing Goldfish Bowl
Freeze Frame Six Thinking Hats
Free Discussion Radio Phone-In
TV Chat Show Circle of Voices
Post-It Dialogues Rotating Stations
Think-Pair-Share 3-Step Interview

5. Circle Time
Purpose:
Sharing ideas, experiences, feelings. Furthering understanding of self and others.
Articulating group issues.
Set Up:
Everyone sits in a circle either on chairs or on the floor. There is an item (such as
a bean bag or ball) that is held by whoever is speaking.
How it works:
The teacher sits on the same type of chair or cushion as everyone else. This helps
to signal that what is happening is a special kind of classroom activity in which
the teacher is a facilitator rather than a director. The teacher has a special
responsibility to make sure that structured rules of the Circle Time are kept, that
everyone's emotions are protected and that suitable activities are prepared. The
teacher must also be ready to draw a session to a close if students are
persistently breaking the rules.
The most important thing about the rules for circle time is that they should be
discussed and agreed by all members. This is one of the first activities that
should take place. Three basic rules which should be discussed are:
•Only one person should speak at once - the talking object helps this rule
•You can "pass" if you don’t want to speak about something
•No put downs
Find Out More: http://www.circle-time.co.uk/site/home
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6. Philosophy for Children
Find Out More: http://www.sapere.org.uk/
Purpose:
P4C aims to encourage children (or adults) to think critically, caringly, creatively and
collaboratively. It helps teachers to build a 'community of enquiry' where
participants create and enquire into their own questions, and 'learn how to learn' in
the process. (Will Ord - http://www.thinkingeducation.co.uk/p4c.htm)
Set Up:
Arrange the chairs in a circle and (if you feel it is required) have an item (such as a
bean bag or ball) that is used to denote who is speaking. Place stimulus material
around the room for students to view.
How it works:
Introduce the topic and explain the process. Students begin by having a few minutes
to look at some of the stimulus material. On returning to the circle they are given 1-
2 minutes to think of questions related to the topic/stimulus they would like
answered. These are shared and a vote is taken on which question to discuss.
Teacher acts as facilitator – reframing questions as required, posing development
questions or mediating the group to ensure all can participate.
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7. Rainbow Groups
Find Out More: http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a3_aspects/pages/TALKrainbow.htm
Purpose:
Encourages every child to listen (to their home group) and talk (to their colour
group)
Set Up:
Standard group work set up with space to move and discuss.
How it works:
Place students in groups with a topic (the same for all, or different topics) to
discuss (this is their ‘home’ group). After discussion students are given a colour
and regroup accordingly. The new groups should have a member from each of
the ‘home’ groups. The students then take it in turns to report back what their
groups discussed. This can then lead into further discussion.
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8. Snowballing
Purpose:
Encourages use of negotiation, empathy and reasoning
Set Up:
Standard classroom for group work
How it works:
First, students have to individually produce an answer. They then share it with
a partner and turn their two answers into one agreed upon answer. The pair
then joins up with another pair and repeats the process. This way, four
answers are synthesised into one.
e.g. First student chooses three things for an ideal life.
Pair then discuss and synthesise their 6 down to three.
The four does the same again.
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9. Pair Talk
Find Out More:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/working-pairs-groups
Purpose:
To allow articulation of ideas, active listening and focussed discussion. Using
pairs means all students have more opportunity to speak and assists those less
confident in larger groups.
Set Up:
Best to have a little distance between pairs to reinforce the purpose and
discourage moving into conversation with others.
How it works:
Use a stimulus, specific question or topic area for students to talk around. Model
active listening and responding. Label as A and B to maintain on topic if not doing
so (i.e. A is now listening and B talking then swap). Ask students to come up with
questions they want answered individually which they then discuss in pairs. Set a
target for pairs to achieve – i.e. produce an answer to this
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10. Listening Triad
Find Out More
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/glossary/l/listeningtriads.asp?
strReferringChannel=learningaboutlearning
Purpose:
Structured means of eliciting information, developing concepts and understanding
and processing what is said. Also promotes self-awareness through role of observer.
Set Up:
Students in threes, two sat facing, one slightly offset – not engaged but observing.
How it works:
Pupils work in groups of three. Each pupil takes on the role of talker, questioner,
recorder. The talker explains something, or comments on an issue, or expresses an
opinion. The questioner prompts and seeks clarification The recorder makes notes
and gives a report at the end of the conversation. Next time, roles are changed.
(from http://www.at-bristol.co.uk/cz/teachers/Debate%20formats.doc)
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11. Envoys
Find Out More
http://schools.norfolk.gov.uk/index.cfm?s=1&m=1146&p=412,page&id=263
Purpose:
Active listening, public speaking and clarity of exposition, sharing and creating
interdependence.
