Interview with Rob Barnett: Modern Classrooms

Interview with Rob Barnett: Modern Classrooms

Rob Barnett is the co-founder of Modern Classrooms Project, a teacher-created, research-backed instructional model that helps teachers respond to every student’s individual needs. What follows is a conversation between Rob and R.E.A.L. Discussion founder Liza Garonzik, which has been lightly edited for clarity.  Liza: Rob, we’re so excited to be speaking with you today. Tell…

Want to Teach Civil Discourse? Break it Down into Civility, Discourse, and Civics

Want to Teach Civil Discourse? Break it Down into Civility, Discourse, and Civics

As we head into 2024, “Civil Discourse” is a buzzword – and for good reason. The next Presidential election cycle looms large. Many campuses are still recovering from the hydra-headed ways politics ravaged their communities in 2020.  The most strategic school leaders I know are taking a proactive approach, asking: How can we use ’23-24…

REAL Teacher Feature: Kennia Reddrick

REAL Teacher Feature: Kennia Reddrick

Thank you to Kennia Reddrick for sharing her REAL life with us! Kennia is a sixth grade reaching teacher at The Dexter Southfield School in Chestnut Hill, MA. Here are her thoughts on discussion, R.E.A.L.®, and learning. Hometown: Foxborough, MA Current City, School, Teaching Assignments: I currently live in Foxborough, but I’m teaching sixth grade…

Let’s Talk About It: The Future of Discussion Skills in an AI World

Let’s Talk About It: The Future of Discussion Skills in an AI World

We’re in the midst of a revolution. An AI revolution, characterized by increased interactions between humans and machines. In an AI-dominated world, do students still need to learn how to have in-person conversations with other humans? Our answer: a resounding yes. In this whitepaper, we examine: Read on to learn more.

Why Discussion Matters for Mattering: How to Teach Students the Power of Speaking & Listening

Why Discussion Matters for Mattering: How to Teach Students the Power of Speaking & Listening

For many teachers, class discussion is a chance to dive into content: to unearth new meaning in a text, debate the impact of a historical event, draw connections among ideas.  At R.E.A.L.® we believe all of those things are true – but in today’s world, class discussion serves an even more important purpose: it may…

Breaking Conversation into Teachable Skills: A Case Study with Nativity Preparatory School

Breaking Conversation into Teachable Skills: A Case Study with Nativity Preparatory School

Achieving the mission of Nativity Preparatory School — in which students grow in character, deepen their faith, and develop transferable academic skills — requires a foundational skill set: the ability to express oneself and listen deeply to others. We partnered with Nativity Prep to break discussion into teachable, assessable skills, starting in sixth grade. Read…

REAL Teacher Feature: Brendan Flanagan

REAL Teacher Feature: Brendan Flanagan

Thank you to Brendan Flanagan for sharing his REAL life with us! Brendan is an English teacher at Gill St. Bernard’s School in Chester, NJ. Here are his thoughts on discussion, R.E.A.L.®, and learning. Hometown: Middletown, NJ Current City, School, Teaching Assignments: AP Language & Composition, English 10, and Digital Literacy at Gill St. Bernard’s…

Combatting Polarization with Conversation: An Interview with CDI

Combatting Polarization with Conversation: An Interview with CDI

Mylien Duong is the Senior Director of Research at the Constructive Dialogue Institute. What follows is a conversation between Mylien and R.E.A.L.® founder Liza Garonzik about CDI’s groundbreaking new report on Polarization in K-12 Classrooms. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.  Liza: Tell us, what is the Constructive Dialogue Institute? Where did it…

Breaking It Down: The “R” in R.E.A.L.

Breaking It Down: The “R” in R.E.A.L.

R.E.A.L.® Discussion is a professional development program that empowers faculty to teach their students how to thrive in discussion – in the classroom, in the cafeteria, on the court, and in their communities. R.E.A.L.® gives faculty and students shared language and classroom routines  to make discussion come alive in their classrooms.  The whole system is…