I’ve been thinking a lot about listening recently. Especially student-to-student listening.

In talk audits it frequently comes out as an area which hasn’t really been prioritised. Students often listen well to the teacher, but often are not listening to what their peers say in whole-class dialogue or during group discussions.

Two things to consider:

It really is possible to get students listening to each other. Yes, it takes a lot of work. And it can be painful at first! But think of the potential impact. You won’t need to repeat student responses, because everyone will hear them first time. Students will hear and be able to challenge each other’s misconceptions. Students will learn from each other.
Have high expectations, as you would with other classroom practices. And ask them regularly what they think about what another student has said.
Start by focusing on the idea of ‘respectful listening’. Get students to think about and practise showing respect to the speaker – for example, by looking at them, turning their body towards them, or making notes about what they’re saying. Praise respectful listening: Thank you, J, for showing respect to H when he’s speaking. Once you have developed a culture of respectful listening, your class have firm foundations to develop more advanced active listening skills.