Set Up:
Pods around the room of groups 3-4
How it works:
Once groups have carried out a task, one person from each group is selected as
an ‘envoy’ and moves to a new group to explain and summarise, and to find out
what the new group thought, decided or achieved. The envoy then returns to the
original group and feeds back. This is an effective way of avoiding tedious and
repetitive ‘reporting back’ sessions. It also puts a ‘press’ on the envoy’s use of
language and creates groups of active listeners. (from http://www.at-
bristol.co.uk/cz/teachers/Debate%20formats.doc)
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12. Purpose:
Structured way of dealing with a series of questions and promoting team work.
Set Up:
Pods around the room of groups 3-4
How it works:
The advantage of a ‘jigsaw’ is that it offers a structure for group work, and promotes a range of
speaking and listening.
• The teacher divides the whole class into small groups (commonly four pupils per group).
These are teacher-initiated in order to make each group reflect the balance of the whole
class – gender, ability, attitude.
• Each Home Group is given a common task. Handouts are employed in order to set the
task. Reading material is kept to a manageable length and complexity. If the home
groups are of four, then there are four questions or tasks within the main task – one for
each member of the group. Questions or tasks are allocated within each group, through
negotiation between the pupils.
• All the pupils who have selected a particular question or task regroup into Expert groups
and work together on what is now a common problem and outcome. By the time this
stage of the session is completed, each has become an expert on this matter, through
discussion and collaboration with the other ‘experts’.
• Original groups reform. Dissemination begins. The home groups are set a final task. This
could be a group outcome, or an individual task. The crucial element is to ensure that
pupils have to draw on the combined ‘wisdom’ of the home group in order to complete
it successfully. (from http://www.at-ristol.co.uk/cz/teachers/Debate%20formats.doc)
Jigsawing
Find Out More: http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/cooperative/jigsaw.html
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13. Value Continuum
Find Out More
http://www.english-teaching.co.uk/learninglearning/valuecontinuumpg.pdf
Purpose:
To express opinions, show values, discuss differences of opinion, engage in
public discussion.
Set Up:
Use a piece of rope or string for the continuum; have arrows pointing on the
board; place the two extremes of opinion on opposite walls.
How it works:
In this format students or groups of students have to respond to a thought
provoking statement by saying to what degree they agree with it. There are a
number of ways this can to used: the students could be asked to come and stand
at the point on a line that represents their individual opinion, alternatively, first
they could be asked to discuss a statement in groups and then for one of the
group to come up to the front and place their groups card/token somewhere
along the line, explaining the position their group have taken as they do so. This
is an excellent format for comparing responses to different questions and finding
out contradictions in their thinking (from http://www.at-
ristol.co.uk/cz/teachers/Debate%20formats.doc)
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14. Hot Seating
Find Out More
http://www.thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityModel/ActModHotSeat.html
Purpose:
Dramatic device to encourage empathy, means of ‘realising’ content, allows for
probing questioning and reasoning of positions.
Set Up:
One student at front, semi-circle or audience of chairs facing.
How it works:
One student comes to the front expresses their opinion and responds to
questioning on a topic. Can be done by students to taking on particular
viewpoints or personas to make it less personal, or more engaged with the
content. For example the students may play the role of a specific character or
type of person (i.e. Gordon Brown or a young single mother)
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15. Distancing
Find Out More
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/eyewitness/learning/
pdfs/tr_difference.pdf
(Lesson 2)
Purpose:
To deal with sensitive, emotional or controversial issues.
Set Up:
Nothing specific
How it works:
Use narrative, drama, role-play and so on to distance students from sensitive,
emotional or controversial topics. For example, rather than asking them to
discuss their feelings on bereavement outright, you may use a narrative from a
bereaved young person and then ask the students to discuss how that person
may have felt.
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16. Goldfish Bowl
Find Out More http://www.xpday.org/session_formats/goldfish_bowl
Purpose:
Gives opportunities for group presentation of ideas, development of
reasoning, analytical questioning, exchange of ideas.
Set Up:
Chairs at the for group, rest of class sat as audience.
How it works:
Like hot seating except a whole group comes to the front and expresses their
views. They are in the goldfish bowls, with other students able to question
them, push for clarification and so on.
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17. Freeze Frame
Find Out More http://www.lgec.org.uk/LagaNews/jun04tool.pdf
Purpose:
Kinaesthetic approach to aid discussion
Set Up:
Start in a circle and then break out into pods – move tables so there is room to
manoeuvre.
How it works:
Students are asked to create a freeze frame of a topic, story or statement. A
freeze frame is a point at which the ‘camera’ has stopped – it has a before and
after that are not seen by the audience (hence it is different from a still image).
Groups then show their freeze frame to the rest of the class who guess what it is
and then go on to discuss around it.
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18. Six Thinking Hats
Find Out
More
http://en.
wikipedia.
org/wiki/Si
x_Thinking
_Hats
Purpose:
To breakdown different parts of thinking in order to discuss more effectively and
be more aware of the influences on your own thought.
