Looking for a way to keep students energized and engaged for class discussions? Try creating "Chat Stations"!
In elementary school, students often do a lot of station work, where they go to a "station" set up in the room to work on a project or complete a task, moving from station to station. We tend to do less station work as children get older, even though everyone benefits from an opportunity to move and be active at different stations.
The "Chat Station" is a watered down version of the stations used in elementary school that requires less set-up and preparation. It's a great way to help students get an introduction to a new topic, review materials or explore something in more depth. For example, let's say you're introducing the topic of job interviews. You could set up a few Stations, each with a question, such as:
- Why do you think businesses interview someone before they hire them?
- What do you think businesses are looking for through an interview?
- What kinds of questions do you think they ask during an interview?
- What seems like the hardest thing about a job interview? What seems like it would be the easiest thing?
This is a simple process that can be adapted for a variety of purposes and is a change of pace from our usual large-group or even small group discussions.
The 5-minute video above provides a good step-by-step introduction to the set up and process, along with some tips for using Chat Stations in the classroom. Let us know in comments if you try it out!
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