From: http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/taguide/RapportiClassroom.htm
Students are often very hesitant to speak out in class. Questions go unasked and unanswered, students remain silent because they are afraid to lose their self-esteem by being put down in front of their classmates.
Here are some hints for creating a more open, rewarding, and responsive classroom environment.
1. Listen to what students say without comment. Use eye contact, non-verbal cues such as a nod, and facial expression to indicate that you're interested.
2. Don't dismiss student comments with a vague phrase such as "uh-huh," or "okay."
3. Don't interrupt student comments or responses.
4. Try to incorporate student comments and responses into your material.
5. Encourage students to respond to each other by inviting them to comment on a remark a classmate has made.
6. Write good responses or comments on the board to emphasize the value of student contributions to your class.
7. If you are not sure what a student is asking, ask some questions which will help you clarify. Don't say, "I don't understand what you mean."
8. If you cannot answer a question, be frank with the class. Ask for help; maybe one of the students can give an example to help you out.
9. Repeat and paraphrase student answers. This shows that you were listening, helps you check that you understood what the student meant, and ensures that everyone in class hears what was said.
10. Never try to capitalize on students' confusion by ridiculing or joking about incorrect responses. "Humour" of that kind is bound to backfire and create the very kind of inhospitable climate that you are trying to avoid.
11. Never deter questions by saying, "Well that was really straightforward. I don't suppose there are any questions, are there?" You can bet there won't be.
We Believe
15 years ago
Hi, Brett. Great ideas for creating a respectful learning community. I believe that teachers using these ideas succeed in energizing children's natural desire to learn. They also help children feel safe enough to take the risks essential to learning--to say "I don't know" as well as "I know! I know!"
ReplyDeleteOne point I invite you to reconsider is repeating children's responses. The developers of the Responsive Classroom approach think that these repetitions, or "voiceovers," as they call them, can actually discourage children from participating and listening to each other by leading them to think that only the teacher's words are important: If it matters, the teacher will say it or repeat it.
The Responsive Classroom people suggest instead simply acknowledging the child's words with a neutral "ok" or "umm-hmm" (along with the nonverbal cues you suggest); asking a clarifying question; making a firm but respectful comment if needed ("I see what you're saying, but that wouldn't follow our rule to be kind"); or asking the child to repeat in a big voice if you think some in the classroom might have missed the child's words.
The book The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn (published by Northeast Foundation for Children, the nonprofit foundation that sponsors the Responsive Classroom approach), has lots of good insights and ideas on using the powerful tool of language to support children's learning.
Hope you and your students are having a great school year!
Thanks for the comment, and that's an interesting take on repetition. I'm not sure if there's a difference between repeating and paraphrasing, but I think there is, and my tendency would be not to repeat comments, but paraphrase them, and then ask for further dialogue from the class and/or the student offering the original remarks. Like you say though, if the instructor didn't do this very carefully, then other students might place too much value on when the instructor "repeats" what the original student has said...
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