Managing Recitations and Discussions

This chapter from Weinstein & Mignano was interesting because I had never really thought so in-depth about the differences between recitations and discussions in elementary classrooms. To me, both recitation and discussion style formats can be helpful to students if used in the right way. In a sense I think that discussions are more beneficial to students' learning than recitations because there are less ways that discussions can go wrong and many more ways that recitations can be unsuccessful. I agree that if used in the right way, recitations can help students comprehend the story, review basic facts, and be involved by answering questions that can involve higher-level thinking. However, according to the chapter, many teachers mistakenly think they are involved in true discussions with their students when in fact most of them are engaging in a recitation-style format. Also, recitations are denounced because the teacher dominates the conversation, there is little interaction among students, recall of facts is emphasized, and little higher-level thinking is required. In contrast, discussions allow students to work together to ponder an issue or question; a variety of responses are elicited and students begin to appreciate other people's points of view.

I have had many experiences as a learner with teachers who engage solely in recitation, and then they wonder why their students do not know the information or are uninterested in classroom material. I think it is important as teachers to know the major differences between recitations and discussions in order to help students understand and internalize information. I think the best way to foster our students' understanding is to use a combination of effective recitation and discussion strategies because both are important to facilitate students' learning and comprehension of classroom material.