Conversation was not invented to help people choose right answers on tests. It evolved to solve problems, build ideas, build relationships, and understand others and the world. Yet despite its power to grow minds and hearts, effective conversations are still too scarce in our schools.

Jeff shared his initial vision for classroom conversations in his 2011 book, Academic Conversations. In this follow-up book, Next Steps with Academic Conversations, he builds on those original ideas by offering

• an updated synthesis of conversation work across disciplines and grade levels,
• highlights of the most recent classroom-based research and theory on classroom conversation,
• answers to questions that have emerged during this work with teachers and administrators, and
• new classroom strategies and practices for fostering and assessing classroom conversations.

This resource is the product of his extensive research, co-teaching, and collaborating with a wide range of educators. It was written for busy teachers who want a practical guide for strengthening the quality and quantity of productive conversations in their lessons.