Accountable Talk

Video Transcription

Hi. My name is Ashley, and today's lesson is titled Accountable Talk. In today's lesson, we'll review how accountable talk is used in coaching situations. The Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh are the originators of accountable talk. You may be familiar with the accountable talk as it is used in the classroom, but they've also establish accountable talk as part of instructional coaching and professional collaborative learning.

We'll specifically look at these three areas-- accountability to the learning community, accountability to accurate knowledge, and accountability to rigorous thinking. Accountability to the learning community-- this focuses on how teachers and coaches communicate with one another. They engage in thoughtful conversation while colleagues listen to one another and respectfully share their ideas and opinions.

Accountability to accurate knowledge-- this focuses on what colleagues discuss in coaching situations, professional learning communities, or with critical friends groups. In this area, teachers participate in open dialogue about their teaching practices and share accurate information on what they do in their classrooms. Teachers engage in discussion by asking questions of other colleagues in order to improve everyone's teaching practices.

Accountability to rigorous thinking-- teachers are accountable when giving extensive reasoning for strategies or procedures chosen for their classroom. This involves using knowledge to justify instructional choices.

So let's recap what we have discussed in today's lesson. Accountability to the learning community involves how colleagues communicate with one another. Accountability to accurate knowledge focuses on open dialogue between teachers with the purpose of improving everyone's teaching practices. Accountability to rigorous thinking is when teachers use their knowledge to justify their instructional choices.

How does each accountable talk component relate to coaching? Let's say I am a math coach and I want to provide a workshop and discussion for the teachers at my school explaining how to set up effective math stations. Before my lesson, I want to take a poll of teachers who already use math stations. I will also give them the opportunity to briefly state how they use the stations in their classrooms.

This is an example of accountability to the learning community. Teachers will listen to one another and respectfully agree or disagree. This is also an example of accountability to accurate knowledge I am hoping that the teachers sharing information will be open and honest about the math stations they run in their classroom, whether good or bad. This would also be a good opportunity for teachers that have had a really good experience with math stations to answer questions of how they have been successful with the stations in their classrooms. Teachers who are sharing their good math station stories are then showing accountability to rigorous thinking by giving evidence to support why they have chosen certain strategies to use in their math stations.

So this is how each of the chemical talk components would relate to coaching. Consider how this will work at your school. To dive a little deeper and learn how to apply this information, be sure to check out the Additional Resources section associated with this video. This is where you'll find links targeted toward helping you discover more ways to apply this course material.