Table Talk: Empowering ALIVE Conversations

Focused Area

Youth-At-Risk in Urban Settings

Relevance to Focused Area

Table Talk seeks to empower students to share their thoughts and ideas in ways that are unique to each child's personality, character, and situation. Conversation skills are explicitly taught to students prompting empowerment and a sense of community among diverse urban populations.

Primary Strand

Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance to Primary Strand

Table Talk is an instructional framework created to teach elementary students how to communicate and collaborate effectively. Just as technology's ubiquitousness and society's rapidness have sustained, Table Talk seeks to empower students to overcome barriers to successful and productive adult lives.

Brief Program Description

Forming a community of learners is at the heart of every classroom teacher, but making it a reality takes hard work on a daily basis. Realizing the need to create this community and finding a way to bring it to reality is the goal of Table Talk. Table Talk is a strategy that will build a community of learners in which interdependent relationships and reciprocal accountability will characterize the work among adults and students.

Summary

Table Talk is an instructional framework created to teach students how to communicate and collaborate effectively. ALIVE conversations are composed of the strategies demonstrating the five elements of successful dialogue: Ask and Answer, Listen, Interview, Voice, and Eyes. These strategies are explicitly taught throughout the school year and students participate in weekly ‘Table Talks’ to practice their newly learned skills and build stamina. Through this teaching and practicing model, students are taught to reflect and self-monitor all conversations, both in the school setting and out in the real world. Considerations and instruction encompass high-poverty rates, ESL learners, gifted learners, and the multi-cultural aspects of today’s classrooms. During the Ask and Answer phase of teaching, students are taught how to ask questions that keep conversations flowing and provide deeper understanding of thoughts and ideas. Teachers learn to let go of the traditional method of lecture-style teaching becoming confident in letting students explore topics using appropriate and productive strategies to produce successful solutions to problems and proposals. Classroom instruction focuses on teaching students to articulate ideas, engage in critical thinking, and solve problems through collaboration and the implementation of higher cognitive processes while students learn to become inquisitive, encouraging, and inclusive in all settings. Table Talk strives to teach students collaboration, communication, creativity, and being able to 'think on your feet' through thoughtful and insightful reflection, feedback, and explicit instruction. Holding an effective and appropriate conversation is taught, modeled, and practiced each day. By bringing conversations ALIVE, Table Talk seeks to take students on a journey of learning that goes beyond the classroom walls and supports the 21st century citizen.

Evidence

Table Talk is based on various discussion models and has become the product of three years of action-research in the regular classroom. Dealing with students of high-poverty levels in an urban settings uses the research of Ruby Payne, Eric Jensen, and other current researchers. The implementation of Table Talk in the regular classroom is a continually developing process that seeks to include and empower all students in being able to communicate effectively in order to participate successfully as adults. This action-research project focuses on a collaborative method of instruction based on best practices and ongoing research.

Format

Poster Presentation

Biographical Sketch

Table Talk has been developed over the past three years as an action research project in the regular elementary classroom where Jeanine has been an educator for 21 years. She seeks to input new ideas and research into her various classrooms to inspire students to become 21st century learners.

Anne is an innovator in the regular classroom. She has worked collaboratively on Table Talk with her students for the past 3 years to help them develop skills for successful adult lives.

Start Date

11-5-2015 5:45 PM

End Date

11-5-2015 6:45 PM

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Nov 5th, 5:45 PM Nov 5th, 6:45 PM

Table Talk: Empowering ALIVE Conversations

Forming a community of learners is at the heart of every classroom teacher, but making it a reality takes hard work on a daily basis. Realizing the need to create this community and finding a way to bring it to reality is the goal of Table Talk. Table Talk is a strategy that will build a community of learners in which interdependent relationships and reciprocal accountability will characterize the work among adults and students.