Susan Cain recently published Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and this has got me thinking about the exalted benefit we have placed on talk in our classrooms. Indeed we have made it extremely clear - I hope - that students need to be expressing themselves orally in order for them to solidify their acquisition of academic language and content. However, her challenge is a fair one. Not having read the book, and only perused her blog and her Ted Talk, I do think it's important to give equal value and opportunity for quiet reflection, and teaching of independent work habits alongside our focus on teaching students how to clarify, challenge, and deepen ideas in a group setting.
Just writing that last line makes me realize how much harder this is to accomplish then it is to teach children to learn and think independently. In a group setting, you have to learn how to LISTEN and sincerely consider the arguent or point of view of another while comparing that idea to your own. I mean, really, do you know many adults that do this well? So, I'm hardly ready to abandon the benefits of Productive Group Work, but I think we need to talk long and hard - oops - I mean first think long and hard about where quiet reflection and independence fits into the learning equation. Then, we can have that conversation about how this best fits into a learning model.
What jumps out at me from the start is that writing plays such a pivotal role in this process. As students think about new ideas or connect new ideas to currently held thoughts, they benefit by putting their first thoughts in writing. This can be followed by sharing that writing with one other person, before embarking on the more complex dynamics of a group discussion or group project.
