Some of my colleagues attended a training at our district office yesterday, and one of the questions discussed was:

“What should an academic discussion in class look like, sound like and feel like?

My good friend and co-author Katie Hull Sypnieski suggested that, in addition to using this question as an exercise in a class, it could also be applied to discussions when educators meet.

Every Wednesday, our Small Learning Community (see The Best Resources For Learning About Small Learning Communities) meets for a half-hour. Our terrific Lead Teacher, Pam Buric, agreed that it would be a good idea to bring it up, and Katie and another great educator, Jen Adkins, led a very short (I was the official timekeeper — not that they needed one!) discussion, and the photo below documents what we came up with….

What would you add?

Professional discussions

Our SLC plans to bring it up regularly as a reminder/review.