Set Up: Nothing specific
How it works:
There are six hats, each representing a different element of thinking. Students
are given a hat (real or imaginary) and asked to think through the discussion
using that hat. The idea is to thus create a map covering all the different
elements of an issue or idea. The class could be divided into different hats and
the teacher manage the discussion.
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19. Free Discussion
Purpose:
Encourage responsibility, student-led, avoids teacher focus or retreading of tired
points.
Set Up:
Groups or whole class, circle, pods or table and chairs
How it works:
This can be done with smaller groups or the whole class. As it is not structured
this sort of discussion may require some more facilitation. This can be the
teacher or session leader for the whole group but if there are a number of
groups staffing may not allow a facilitator for each group. In this case one option
may be to ask one of the students to act as a facilitator, this is probably a
technique to use once the students have experienced positive models of how a
facilitator should act and discussed key aspects of behaviour in this role.
(From http://www.at-ristol.co.uk/cz/teachers/Debate%20formats.doc)
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20. Radio Phone-In
Purpose:
Active listening, shows many sides of a discussion
Set Up:
Teacher (or student) Is the radio host with four guests (students) and an
audience (rest of class)
How it works:
There is a topic to discuss, led by the radio host. The four guests receive role-play
cards and are asked to take on that character for the discussion. Audience peer
assesses, ‘rings-in’ with questions, takes notes with a listening frame and so on.
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21. TV Chat Show
Find out more http://www.tweakit.co.uk/attachments/chatshow.pdf
Purpose:
Lots of speaking and listening, visual as well as auditory, easy reference point for
lots of students (and teachers!).
Set Up:
Depends what chat show you want to mimic
How it works:
Teacher is the host with students as different characters discussing a topic.
Audience asks questions, gets involved in the discussion, peer assesses and so
on. Could be Newsnight, Opah, Parkinson, Montel –style etc. Panel show, family
feud, revelations, question time etc.
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22. Purpose:
Generate ideas, develop listening skills, have all students participate, equalize
learning environment
Set Up:
Moveable chairs preferable
How it works:
This method involves students taking turns to speak. Students form circles of
four or five. Give students a topic, and allow them a few minutes to organize
their thoughts about it. Then the discussion begins, with each student having up
to three minutes (or choose a different length) of uninterrupted time to speak.
During this time, no one else is allowed to say anything. After everyone has
spoken once, open the floor within the subgroup for general discussion.
Specify that students should only build on what someone else has said, not on
their own ideas; also, at this point, they should not introduce new ideas
(Brookfield & Preskill, 1999)
(all from
http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/teaching_tips/Other/gw_types_of_
small_groups.pdf.pdf )
Circle of Voices
Find Out More http://stephenbrookfield.com/pdf_files/Discussion_Materials.pdf
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23. Post-It Dialogues
Purpose:
Public discussion without necessarily having to ‘speak’ publicly, visual a,
kinaesthetic and auditory elements, good for having something tangible to
discuss ‘around’
Set Up:
Post-it notes for each student, space to move around
How it works:
Lots of different ways – could have a few sheets of sugar paper with statements
or questions on and students read them and post comments; groups of 3/4/5
have to answer question on post its, or produce comments, which they then
share, discuss and present; could use ‘role on the wall’ and students express
opinions/emotions on post-its.
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24. Rotating Stations
Purpose:
Build on others’ ideas, cover a topic or question holistically, active and pacey
Set Up:
Series of stations around the room with stimulus, sugar paper and pens (or give
each group a different coloured pen to take around – therefore keep track of
who’s contributed what)
How it works:
Locate each small group at a station where they are given 10 minutes to discuss
a provocative issue and record their ideas on newsprint or a chalkboard. When
this time is up the groups move to new stations in the classroom where they
continue their discussion, based on the ideas they encounter from the previous
group. Rotations continue every 10 minutes until each group has been at all of
the positions and has had a chance to consider all of the other groups' comments
(from http://drscavanaugh.org/discussion/inclass/discussion_formats.htm)
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25. Think-Pair-Share
Find out more http://www.eazhull.org.uk/nlc/think,_pair,_share.htm
Purpose:
Structured way of developing ideas and thoughts
Set Up:
Nothing specific
How it works:
See below
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26. Three Step Interview
Find Out More http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/strategies/three_step_interview.htm
Purpose:
Structured way of developing ideas and thoughts
Set Up:
Pods of four
How it works:
Divide four-member groups into two pairs: A and B, C and D. In step 1, A
interviews B while C interviews D. In step 2, reverse roles: B interviews A while D
interviews C. In step 3, share-around: each person shares information about
his/her partners in the group of 4.
(From http://drscavanaugh.org/discussion/inclass/discussion_formats.htm )
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