Reimagining Discourse in the Classroom

Classroom discourse serves an important role in language, literacy, and other content area learning in early childhood and elementary classrooms. In this article, the authors define discourse as it relates to teaching and learning and overview the background of research on the topic. Then classroom discourse is reconsidered in the current context, including the field's growing understanding of the importance of knowledge for literacy, increasingly diverse student populations, and the rising prevalence of technology for instruction. Two traditional classroom discourse practices, sharing time and small-group discussions, are revisited with these considerations. Suggestions are presented for how educators may update their approach to facilitating these types of discourse activities.