Although IRE is the most common type of Teacher-Student discourse, talk moves are a better option.  The secret to talk moves is not to evaluate, but question for better discourse without acknowledging if the response was right or wrong.  Talk moves can work at the small team level or in a whole class discussion. Here are the four types of talk moves. (O'Connor and Chapin)

Elicit Student Thinking (what are the students thinking and saying?)

• Turn and Talk "Share your thinking with your partner"

• Revoicing "Are you saying that.....?"

• Say More "Could you give us an example?" or "Would someone else say that in their own words?" or "I'm not sure I understand what you are saying, could you say more?"

Orient Students to the Thinking of Others (Are the students listening and understanding what others are saying?)

• Repeating "Who can repeat what was said?"

• Sharing Out "What did your partner think?"

• Surveying Access "Can everyone hear what is being said?"

• Focusing Attention on Student Thinking "As we listen to this response, think about how it is the same or different than what we talked about yesterday?"

Deepen Student Understanding (How can I make this more meaningful?)

• Press for Reasoning "Why do you think that?"

• Having Reasoning Repeated in Multiple Ways "Who can put that in their own words?"

• Find a Student Who is Unconvinced "Erin is not convinced, Who can explain why that is true?"

• Turn and Talk, Prompting students to make sense of reasoning "Talk about Marla's idea"

Students Response to the Reasoning of Others (How can students build on this idea?)

• Press for reactions "Do you agree or disagree? Why?" or "What does Marla's statement make you think of?"

• Compare or Contrast "Is what Erin said the same or different than what Marla said? How?"

• Invite Challenges "Who sees it differently?" or "Can someone make a counter-argument?"

• Turn and Talk "Talk to your partner about whether or not you agree with Erin?"