ABSTRACT
A teacher's commitment to listen, attend and apprehend in response to what students are saying is the first step in the building of the interactive dialogue. A discussion about the important elements of effective interactive teaching is incomplete without giving some voice to a few other threads of the interactive process – those conditions that limit and, worse, crush student thinking. In an interactive discussion, when the teacher has listened and apprehended the student's statement, there are several kinds of "basic" responses that will do the job of "clarifying" the student's thinking. Some responses serve to put the student's idea under examination by paraphrasing, or saying back. In paraphrasing, the teacher takes a minimal risk in using words or phrases that might misinterpret the student's meaning. When the interpretation is accurate, it brings a new element into the discussion for the student to consider, and allows the student to gain new insights into his or her thinking.
