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Management |
1. Hand and Finger SignalsHand and Finger signals are used to allow students a consistent way of responding. Whether it be raising your hand or waving arms across each other to show disagreement, these silent modes allow everyone to participate without distracting from the lesson.Silent Agreement: thumbs upSilent Disagreement: arms & hands waved across each other (Note: also known as the "I have another answer" signal)
"I don't know" or "I'm confused": hand moving back and forth over head
"I can't hear": hand behind ear
"I have an important question off the subject": raised pinkie finger
2. Space
The use of space in the classroom is important for a variety of reasons. A teacher must use the full space of the classroom to facilitate the active involvement of as many children as possible. As one proceeds through a lesson, one moves to various parts of the room. The goal is to use space to bring about desired behaviors such as on task behavior (move in close), louder speech (move to the other side of the room, hand behind ear), increased participation (teacher stands in back, students present at overhead or board).3. Modes of Response
If a mode of response is given before a question is asked, students will not have to try to guess how they should respond. When there is not a mode of response given, one or more students will have called out an answer while other students are trying to guess what kind of response was expected.Examples:I'll take a quiet hand...Show me on your fingers...
Whisper to your neighbor...
Talk it over in your group...
Write on your paper...
4. Specific Questions
In class, it would be ideal if students never had to guess at what a teacher was asking, yet often, teachers ask questions which are vague, but in the teacher's mind require a specific answer. If the question posed is not specific, but a specific answer is wanted, then this is a head trip. Teachers should try to avoid playing this game by phrasing their questions carefully. There are times when open questions should be asked, but one must be aware of what type of question has been asked. If a question has been inadvertantly open to interpretation, student thinking needs to be honored, even if the answer is not the one expected.5. Circulation
While students are working in groups or independently, the teacher has an excellent opportunity to move among students, looking and listening, asking questions to find out about student thinking or extend it, and give hints. This provides a quick assessment and often the chance to intervene on the spot.6. Positive Reinforcement
of BehaviorWhen specific desired behaviors are acknowledged by the teacher, it both informs and motivates students. For example, "I see that group 3 has put down their pencils and they all have their eyes on me."
of Answer
It could be said that there are no wrong answers, we just have to find the question the student answered. For instance, "That would be right if I'd asked for the sum of 5 and 2, but I am looking for the product of 5 and 2."
7. No Echo
Often teachers can slip into the habit of automatically repeating everything any student says. As a habit, echoing student responses can have several negative impacts in the classroom. If the teacher repeats everything, students will know that they don't have to listen to each other if it's important, the teacher will repeat it. A great deal of rich dialogue among students is lost this way, and students are likely to have a more difficult time working in groups because they are not in the habit of respecting what each person has to say.Some examples of alternatives to echoing are:
"Would you please repeat your answer, but first let me go over to the opposite side of the room."
"Raise your hand if you heard Peter."
"Who can repeat what Sara said?"
"If you heard it, whisper it to a neighbor who didn't hear it."
"How many understood Martha's answer?"
"Who can give another explanation in their own words?"
8. Wait Time
A well established management technique is to allow students time to digest a question and think through an answer, it is included here because it is so powerful in the classroom. It is recommended that 3-5 seconds are allowed to pass between a question and asking for a response.9. Deliberate Misteaks
Deliberate Misteaks can be a wonderful way to assess student understanding and increase student focus on the lesson. When students are comfortable with knowledge, they love to show what they know and catch the teacher at a mistake. Not to be used while developing concepts.10. Involvement of Visitors
In order to reduce the distraction of the arrival of a visitor in the classroom, the visitor might be asked to call on a quiet hand. Or the visitor might be invited to look at some of the students' work and find an answer or an approach that is notable. Students come to see visitors as part of the classroom experience.