Strategies for Administrators and Coaches

method. The fishbowl method is an organized discussion strategy in which students in a class are organized into two discussion circles: an outer ring and an inner ring. The students in the inner circle, or the fishbowl, lead a discussion among themselves while the students in the outer circle listen. Afterward, students discuss what they observed and provide feedback. The class may also create norms for engaging with partners based on what they observed. The following are examples of cooperative learning across disciplines in elementary schools.

• In shared reading with teachers, students summarize what a teacher reads after each page or a brief section. Teachers ask students to use as many words from the shared reading as possible. • In partner reading, students discuss parts of the book they are reading. Together they summarize what they are reading or what the teacher taught the class. Identifying common themes and character development are good topics for discussion. • In science and social studies, students discuss what they read or what the teacher taught. They reflect on science labs or discuss historical events. Reflections on learning are good practices for processing information. • In mathematics, students discuss how they solved a problem or other possible solutions to a problem. The justification process provides students with an opportunity to reflect on what they did to get the answer and see other possibilities based on what their partner says. • In writing, partners share ideas and orally tell their stories or topics before they write, edit, and revise together.

Coaches and administrators should look for multiple opportunities throughout a lesson for teachers to encourage students to talk about their learning. They should monitor the percentage of teacher talk to student talk. If the teacher is on the stage for a large percentage of time, student understanding and achievement suffer. In a 2019 study, researchers observed 639 ninth-grade students to see if the amount of teacher talk versus student talk affected student achievement, finding a positive link between individual participation and achievement in all students (Sedova, Sedláček, Švaříček, & Majcik, 2019).