A Silent Debate

By: Brett Shablak
April 22, 2016

While a silent debate might sound like an oxymoron it was a tool that I used to encourage my students to come up with ways to reduce waste in their daily lives. From thoughts on unplugging unused electronics, to changing construction materials, the sixth graders made some very viable suggestions to reduce energy costs.

When the team from Google Classroom came to visit Inwood Academy on April 13th, sixth grade scientists were able to show off their skills using Google Classroom, an online forum that helps teachers develop a collaborative work environment in the classroom. My class was using the “question” function to have an online, silent debate about recycling and reducing costs in their homes. This feature in Google Classroom provides a forum for students to step up and have a voice. Even students who do not traditionally participate in discussions are active in the online debate. It’s wonderful to see what everyone has to say with the risk of embarrassment minimized.

After observing the class’s silent debate, the team from Google asked a number of questions about how to improve their products and offered suggestions about ways their current products could be utilized in the classroom more effectively. It’s great to get the feedback from the developers and have a team from a company the size of Google stop in and care about our students and how they are learning.

Now let’s celebrate Earth Day every day.