TIES TIPS Foundations of Inclusion

Introduction

Collaborative learning is a high-leverage practice widely used in schools across grades and subjects. One method involves two students discussing a topic, coming to a consensus, and then sharing with the class. It goes by many names—Turn and Talk, Think Pair Share, Shoulder Partners, Numbered Heads Together, etc. In this TIPS, we show how to remove barriers to allow students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) to engage in Turn and Talk activities during instruction in general education classes through the UDL framework . We include examples from an inclusive classroom. The examples presented are reflective of a collaborative process required to plan the use of any strategy, such as Turn and Talk, in inclusive classrooms. To learn more about the process and how to implement it in an inclusive general education classroom, please see the TIES Center 5-15-45 tool. 

Evidence

Collaborative learning can be found threaded through several High Leverage Practices (HLP; McLeskey et al., 2017). Cooperative learning promotes self-esteem, creates a safe learning environment, and increases participation opportunities for all students (Jenkins et al., 2003). Check out the HLP Crosswalk TIP sheet for a quick refresher on how HLPs overlap between general and special education.

 Through collaborative planning, educators can make the Turn and Talk strategy accessible to all students. This collaboration will require thoughtful consideration to enable all students to participate and benefit, including students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Typically a Turn and Talk process involves three steps:

1. Each student considers the topic or prompt on their own.
2. Each student shares their thoughts with their partner and they come to a consensus.
3. The pair shares their findings with the class (Michaels & O’Connor, 2012).

Turn and Talk is one strategy used to promote academically productive talk in classroom settings. The four main goals of Turn and Talk are to:

1. help individual students share, expand, and clarify their own thoughts;
2. help students listen carefully to one another;
3. help students deepen their reasoning; and
4. help students engage with the reasoning of others (Michaels & O’Connor, 2012).

Research support for using Turn and Talk

Turn and Talks help students apply content to their lives, practice discrete skills, access background knowledge, and answer content related questions (Stewart & Swanson, 2019). Evidence from research shows Turn and Talks help increase students’ number of opportunities to respond in content discussions (e.g., MacSuga-Gage & Simonsen, 2015) and the increase in on-task behavior can help students who struggle with inattention (e.g., Locke & Fuchs, 1995). Additionally, the use of Turn and Talk has been known to expand students’ expressive communication skills (e.g., Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2013) and improve vocabulary knowledge (e.g., Swanson et al., 2017; Vaughn et al., 2017).

Implementation

Optimize your Turn and Talk by planning opportunities within a lesson prior to being in front of students. Turn and Talks are most effective if a backwards design is used where teachers ask themselves:

• if the use of a Turn & Talk will help all students to meet goals of the lesson;
• what students should experience and understand by the end of each Turn and Talk.

 This backwards design allows teachers to specifically plan how to effectively involve students with significant cognitive disabilities. General education and special education teachers must examine each individual student’s expressive and receptive communication skills and level of background knowledge for the topics chosen to determine the best format for engaging every student.

Inclusive Implementation

One way to ensure all students have equal access from the use of a Turn & Talk is to use the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Meyer et al., 2014) . UDL is a framework to help teachers develop lessons and activities that include all students by addressing engagement, representation, and action and expression. These UDL principles help educators to make the most of varying student strengths and reduced barriers in implementing the Turn & Talk. When students have improved access to content and instructional practices, like the Turn & Talk, they are able to show what they know and become more independent and actively engaged.

Turn and Talk in Action

Below are examples showcasing different general education and special education co-teachers' collaboration to provide Turn and Talk opportunities for all students, including those with a significant cognitive disability. Using a UDL framework, barriers and potential solutions are provided showing where teachers can create access points for these students.

Student 1: Dustin

Dustin is a first grader with multiple disabilities who spends his entire school day in an inclusive classroom with the support of a special educator engaging in some co-teaching. Paraprofessional support is also available to the class, due to Dustin’s additional need for support. The teacher is planning to read aloud the book “Ferdinand” and engage the class in discussion as they read using Turn and Talks. Dustin communicates with an Augmentative and Alternative communication device (AAC)—a tablet with different icons that speak aloud when he touches them. Dustin is always listening with a smile on his face, but he doesn’t independently share his ideas with the class and tends to look to the paraprofessional when his name is called.

