Listen to a conversation between a woman and her education professor.

Professor: I'm glad you decided to stop by to see me, Emily. There's actually something I needed to ask you. Student: Oh? Professor: I'm having trouble locating the paper you turned in last week. I know you submitted it, but I must have accidentally misplaced it.

Student: Oh, I save all my work on my laptop, just in case, I'm actually really happy with the way my paper turned out. I think I incorporated a lot of good ideas based on our class discussions and the readings you assigned. Anyway, I can always email the document to you.

Professor: That’d be great. Again, sorry for the confusion.

Student: No problem. And well, so I was actually wondering if we could discuss... you remember how you taught us about that teaching technique called... um... consensus?

Professor: Yes. That's right, consensus.

Student: Well, next semester, I'm gonna be doing my practice teaching at an elementary school in Melville, you know, to fulfill the fieldwork requirement for my teaching certificate. Professor: Yes.

Student: And well, I was thinking about trying it. Professor: Oh, OK. Well, do you remember the procedure? Student: Yeah, I mean, I think so. Okay. I start by appointing one of the children in the class to assume the role of the teacher. Professor: Right.

Student: Ok, let's say it's a girl. She'll lead the class, and she'll read an essay written by a classmate, well, the first paragraph of an essay written by a classmate. Professor: Right.

Student: And then she'll ask the other kids in the class to identify any mistakes or problems they see in that first paragraph. Professor: Right. Very good. So, it's the students who have to find the problems, not you.

Student: Exactly. And then if one student says that something's a mistake, and then another student disagrees, each student has to, like, explain their rationale, and they have to like go back and forth until they reach an agreement. My job is just to facilitate.

Professor: Precisely. And after they finished the first paragraph. Student: Uh, then I'll have them break up into small groups, and each group will go through the rest of the essay the same way. I'll walk around the room and monitor their progress.

Professor: OK. You definitely seem to grasp the main tenets. Of course, there's always the child who keeps asking questions, the unexpected fire drill that sort of thing. Student: OK, Gotcha.

Professor: OK. And you might also want to talk to the full time teacher at the school, the one whose class you'll be in. As you begin your field work, you'll typically go through three different phases, the orientation period, the participation period, and the independent teaching period. Student: OK.

During the participation period, you'll be asked to assist the teacher, though, somewhat limited in scope. It's the independent period where you'll get to try out things you were thinking of doing. So, before you're asked to do independent teaching, discuss your plans with the teacher and see if consensus would be appropriate for one of the lessons you'll be teaching.