Want to build a discussion skills program?
Information & Inspiration
from real teachers, real students & real research
These discussion skills are the groundwork for knowing how to have a conversation with each other, how to advocate for themselves, and how to make friends. Discussion skills are life skills.
-Bridget Johnson
Shannon Schmidt Shannon Schmidt is the Director of the The Amabel Boyce ’70 Center for Learning and Thriving at Garrison Forest School (MD) and a Faculty Advisory Board member at R.E.A.L.® Discussion. We interviewed Shannon about her approach to leadership and how building discussion skills align with the goals of the Boyce Center. What follows…
Our School Partners: What We’ve Learned Works – and Doesn’t! When I jumped in to build R.E.A.L.® full-time in 2021, I never would have dreamed that by 2024 we would have worked with seventy school partners. When independent school leaders see the variety of schools in the R.E.A.L.® community, we often get a raised eyebrow…
Thank you to Eamon Thornton for sharing his R.E.A.L. life with us! Eamon is a high school English teacher at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN. Here are his thoughts on discussion, R.E.A.L.®, and learning. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Name: Eamon Thornton Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia, but I was actually a boarding…
Launching and leading an academic initiative in an independent school can feel like walking a tightrope: what is the balance between fostering alignment and preserving autonomy for faculty? At R.E.A.L.® Discussion, we have partnered with Academic Leaders to launch and lead discussion skills initiatives across 70 independent schools since 2021. Here are two case studies…
Eric Hudson is a facilitator and strategic advisor who supports schools in making sense of what’s changing in education and on the role of technology in K-12 schools. What follows is a conversation between Eric and R.E.A.L.® founder Liza Garonzik. This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity. Liza: Welcome, Eric, to Destination: Discussion. We’re…
Gwyneth Connell is the Director of the Grauer Institute and a Faculty Advisory Board member at R.E.A.L.® Discussion. We interviewed Gwyneth about her journey to becoming an academic leader and her vision for the recently announced collaboration between R.E.A.L.® and Grauer: an in-person PD opportunity this summer. What follows is a conversation between Gwyneth and…
R.E.A.L.® Discussion, a social enterprise on a mission to teach discussion skills to young people growing up in our tech-centric, polarized world, today announced that Dr. Sidra Smith will join the organization as Director of the Independent School Program. In this role, Dr. Smith will serve as the face of the organization in the K-12…
Duncan Flaherty is a fifth and sixth grade math teacher at Nashoba Brooks School in Concord, MA. This year he is conducting an action research project through a fellowship with the International Coalition of Girls Schools (ICGS) on how using R.E.A.L.® Discussion in math class can be a lever for improving girls’ feelings of self-efficacy….
It’s been another fantastic year at R.E.A.L.® Discussion! As 2024 draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at what we published and learned on the blog this year. Here’s our Destination: Discussion 2024 year in review. We are so grateful to you for making your way to our corner of the Internet, reading…
