The end of
the school year is here and it is time to reflect on what went well and what
are the routines we follow without even knowing it. Let´s get rid of another
“autopilot” programme and bring more surprise and variety to our classrooms.
Based on
the observations, one of the most stereotypical areas even with experienced
teachers is the procedure we use to get and check answers from students after
their individual and pair/group work.
T:
What´s the answer to number 10, Tom?
S: He
bought a sandwich.
T: Yes.
He bought a sandwich. Mary, number 4?
S. b)
T: Do
you agree? …. Yes, b) is correct.
Does it
ring a bell with you?
Sure it
does. Students like it. Students are used to it and once they answer one of the
questions, they can fall asleep. If the teacher calls out students in a
predictable order, they can quickly prepare the correct answer to one question
only. If the teacher selects the nominees randomly, they work hard. It is
quick. Teachers like it. It gives us, the god power to decide who is to answer
and to correct the “invalid” answer.
Well … It is stereotypical. It is predictable. It
does not involve any self-correction or peer correction. We do not get much
feedback about the group and how much they are learning. We do not cater for
fast finishers and/or weaker students … and .... it is sooo stereotypical and
predictable.
Here are
some tips which work in my classes.
- Call out students randomly to make students pay attention all the time.
- Students, not the teacher, nominate other students to provide answers. You can, for example, use a ball to throw around the class.
Surprise
students:
- Vary the order of the questions. Go from the last question to the first, or skip around.
- Take names out of a hat at random to nominate the student who answers the question. Student A then draws another name out of a hat, etc.
- Students choose a number out of a hat which indicates the number of the answer he/she will give to the whole class (do it before they start working on the exercise or afterwards).
- Write down the numbers of answers on the board. Once they finished, students go to the board and write their name next to the question they are pretty confident about answering (send the weaker students first, especially after you have monitored their answer).
- Ask them to vary the way they give answers: e.g. whisper, shout, sing, write, say the answer (they can draw a card with an instruction or roll dice).
- Ask students to write the answer to one question on the board.
- Put the answers on the board while they are working on the exercises but not in the correct order.
- Read out the sentences from a course book (e.g. the exercise where they decide which sentence is correct, which is incorrect, or true/false exercise) and they repeat the sentence after you only if they think it is right/true. They remain silent if they think it is incorrect/false.
- With these two types of exercises, you can also label two corners of the room (e.g. true – false), read out the sentences, they move to the appropriate corner of the room.
Pass the
role of the teacher to the students:
- Ask one student to be in charge (give the answers to him/her e.g. using your Teacher´s book) or one student in each group gets the role of a teacher.
- Provide them with the answers on the back of the question paper (or fold the worksheet; once they have completed the exercise, they can unfold it and check the answers for themselves).
- Pass a key to the exercise around the class.
- Write the answers on the board using very small letters. They can get up, go to the board, and check the answers for themselves.
- Display the answers on the walls around the classroom. Once they finish the exercise, they walk around the classroom and check the answers from themselves. They can discuss the answers in pairs/small groups and ask their peers for explanations.
- Pass an envelope with answers to the exercise around the class.
- Tell them you are going to read the answers out loud but they you do not feel well today and you might make a few mistakes. They listen and must correct you immediately when they hear a mistake.
- Student A (or teacher) reads out the answers. The rest of the class react to the answers: they stand up if they agree, remain seated if they think it is not correct. Or: They clap hands, if they agree (and boo if they disagree). Alternatively: They repeat the answer if they agree with it.
What is your favourite way of checking answers and giving whole class
feedback? Which of these activities have you decided to try to use in your
class? Did it work? How did you alter it?
Share your ideas with us!
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