My last newsletter seems to have resonated with many of you; it was one of my most read so far, and I think I had more new subscribers from that one than any other post since launching Positivity - Passion - Purpose. So, let’s give the people what they want: three more tiny teaching tweaks!
Tiny Teaching Tweak #1: Plan for Active Engagement, even in Direct Instruction
Learning is not a spectator sport! (Which I think we all know, but sometimes I need the reminder, because I like to put on a show…) :-)
This tweak is one that many teachers probably already are using in some way: call on your students to interact and respond, even if you are lecturing or providing other direct instruction. Cold calling on students is a research-based best practice. (Honestly, I don’t love doing this, because—as a student—I hate the feeling of being cold called upon.)
Having some kind of a strategy for how you call on students can help though. Here are a few ideas you might play with:
The classic “pick-a-stick”—put all the kids’ names on popsicle sticks, and use them to randomize who you call on.
A subtle shift: “pick a card”—instead of sticks, grab a cheap deck of cards, and write each students’ name on one. This gives a nice auditory+visual cue when you shuffle the deck! When I use this strategy, I put my name on a card too—fair game to ask me questions just like I’m asking students. (And they somehow find it hilarious when I ask myself a question.)
Consider prompting students by name before you ask your question. This ensures they are paying attention and don’t have that awful “the teacher is calling me out and now I look foolish” feeling.
Think about both what you are asking, as well as why you are asking. It might be just a quick recap of the last point you made in your lecture, or recall to something they have read, or an application of the ideas you’re discussing to a real life example. But have a clear purpose in mind that gets beyond keeping students accountable for listening.
Consider allowing students to confer with a thought partner before you cold call on someone for a response. This can help them feel more confident—they can share their idea, or their partner’s idea, or talk about what they talked about.
If you’re feeling brave, consider a no-opt-out approach: “I don’t know” is not an acceptable response…but “I don’t know YET” is perfectly fine. If they don’t know the answer, encourage them to get creative for how they will find the answer: “I can ask my friend!” or “I can look it up in our textbook,” or “Can someone else answer it first, and then I’ll know the answer too?” I even had an enterprising student once say, “Can you tell me the answer?” (I loved that one.) The key: don’t let them off the hook: if they say they are going to google an answer, makes sure to come back and ask them for that answer!
One more silly idea: if it’s an important point that you want to reiterate, ask the same question to three or four students. If it’s really important that they know this point, this is a not-so-subtle way of helping them notice this. (And you might even say so explicitly so they don’t miss the meaning!)
Tiny Teaching Tweak #2: Make Prediction a Regular Occurrence
Educational psychologist Daniel Willingham says, “Memory is the residue of thought.” I really like that definition—and it brings up a key idea: people are more likely to remember the things they spend a little intentional time thinking about. Inviting students into making predictions about things is a great way to ensure that they spend a little intentional time thinking!
There are ton of ways you might invite predictions, and they might look different depending on the grade level or subject area you are teaching. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Pause while reading aloud and simply ask, “What do you think will happen next?”
At the beginning of a lesson, write just a word or phrase related to the concept to be taught, ask students to write down what they already know, and speculate about what they will be learning.
Before they open their textbook, share with them the title of a chapter or section headings that they will be reading. Have them make predictions about what they will be reading about.
Close class with a one-minute paper (a kind of exit ticket) predicting what they will learn in the next lesson: “Based on what we did today, what do you think we’ll be learning about tomorrow?”
Tiny Teaching Tweak #3: Use Self-Explaining
This one might sound obvious, but there is some good neuroscience behind it: getting students to articulate their current thinking about a concept is actually a means of deepening understanding. Here’s the key idea: explaining their own thinking gives students the opportunity to recall, check, and (potentially) reformulate their understanding.
The basic idea is to get them to actually articulate what they know and how they understand. Again, there are plenty of different ways to do this—where having them speak it to a partner, or jot it down for you to read. Here are a few of my favorites:
“Teach your partner!” (Literally, after the lesson wraps up have students do a 30-second explanation of the central concept from the lesson of the day.)
“Define ____ and give two examples.” (Great for any vocabulary!)
“What are your three take-aways from today’s lesson?” (A solid way to have them rehearse the lesson and capture their understanding.)
“What is the main idea? Sum it up in not more than 10 words.” (Summarizing is an essential skill for kids to learn and practice!)
So there you go, friends…three small-scale things you can try without reinventing your whole teaching practice. Give ‘em a whirl, and leave a comment in response if you found any of them—or the ones I shared last time—valuable!
Dave’s Faves
Here are three things I’m absolutely loving right now that I hope you might love too…
Dave’s Fave #1: My “Mondays with Mouw” reading group!
I’ve been meeting with a group of colleagues throughout this academic year to discuss Rich Mouw’s books. If you’re not familiar with Dr. Mouw, he was formerly the president of Fuller Theological Seminary, and has had a long and productive career in academia. Our group of 10 have read six of Dr. Mouw’s books—including, most recently, his newest book: How to Be a Patriotic Christian: Love of Country as Love of Neighbor. This group has been so good for challenging my thinking, and lots of good camaraderie as well, meeting up one Monday evening each month. Everyone should have a group of great professional colleagues who are also good friends.
Dave’s Fave #2: Live podcast recording sessions
We recently took the Hallway Conversations podcast on the road to Sioux Falls Christian School and recorded live in front of their faculty as part of a professional development day. The theme of the day was “empowered learning”—great topic, by the way—and we answered a bunch of their questions in real time as we were recording. You can listen here online: Hallway Conversations or you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and lots of other apps. Just search for “Hallway Conversations” in your favorite podcast app!
Dave’s Fave #3: Show Me What It Means by Land of Color
I love it when students get my taste in music. I had never heard of the band Land of Color before, but a student recommended them to me two weeks ago, and this has quickly become a go-to listen for me. (Thanks for the recommendation, Brady!) I’d call it non-Christian-radio-Christian music, if that makes any sense at all? Check out their album Show Me What It Means.
The Last Word!
A little famous “Dr. Dave Positivity” to close out this edition: we know we can’t control everything in our lives, friends (obviously!) but you can choose what pants you’re going to put on every day. Choose wisely!