Questioning for Classroom Discussion: Purposeful Speaking, Engaged Listening, Deep Thinking

Jackie Acree Walsh and Beth Dankert Sattes

Table of Contents

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About This Book

What type of questioning invigorates and sustains productive discussions?

That's what Jackie Acree Walsh and Beth Dankert Sattes ask as they begin a passionate exploration of questioning as the beating heart of thoughtful discussions. Questioning and discussion are important components of classroom instruction that work in tandem to push learning forward and move students from passive participants to active meaning-makers.

Walsh and Sattes argue that the skills students develop through questioning and discussion are critical to academic achievement, career success, and active citizenship in a democratic society. They also have great potential to engage students at the highest levels of thinking and learning.

The extent to which this potential is realized, of course, depends on individual teachers who embrace these practices, make them their own, and realize that this process requires a true partnership with students.

With that in mind, Questioning for Classroom Discussion presents and analyzes the DNA of productive discussions—teacher-guided, small-group, and student-driven.

See the book's table of contents and read excerpts. 

Infographic: How to Plan Meaningful Classroom Discussions

Review the five steps of the discussion process in this infographic to further your learning from the book.

Post it in your office, share it with your colleagues, or circulate it on social media to improve best practices for classroom discussions.

See the infographic. (JPG)

About the Authors

JACKIE ACREE WALSH is an independent educational consultant who partners with educators across the country to enhance teaching and leading in classrooms, schools, and districts. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, Walsh is also the lead consultant for the Alabama Best Practices Center, which affords her the opportunity to work with networks of school teams, district teams, instructional partners, and superintendents. 

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BETH DANKERT SATTES consults through her business, Enthused Learning, primarily in the area of effective questioning in K–12 classrooms. She works with clients and staff of service centers, districts, schools, and departments of education throughout the eastern and southern part of the United States, frequently facilitating adult learning and returning (in person or via the Internet) for follow-up. Sattes began her work in education as an elementary special education teacher and then as a parent educator of preschool children with behavior disorders. 

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