This week I dived into practices that encourage collaboration of students. I wanted to know how teachers facilitate the sharing of knowledge between students as well as how students share their knowledge orally with their teachers. I watched many videos of these knowledge building circles to see how teachers use questions to provoke and guide students into sharing, making connections, asking new questions and develop ideas. I noticed that the teacher is recording what children say and the questions they have to support the development of community knowledge as well as for assessment. I feel like this can be done informally in all subjects! It is represented in math talks, literacy circles, sharing what you have learned at the end of the day.

Some important questions for facilitating a Knowledge Building circle:

Ask open ended questions that either the students formulated or that will encourage deeper thinking or connections

Ask what they already know

Ask for theories about topic

What else could you explore in the topic

Ask why and how questions

Ask if there is anyone who thinks differently

Ask them how and where they can find information

Ask how their thinking has transformed

Does it connect to your other learning

Important Considerations:

Keep children on topic though guiding

Encourage children to participate

Connect children similar thinking

Recognize when children are summarizing and when they are thinking deeper

You dont need to do alot of summarizing.

Help children connect when children are building on to others ideas

Recognize that they are talking to each other not to the teacher