The Schmooze: Making Time for Meaningful Student Talk
Building pathways to develop transferable learning skills
There are so many ways to help students share their thinking with each other in meaningful ways. One of my favourites is something I call a Schmooze. It’s a simple structure that gives students the time, tools, and support they need to develop their ideas, reflect, and then talk about issues that (hopefully) matter.
Why Schmooze?
We often expect students to develop strong speaking, listening, and collaboration skills, yet we don’t always carve out intentional time for them to practice. The Schmooze flips that script. It creates a low-stakes but structured setting where students learn about a topic, prepare their thinking, and then come to the “table of discussion” ready to share and listen.
Application 1: News & Schmooze
The activity is built to strengthen four interconnected skill areas:
Research Skills – Students investigate a news story or topic, read critically, make inferences, and draw conclusions.
Communication Skills – They practice speaking clearly and listening actively to peers.
Organization Skills – They prepare their notes using a graphic organizer so they come to the discussion ready.
Collaboration Skills – They work in teams to build consensus, listen to other perspectives, encourage contributions, and advocate for their own ideas.
How It Works
Students begin with a shared stimulus such as a news article or report. They research the topic, track their questions, and complete a graphic organizer capturing the who, what, when, where, why, how, and “so what” of the issue.
On “Schmooze Day,” students gather around a discussion table. Using their notes, they engage in accountable talk about the issue. The emphasis is on shared responsibility: speaking clearly, listening respectfully, making space for all voices, and encouraging each other to contribute.
The teacher listens, collects notes, and provides feedback on research, communication, organization, and collaboration skills.
Sessions are filmed so students can reflect on their own performance and plan next steps for themselves in conversation with their teacher.
Application 2: Schmooze to Share Views
Although News and Schmooze began with current events, a Schmooze can be sparked by any rich stimulus. Students can:
Listen to a song and unpack its lyrics.
Deconstruct an advertisement or image for its message and audience
Watch a short video or animation and explore its themes.
Bring in an artifact connected to a unit of study.
In recent years, I’ve built Schmooze into my literacy centres, so students become used to speaking with different classmates on a variety of topics catalyzed through various mediums. They record their conversation on video so that I can note who participates and how. I study their body language, what they say, and how they listen to each other. It helps me identify the leaders, followers, and less-engaged students so I can serve them better. This formative assessment helps me personalize instruction and co-construct next steps for students. When I evaluate a Schmooze, it’s only after students have had time to practice speaking, listening, and collaborating.
The Key
At its heart, the Schmooze is about accountable talk. When students know they will have time to research, organize, and discuss, they build a toolkit of skills they can transfer to every subject area.
Why call it a Schmooze?
“Schmooze” has Yiddish roots and carries connotations of mingling, connecting, and exchanging ideas in a relaxed way. It lowers the stakes and makes students feel like they’re having a chat rather than performing. Accountable Talk sounds like an evaluation or a compliance exercise. A term like “Schmooze” is unusual in a classroom context, too, so students remember it. It becomes a part of classroom culture and feels more like a club or a class ritual rather than a directive. When students say “We’re Schmoozing today,” it sparks curiosity and excitement. The name itself models that learning can be joyful, personal, and relational.
The Impact
Making space for a Schmooze does more than check boxes for curriculum expectations. It gives students voice, confidence, and practice in listening deeply to one another, the very capacities we say we value in education.
Brilliant (as usual)