As a teacher you can find
yourself in some very uncomfortable positions when standing in front of a
classroom full of students, especially pre-teens or teenagers. While you get pretty good at deflecting the
inappropriate questions and comments and redirecting students who are heading
off on a tangent, if you are anything like me, you still struggle with how to
get responses out of students. One of
the most uncomfortable moments come when you ask a question and you get cricket
eggs. Not even crickets, just simply
their eggs waiting to hatch. It's that
Ben Stein moment in Ferris Beuller...anyone, anyone, Beuller, Beuller...? You ask, no one answers (or the same
students who answers every question shouts something out), you ask again, still
no response. Then, nine times out of
ten, you end up giving hints or just straight up answering your own
question.
In an attempt to combat
this, I have spent this year on a quest (in that "free" time that we
all don't have) to find more effective ways to facilitate classroom
discussion. I started by examining my
own question techniques during a lesson to see if changing up HOW I am asking a
question has any impact. For example, I
changed from asking "Does anyone
have any questions" which gives students an out from asking any
questions, to "What questions do
you have" which assumes that there are questions that need to be
answered. This can prod students into
thinking about whether they really get it or if there might be something that
they are unsure about. I have seen a
rise in the amount of questions asked just by this simple change.
Taking into account that
fact that many pre-teens and teens really like to "save face"
in-front of their peers and not admit to not knowing something I have also
expanded on this. I will often ask "If
your friend wasn't here today, what question would they have tomorrow"
or "Tell me one thing that your friend
might be confused about if they just walked in and looked at the board". Both of these questions allow students to
have make it seem like it is someone else question and not their own. Additionally, both encourage students to
think outside of the box and look at a lesson or topic in a new light. By asking students to put themselves in the
brain of another person, they start to examine connections to prior knowledge
and make those connections to new knowledge.
The other major change I
have made during classroom lessons and discussions is to put forth a
concentrated effort to get students talking to each other and working with each
other. Once a student has answered one
of my questions I will often not tell them if they are right or wrong (mean of
me I know!). Instead I will chose one a
few different paths for follow.
1) I
will ask someone else (or multiple someones) if they are agree or disagree with
what the student said which serves multiple purposes. First, it makes students really pay attention to the
lesson and discussion since I call on random people not just those with their
hands up. Secondly, it makes them listen
to each other since they can't explain if they agree or disagree if they don't
know what the first student said.
Lastly, it helps students to focus their own thinking and understanding
to figure out what they believe to be correct or not.
2) I
will ask someone to rephrase or expand upon what the student just said. Rephrasing helps students to align their own
understanding and to express it more coherently. When I ask students to expand on what was
just said, it takes the discussion to the next level and takes a simple answer
to a rich mathematical inquiry.
3) I
will ask the student to convince me that they are correct. Odd I know, but it makes students take
ownership of their answer instead of just saying something for the sake of
answering. Additionally, when I go this
route, I often find students pulling up prior knowledge, using better
vocabulary and often asking if they can come to the board to show me. Other students will chime in to help with the
support needed or to correct misconceptions.
They love to be right and being given the opportunity to prove it is
always a winner!
I don't have all of the
answers, but I am seeing positive results so far so I'll keep at it and
hopefully continue to improve! Next
step, improve discussion during group work and activities! :)
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