Welcome to the Something To Talk About, a podcast and blog series about all things classroom discourse! In each episode of the Something to Talk About mini podcast we ask just one juicy question about classroom discourse to a group of educators.

In Episode 1, Stenhouse editor and author, Kassia Wedekind asks: 

What are some of your greatest hopes for your students as talkers and listeners? And what kind of practical routines will you set up at the beginning of the year to help build that community?

Take a listen to hear from third grade teacher, Jennifer Orr, first grade teacher, Santasha Dhoot, and authors of Intentional Talk, Elham Kazemi and Allison Hintz.

Meet the Educators in this Episode 

Jennifer Orr has spent more than twenty years teaching and learning with elementary students from kindergarten through fifth grade. She currently teaches third graders at Fort Belvoir Upper School in Fairfax County, Virginia. She tweets @jenorr and blogs at jenorr.com.

Elham Kazemi is the co-author of Intentional Talk and the co-editor of Choral Counting and Counting Collections. She is a professor of mathematics education at the University of Washington. Elham works alongside teachers to create thriving mathematical classrooms centered on children’s mathematical thinking. She is deeply committed to building university-school partnerships that tackle social and academic inequities and create strong professional learning communities for teachers to learn from and with their students. Elham tweets @ekazemi.

Allison Hintz is the co-author Intentional Talk and the co-author of the upcoming Mathematizing Children’s Literature.  She is an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Washington, Bothell. She studies teaching and learning alongside educators to create experiences where children are heard, understood, and inspired as mathematical sense makers. Allison tweets @AllisonHintz124.

Santasha Dhoot (She/Her/Hers) is a Punjabi Sikh first-grade teacher in the Greater Seattle Area. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Masters in Teaching. She has a passion for educational justice and aspires to be a part of building an education system in which all students thrive. She loves learning alongside our youngest students and believes our future is bright because of them. You can follow Santasha on Twitter @tashadhoot.

Resources Mentioned in Episode 1

Something to Talk About Blog

https://www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Catalyzing-Change/Catalyzing-Change-in-Early-Childhood-and-Elementary-Mathematics/

https://www.stenhouse.com/content/becoming-math-teacher-you-wish-youd-had

https://www.stenhouse.com/content/which-one-doesnt-belong

https://www.stenhouse.com/content/how-many

https://www.stenhouse.com/content/intentional-talk