It is hard to gauge true understanding when the same students keep raising their hands. Even with wait time, it is often the usual suspects who respond. Sounds familiar? If so, read on.
To help with this, I use strategies like choral response to hear from everyone at once. Still, I want to affirm each student individually and make sure they have had a chance to process the question.
There are plenty of reasons why a student will not raise their hand. Here a few:
- They don’t understand the question. I can use a variety of comprehension-aiding strategies to make my questions as clear as possible.
- They know the answer but aren’t comfortable engaging in that way due to individual culture, personality, learning differences, etc.. I respect that and avoid cold calling, especially with novice learners.
- They don’t know the answer — I want to help.
- They might know the answer but hesitate. If we have built a nurturing classroom culture and they are still unsure about raising their hand, I want to help.
In episode 126 of The Motivated Classroom, Liam Printer shares how he has tweaked the “Turn and Talk” strategy for maximum efficiency. As I listened, I realized: this was the answer I’d been looking for!
Here’s what has worked wonders in my classroom these past few months:
- First, I train students in the target language:
“When I say shoulder, turn to your partner as quickly as possible. I want to hear whoosh.”
“When I say hand, raise your hand.”
We practice just this. Sometimes I’ll say head or foot to keep them on their toes and to make sure they are paying attention. - Now, I can ask a question and make sure everyone understands.
- Next, I say “shoulder.” Students turn and quickly exchange ideas.
- Finally, I say “hand.” And suddenly, students who never used to raise their hands are in the game.
Ultimately, it’s not just about getting more hands in the air. It is about ensuring every student has a chance to engage. By using strategies like choral response and the “shoulder, hand” technique, I can create a space where every student feels supported and involved, without being “on the spot”. When all students are encouraged to participate, we not only build their self-confidence and understanding of the topic at hand, we also build a stronger, more connected classroom.