Accountable Talk sharpens students' thinking by reinforcing their ability to build and use knowledge. Teachers create the norms and skills of Accountable Talk in their classrooms by modeling appropriate forms of discussion and by questioning, probing and leading conversations. Students listen attentively to one another. Students elaborate and build upon ideas and each others' contributions. Students work toward the goal of clarifying or expanding a proposition.
Students provide evidence for claims and arguments.
Students identify the knowledge that may not be available yet which is needed to address an issue. Students construct explanation. Students formulate conjectures and hypotheses. Students test their own understanding of concepts. Classroom talk is accountable to generally accepted standards of reasoning.