Were you the kind of student who practiced oral presentations in front of the mirror, in front of your parents or simply winged it the day it was due? I was the kind of kid who practiced over and over again. I remember my dad giving me great pointers like pausing at commas, taking full breaths at the end of sentences and E-N-U-N-C-I-A-T-I-N-G every word. I enjoyed preparing for oral presentations. I was a pretty shy kid in class, so being able to memorize something at home meant that I was able to participate in class. I was lucky as I had the support at home. My parents would listen to me over and over again, until my dad would eventually say: "Enough". That's when I knew I was ready. What about students who don't have the support at home? Are they the ones who don't show up at school the day their presentation is due? Are they the ones who are so nervous they can barely sleep at night? Or are they the ones who stand in front of the class absolutely mortified and say umm...ohh...ummm a lot? Of course there are the lucky ones who have the gift of gab, don't practice at home and present a flawless presentation, with a loud, clear voice, and a lot of enthusiasm! I asked some of my colleagues what the point of having kids stand in front of class was. One of them told me that it was good practice for later on in life. Really? Having a 7 year old stand in front of their peers is good practice for later on in life? I don't agree. How many of these children will grow up and never have to present in front of their peers? How many of my own colleagues are too shy to speak up during staff meetings? The majority of the teachers at my school would not be comfortable presenting in front of their peers, yet we have our students do it all the time. One of my colleagues, a grade 4 teacher, told me that she was terrified of speaking in front of the classroom when she was young. Although she had the support at home and was well prepared for presentations, she would still have difficulty sleeping the night before, and had terrible stomach aches the day her presentation was due. She is in her fifties now, and she still can't present in front of a group of peers. She told me that she never got over the fear of public speaking. I asked her if I could film her telling her story for my blog but alas, she is not comfortable in front of the camera! Based on a study involving 65 candidates, Shin et al.'s (2018) results showed that anxiety in public speaking can still be present years later. After I read that article, I understood why my colleague was so uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups decades later. The problem with having students work on oral presentations is that it is something worked on at home. There is no discussion, no deeper thoughts, no time for deeper learning. Preparing for an oral presentation consists simply of memorizing a text at home, and reciting in front of peers. According to Reznitskaya et al. a recent study showed that discussions were absent from more than 90% of the 200 classrooms that were observed. Students need to have a venue for deep conversations. Schools should be one of these venues. In Quebec, the evaluation criteria is such that communication is evaluated from grade 1 to grade 11 in English and in French. Here is what most students are expected to do:
As the student works on the written component at home, oral presentations must be graded as written work, not for communication. If your mark is based on students raising their hands and participating, then introverted children are at a disadvantage. As an introvert myself, I had a very difficult time raising my hand in class. I still do. As an adult, I force myself to raise my hand during staff meetings or during McGill classes. I do it anyway as I want to add to the discussion. My heart races up until the time I am asked to share with my peers but I do it anyway. I did not have as much will power when I was young. So, how can we possibly give a better mark to a student who speaks up in class as opposed to a quieter student? When we do this, we, as teachers, are basing marks on personality as opposed to communication skill. Here is a fantastic Ted Talk on the Power of Introverts: https://bit.ly/2EGAf3r Here is an activity that teachers can do with their students in order to incite a discussion. I got this idea from my colleague Heather-Anne, who is a French consultant at Lester B. Pearson School Board. She recommended watching short animated clip with our students. These clips have no words and therefore can be used in any language. They last approximately five minutes. Here is one called: Take me home Here are some ideas to try with your children or students:
According to Ketch (2005), conversation is the basis to critical thinking. She says that in most classrooms, students are required to be quiet for most of the day and have little opportunity to have conversations. As a teacher, I understand why teachers want their students to work quietly. Classrooms can become very noisy very easily and the teacher may feel as though he/she is losing control. It's ok to have moments of conversations with the whole group as well as in small groups. Here is another great activity to get all students to participate and listen! We recently tried it out during a staff meeting. Here I am giving directions to my colleague. I was describing a fruit basket to him, but I wasn't allowed to use the the words "fruit" or "basket". The goal was for my colleague to draw the exact picture that I am describing. I was very impressed with his questions! For example, I was describing an apple, but wasn't allowed to say apple. So, I said: "Draw a circle". He asked where the circle was on the page, and what size the circle was. I then responded that it was in the middle, on the right hand-side of the page and that it was the size of my thumb. What a great exercise in listening and participating! It can definitely be done at all ages and in any language (in their mother tongue or in a language that they are learning). According to Barker (2015), having discussions of texts in class is "at the heart of teaching English". She says that teachers should give the students a chance to discuss. Asking students a question and having them answer and then following up with another question is not a discussion. That is considered a simple question and answer period. In this case, the children are not given the opportunity to elaborate on their answers. Here is another activity to help facilitate discussions. Give students a list of topics, such as:
Ketch (2015) reminds us how crucial conversation is to children and that it is the foundation for critical thinking. She says: "It provides students with the practice that becomes the foundation for reading, writing, and thinking." There are so many alternative to traditional oral presentations and getting students to have meaningful discussions. I hope this blog encourages parents and teachers to facilitate more discussions at home and at school. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References and recommended readings Barker, Lisa M. (2015). Under Discussion: Teaching Speaking and Listening. English Journal 104.3 (2015): 97–100 Ketch, A. (2005). Conversation: The Comprehension Connection. The Reading Teacher,59(1), 8-13. doi:10.1598/rt.59.1.2 Reznitskaya, A. & Glina, M. (2013) Comparing Student Experiences with Story Discussions in Dialogic Versus Traditional Settings, The Journal of Educational Research, 106:1, 49-63, DOI: 10.1080/00220671.2012.658458 Shin, K. E., & Newman, M. G. (2018). Using Retrieval Cues to Attenuate Return of Fear in Individuals With Public Speaking Anxiety. Behavior Therapy,49(2), 212-224. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2017.07.011
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