Children shape the agenda of the discussion. The teacher sets the stage for conversation but does not dominate it. Children are allowed time and space to formulate ideas in their own terms and to pursue aspects of a topic that are of greatest interest to them. In general, teachers refrain from correcting or modifying children's comments. Participation by all children is encouraged.
Teachers steer the discussion in a way that encourages comments from each child at some point.
Records are made of each child's statements. There are different ways of making a written record of the discussions. The fullest records can be made via tape recording or observer notes. Full transcripts are not needed, but an effort should be made to capture the key terms in any child's statement. In this particular example, the discussion led directly to a classroom investigation.