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DQ Notebook - Best Practices Share

Adriane Musacchio

Hi Everyone! 

I love starting and ending my units with the infamous DQ (Driving Question) Notebooks. I am curious to hear from other folks who have used this tool in the past or maybe plan on using it this upcoming school year. How do you use this tool in your classroom? 

I typically spend two full lessons on the DQ Notebook in my classroom. One at the start of the unit and one at the end of the unit. Here's how I roll it out in my classroom:

  • In the beginning of the Unit before students have learned anything, I have them write an answer to the Driving Question for 10 minutes.
  • We then set discussion goals with one another.
  • Then, use the remainder of the period (30 or so minutes) to have an open discussion.
  • For the last five minutes, students are welcome to add to their writing based on the discussion had in class that day. 
  • At the end of the Unit, we repeat this process and add in the bit about how our thinking has evolved and/or changed. 

These discussions are really magical by the time we get to the second half of the year. We sometimes have to work through some awkward silence in our first couple of DQ discussions. But, it is all worth it by the end of the year when students are pretty much running the discussions all on their own. Here's an example of some of the discussion goals we have come up with in the past: 

    

  • I totally relate with the awkward silence at the start of the year! It takes students a while to get a good class dynamic going, and even once they do have one it seems to go right out the window when it comes to discussions like these. I tell my classes that yes, we will actually sit here in awkward silence for as long as it takes. Do you always do the discussions as a whole class or do you sometimes alternate with small groups?

  • in reply to Andrea Wong

     Agreed! I will say- what does help is the accountability portion as well. I tend to give a DQ discussion grade after we engage in one of these discussions. I grade them based on the goals they set as a class. But, it took me a couple of goes at it to recognize that grading a class of 30-34 students for verbal participation really is not so equitable. If the students take notes during the discussion and share their responses to their peers' thinking on paper, I also count that for credit. 

    You bring up a great point about small group v. full class. Last year, when we came back from being fully remote. I started these DQ discussions in small groups only. Then we built our way up to full class. This year I kind of just leapt right into the full class discussions, but was faced with a lot more awkward silence at the start of the year. Starting small and then expanding to full class can be a nice differentiation tool! When things get silent for a bit too long, I sometimes jump into the discussion and ask them to turn and talk for a few minutes and then return to full class discussion mode. 

    Fishbowl discussion mode could also work for this too! 

  •  I never used the DQ activity but after reading your post and its rationale, I will give it a try next year. When  mentioned the "awkard silence" it reminded me a pedagogy many of the History teachers in my school implement: the Harkness Method which consists on a student-driven approach where students discuss a reading and through a series of questions, analysis, and intellectual dialogue, they learn from each other. One of the most important skills is to be an active listener, therefore those awkard silent moments are necessary steps to process the shared information and to elaborate ar response. 

    Regarding how to assess students' participation, I consider the following categories: Participation, Critical Thinking, Text References, and Table Behavior.

  • in reply to Laura Massa

      

    Thank you for sharing about the Harkness Method- makes complete sense! I love the 4 categories of participation you have come up with as well. Do you ever grade students on a rubric reflecting these four categories? 

  • in reply to Adriane Musacchio

     Before teaching Big History I used the Harkness Method quite often in class and I assessed my students on those four categories. I received training at Phillips Exeter Academy where the method was developed and implemented. The link I provided contains explanations and rubrics about the method. 

    Next year I will be more intentional in the use of this methodology and I am planning to implement it more often.

  • in reply to Laura Massa

     Thank you for linking me in! I will check this out! 

  • in reply to Adriane Musacchio

    Thanks,  for sharing the progression of how you have used your discussion methods. I really like that students helped to create the norms and goals. I have given such "requiremnts" for discussions before, but I agree that it is much more meaningful when students can come to those decisions through their own deliberation.

  • in reply to Laura Massa

     , my computer would not load the link you sent, but it told me to restart and try again later. So, I think when I have time to do that, it should work. I book marked it so I can come back to the site.

    In general, how does the Harkness Method discussion differ from a Socratic Seminar?

  • in reply to Donnetta Elsasser

     The Harkness Method is a student-centered approach and it is mostly run by students. There is a shift in the role of students who take ownership for their learning. There are different roles around the Harkness Table: a moderator who opens, runs, and closes the session; an observer, who takes notes and tracks the dialogue interactions and towards the end debriefs the table; and the student participants. If the class is too big to give students the chance to contribute, you can use the Fishbowl layout. Since our class period lasts 60 minutes some teachers divide the class time in half allowing one group to participate first and then the second group. 

    For more information about the Harkness Method and its difference with the Socratic Seminar (which I never used) check this website from Katherine Cadwell which contains substantial materials and rubrics for both, the Harkness Method and the Socratic method. She also has an excellent TED Talk.