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3-18-19
Enjoy this week's Educator Licensing TEACHER TIPS:

Academic Discourse: Wingman
Wingman 
"Communication is a skill you can learn. It's like riding a bicycle or typing.  If you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life."
- Brian Tracy 
 

Every classroom has quiet or reluctant learners. They get lost in the crowd during class activities and sit silent during group conversations. The Wingman Strategy is designed to keep these students engaged during group discussion, and it gives them the tools and confidence they need to be an active part of the conversation.


STEP 1: Break into Small Groups

This strategy revolves around small group discussion. That being said, the first step is to divide your students into small, purposeful groups. While there are many ways to group your students, remember that they are about to have a discussion. Arrange your groups in a way that will be most conducive to quality conversation.

See a document from Date to Differentiate on how to group your students according to activity.

 

STEP 2: Identify the Wingman

Now that students are divided into groups, identify the wingman in each group. The wingman will be the student in the group who is least likely to speak up during the conversation, but who still needs to be engaged and held accountable.

 

STEP 3: Begin the Conversation

Give students their discussion prompt, and have students begin. While most of the members of the group will be working to discuss the prompt, the wingman will be observing the conversation. They will record the number of times each group member speaks and whether they cite or reference any information from the text, article or video. Wingmen will also keep track of any responses they find particularly interesting.  

See a recording sheet for the wingmen to fill out as the conversation progresses.

 

STEP 4: Reflect

After the conversation, wingmen should be given time to reflect on the conversation. They should think about which points they found most compelling and also any information they would have shared during the conversation.

 

STEP 5: Share

Within their groups, or as a whole class, have the wingmen share their reflections. Although they were not a part of the conversation in the traditional sense, they were still engaged in it. They listened to what their group had to say and should now have the confidence to share out information they found important.

See a video of this strategy in action.

 

Tips and Variations

  • Try giving the role of wingman to students who dominate the conversation as well. This will allow talking opportunities for students who tend to take longer to compile their thoughts.
  • If you work with younger students, instead of filling out a sheet, have the wingman simply make tally marks each time a teammate speaks.
  • Know your wingmen. If after the conversation is complete, you know they still will not feel comfortable sharing out their information, you can collect papers and share their notes, without sharing who wrote them.  
  • Better yet, you could have a wingman meeting, with just you and the wingmen, to discuss key points made by each group.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Discussion Strategy: The 'Wingman' (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://teachingenglish3.weebly.com/discussion-strategy-the-wingman.html

Contact Us

Nancy Jaeger
Director, Educator Licensing
920-236-0508
njaeger@cesa6.org

Pam Rupert
Program Coordinator
920-236-0534
rite@cesa6.org

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