Brittany H Journal 4 October 9, 2012

Science classrooms have been observed throughout the years as not having the most active and productive discussions and chances for student ideas. It seems the teachers typically ask a recall kind of question and expect a very straightforward answer that was probably repeated verbatim from another source. This talk format is called the I-R-E Sequence which stands for exactly what it entails (teacher Initiation, student Response, and teacher Evaluation). The other type of talk types is called Position-Driven which is an example of productive classroom talk format. Position-Driven is clearly the opposite of IRE Sequence in the way that the children form their own ideas, positions, and explanations through exploration. Classrooms that employ Position-Driven discussions use questioning as a sort of launch into the subject or concept, rather than just a recital of facts from a book. Another thing that separate I-R-E sequence and Position driven is the fact that the teacher isnt just looking for a correct response or position. In some cases, it is even better for the educator to get a bunch of different stands and misconceptions because then the students all run towards this understanding and come out with better retention in the end. This is because the students get to hear others perspectives, build upon them, refute them, and coming up with evidence to support their own positions. This type of talk type should be chosen over I-R-E when the classroom teacher is looking for more of the conceptual type understanding rather than just memorizing a fact or formula.

The talk types are all comparable in the sense that they are all difficult to use without the right skills and knowledge. You really need to have the knowledge to build upon the students conclusions, evidence, and arguments or the conversation will go nowhere. It is always important to know more than your students so you can answer some of the questions that arise in a way that is on their level. Also, Id like to add from experience that it can be difficult in both I-R-E and Position Driven to choose your phrasing in a direction that get the question across to the students in a way that doesnt give them few options or an easy answer. The point of this reading was that it is important to question! Not only does it make for a much more exciting learning environment where it appears everyones thoughts and opinions count, but it allows the students to practice using rich science language. If you had never used words such as molecules or adaptations how would you ever begin to wrap your head around them simply from a definition or chapter reading? It would be tough and would require a lot of memorization which is never exciting. As educators we all need to work on implementing more of the productive talk types.