Introduction to Student Discourse

In partnership with Model Teaching, an industry leader in supporting educators, this course will teach you how to plan for discourse in your classroom. The curriculum covered is ideal for teachers new to implementing discourse, who want to learn about specific questioning prompts and grouping activities that can be incorporated into the classroom.

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3 Months / 1 Course Hrs
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Virginia Wesleyan University

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Introduction to Student Discourse

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Course code: T15129

This course will teach you how to plan for discourse in the classroom and is ideal for teachers new to implementing discourse. You will learn about specific questioning prompts, classroom discussion strategies, and grouping activities that you can implement into your classroom. You will also learn about how to build an encouraging classroom environment and how to handle common challenges that may arise when students are actively participating in discussions. The course comes with some sample questioning prompts to get you started with implementation in your classroom.

What you will learn

  • Analyze the benefits of academic discourse among students
  • Evaluate some question types to consider when encouraging discourse
  • Plan ideas for building a classroom environment for encouraging discourse
  • Plan ideas for handling common challenges that arise during discussions

How you will benefit

  • Your students will more easily master course concepts by learning from one another via class discussions
  • Your classroom will become more engaging and vibrant
  • Student learning will improve, and critical reasoning will increase the more you implement discourse as part of your lesson activities

How the course is taught

  • Self-Guided, online course
  • 3 Months access
  • 1 course hours

Introduction to Student Discourse Content

The video and article will provide you with an understanding of what discourse looks like in the classroom and some simple ways of implementing it and keeping your students engaged. The course also includes some "Reflect or Discuss" prompts to help you connect with the course content and ends with a "Try This Task" to guide you explicitly on how you might implement the ideas into the classroom.

Quiz

You will answer questions related to student discourse. Quizzes are automatically scored and provide feedback on answer choice rationale.

Implementation Reflection

The reflection prompt requires you to plan to use the "try this task" by either reflecting on the content yourself or discussing it with a colleague. You will then discuss a new concept you can attempt to implement in the future based on something you learned in the course.

Considerations for Implementation

This short statement helps you reflect on your ideas and assess whether you might be successful in your implementation.

Videos and Further Reading

Additional content suggestions are provided to enhance and expand your understanding of discourse to engage and support student learning.

Self-Study

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 10 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox is preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Microsoft Word Online
    • Editing of a Microsoft Word document is required in this course. You may use a free version of Microsoft Word Online, or Google Docs if you do not have Microsoft Office installed on your computer. You may be required to download documents.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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