Thankfully, I'm not about to commit that kind of double dip. No, no, no. I just want to share with you all a resource I typed up for a few teachers I'm working with as instructional coach. It's a bunch of tips for calling on students (especially those reluctant participators) that can help alleviate the anxiety many teachers have about calling on students who aren't raising their hands. After typing it up, I realized -- hey, I bet my blog readers might want to check this out, too. (Be warned, though...some of the items on the resource are also things I've already blogged about on here. Repeat alert!)
So, I'm double dipping -- using a blog post to share something I had compiled for a different audience. (But, hey, at least I didn't totally cheat and post this as my only blog entry this week, right?)
Enjoy!
Tips for Calling on Students
(especially those who aren’t
raising their hands…)
Compiled by Elizabeth Bettencourt,
Sharon Public Schools
·
Foster “accountable
talk” in your classroom. Model for students what this looks like by using
the following examples, and also expect your students to adhere to “accountable
talk” when interacting with their peers in a class discussion:
o
Press for
clarification & explanation: “Could you describe what you mean?”
o
Require
justification of proposals & challenges: “Where did you find that
information?”
o
Demand
evidence for claims & arguments: “Can you give me an example?”
o
Interpret
& use each other’s statements: “David suggested . . .” (Fisher & Frey,
2007, p. 23).
·
Use value
lineups. Ask students to evaluate a statement (“I fully understood last
night’s homework,” “I will use this tool in the ‘real world,’” “I think this
battle was the most significant in WWI,” etc.) and to line up according to
their degree of agreement or disagreement with the statement.
o
After forming
a single line, you can ask students to “fold” the line in half so that the
students who most strongly agreed and disagreed are now partners, ready to
discuss the reasons for their positions with one another (Fisher & Frey,
p.25).
o
You’ve given
students a chance now to think through their ideas, thus building their
confidence before “putting” them “on the spot.” Now’s the time to “cold call”
on students to either share why they stood where they stood in the line, or to
share what their partner’s ideas were.
·
Ask students
to share a partner’s idea. The above example is only one of many opportunities
where you can help out a reluctant participator by asking him to share someone
else’s ideas (this alleviates the concern some students may have about the
accuracy of their own ideas, but doesn’t let them off the hook of participating
in class). Using Think, Pair, Share is another easy-to-facilitate way to
build students’ confidence about their ideas enough to share them, or to give
them the opportunity to share a peer’s ideas. Here, students think and/or write
a response to a question you’ve provided, then pair with a peer to discuss
their ideas, and then share with the whole class. The teacher can circulate
during the “Pair” portion of the activity, listening in to students’
conversations. If you hear a student – especially if he or she is a reluctant
participator – share an idea you’d like the whole class to hear, you can give
that student a “heads up” that you’ll call on them in a little bit to share
that idea with the whole class. You’ve boosted their confidence to share
because now they know their ideas are valid, and you’ve given them some time to
get ready.
·
Try out the Whip
Around. At the end of a period of instruction, the teacher poses a question
or a task, asking students to make a list of at least three items (“List three
things you struggled with today,” “List three traits of this character,” etc.).
When students are done with their list, ask all students to stand. Then,
randomly call on a student to share one of his or her ideas. Students should
check off any items on their list that are shared by other students (this
eliminates repetition) and sit down when all of their ideas have been shared,
either by themselves or by a peer. Continue to call on students until all are
seated (Fisher & Frey, p.34).
·
Determine the response
format of a question and who will provide it before asking the question. “Will it be a choral answer, where all
students respond together? Is it a partner discussion question? If so, the
teacher should preface the question itself with information about the response
format so that students know what they will do with the question before it is
asked. If it is to be answered by an individual student, teachers should
announce the student’s name before asking the question. This alerts the learner
to the expected response. . .” (Fisher & Frey, p. 39).
·
Provide “wait
time,” or as others call it, “think time.” Three to five seconds is
commonly accepted as the amount of time students need to digest the question
and to think of their answer.
·
If a student
is unable to answer a question, stick with him or her! Use the following types
of question scaffolding to help the student get to a response (Fisher
& Frey, pp. 39-40):
o
Reception
scaffolding – direct a student to the information necessary to answer the
question (“Look at the graph on page 252 of your textbook”).
o
Transformation
scaffolding – provide a way of structuring the information to help the student
develop an answer (“How does the largest bar on the graph on page 252 of your
textbook help you to find your answer?”).
o
Production
scaffolding – provide the student with a way of producing an answer (“Use the
largest and the smallest bars from the graph on page 252 of your textbook to
compare the amounts used”).
o
Use a
combination of all three types of scaffolds in succession if needed! Stick with
that student!
·
Hold students accountable
for participating in class. If a student responds to a question incorrectly or
incompletely, check back with the student later to make sure he or she now has
the correct answer. If students are “going around the room,” each sharing
something (their thesis statement from a first draft, their opinion on last
night’s assigned chapter, their idea for a marketing product, etc.), and a
student does not share (this could be due to a lack of confidence, an
incomplete homework assignment, etc.), ask that student to continue listening
as his or her peers share. Let that student know that you will be coming back
to them later to share something they heard a peer say that they liked or
agreed with and why. Set the expectation that everyone’s voice in this class
will be heard.
·
Use response
cards. These can be pre-printed or write-on.
o
Pre-printed
response cards already have responses written on them. These responses could be
as simple as “yes” and “no,” that students hold up in response to questions
from the teacher. Or they could be more specific, such as “potential energy”
and “kinetic energy,” that students hold up in response to examples of energy
provided by the teacher. In this format, all students respond, and the teacher
can ask follow-up questions to a student based on his or her response. Again,
the student’s confidence has been built prior to being called on, and he or she
has had time to think through his or her answer.
o
Write-on
response cards are blank (mini white boards work well), and students write a
quick response on them to a teacher’s question. For example, a teacher could
ask his third grade students to write three-letter words using a particular set
of letters. As with the pre-printed response card examples above, the teacher
can ask follow-up questions to a student based on his or her response (Fisher
& Frey, pp. 46-48).
·
Use audience
response systems. These new technologies can be utilized in the same ways
response cards are used as questioning techniques (see above).
·
NOTE: All of
the above tips for calling on students are not only great ways to set the expectation
that every student’s voice should be heard, but they are also excellent tools
to check for understanding with every student!
Reference
Fisher,
D. & Frey, N. Checking for
understanding: Formative assessment techniques for your
classroom. ASCD: Alexandria, VA.
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