Dustin’s general and special education teachers met quickly to discuss his participation in turn and talks in the general education classroom. Here’s their conversation:

Conversation transcript

See the table below for the process and outcomes Dustin’s team used to come up with a plan for his participation in the classroom Turn and Talk.

Student 2: Sasha

Sasha is a student with autism who has recently been included at her middle school. She had previous experience participating  in a general education science class, but due to concerns around her challenging behavior, the team had to pull back and create a new plan to meet her current needs. Sasha is now in a 6th grade earth science class learning about the structure of the earth’s layers (i.e., mantle and core). Sasha is good at task completion if she is given hands-on materials at the beginning of lessons. Sasha communicates primarily with speech with visual supports for new concepts. She has a history of humming loudly when not physically engaged with materials. She also tends to swipe materials away from her when someone asks her to do something with them. However, when the purpose of the activity and a model of using the materials is provided, she willingly participates.

Sasha’s general and special education teachers met quickly to discuss her participation in Turn and Talks in the general education classroom. Here’s their conversation:

Conversation transcript

See the table below for the process and outcomes Sasha’s team used to come up with a plan for her participation in a Turn and Talk within the science classroom.

Student 3: Rico

Rico is a student with Down Syndrome in 4th grade who recently started participating in the   education classroom for more than just recess and lunch. He knows many of the students in the class well because of their previous interactions. He has not spent academic learning time with his general education peers other than in physical education, art, and music class. Rico’s peers like him and are always giving him high-fives and fist bumps. When in the general education classroom, Rico does not answer questions in the whole group and will often just repeat the question. Rico’s speech is also hard to understand, but he does not use any assistive technology to support his communication.

Rico’s general and special education teachers met quickly to discuss his participation in Turn and Talks in the general education classroom. Here’s their conversation:

Conversation transcript

See the table below for the process and outcomes Rico’s team used to come up with a plan for his participation in the classroom Turn and Talk.

Below is an example of a self-monitoring checklist to use as a peer communication support (Figure 1). This may not be necessary for all students. From the examples above, Dustin may not need a checklist like this; however, it could help Sasha monitor her own progress in back and forth interactions with a peer. It could also help Rico’s partner provide appropriate support, as needed, during the Turn and Talk interaction.

Illustrated guide of task analysis for turn and talk from Project IMPACT. The image includes 6 rows showing the steps for turn and talk with symbols that can be checked off as a student progress through the steps:

1. listen to question;
2. answer a question;
3. read paragraph, read sentence, touch answer;
4. ask question;
5. listen to answer, [repeat steps 1-5 or]
6. agree/disagree.

This resource and additional materials on the Project IMPACT website

Summary

For students with significant cognitive disabilities, contributions in collaborative learning like Turn and Talks require thoughtful planning by general education and special education teachers and staff. When teams work together to create access points for these students, authentic participation is possible.

Further

• More goals on productive discussions and “talk moves” that teachers can use to initiate and continue discussions (see page 11)

TIPS Series: Tip #15, November 2020

The information in this Brief is not an endorsement of any identified products. Products identified in this Brief are shared solely as examples to help communicate information about ways to reach the desired goals for students.

All rights reserved. Any or all portions of this document may be reproduced without prior permission, provided the source is cited as:

• Reyes, E. N., Wakeman, S., & Clausen, A. (2020). Turn and Talk (TIPS Series: Tip #15). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, TIES Center.

TIES Center is the national technical assistance center on inclusive practices and policies. Its purpose is to create sustainable changes in kindergarten-grade 8 school and district educational systems so that students with significant cognitive disabilities can fully engage in the same instructional and non-instructional activities as their general education peers, while being instructed in a way that meets individual learning needs. TIES Center is led by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) at the Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, and includes the following additional collaborating partners: Arizona Department of Education, CAST, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, University of North Carolina – Charlotte, and University of North Carolina – Greensboro.

TIES Center is supported through a Cooperative Agreement (#H326Y170004) with the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it. Project Officer: Susan Weigert

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