Important
Session
Information:
In many secondary classrooms, teachers carry the intellectual load. This session challenges educators to shift discourse and assessment toward student-driven analysis. Participants will explore structured academic talk routines—Socratic Seminar, text-centered debate, and evidence-based discussion—while examining whether classroom tasks truly require analysis, synthesis, and written justification across TEKS strands. Teachers will analyze questioning patterns, identify subtle ways expectations are lowered, and redesign discussions and assessments to promote authentic, transferable thinking. This studio-style session equips educators to increase student talk ratio, elevate cognitive demand, and build coherent literacy experiences grounded in rigorous academic precision.