7 teaching tips from the EdWeek feature on TeachFX
The big takeaway from Catherine Gewertz’s feature on TeachFX in EdWeek is simple: Get students talking about what they’re learning. Doing so gets students more involved and interested in what they’re studying and helps them understand it better. It can also yield valuable insight into what students need and improve achievement.
But how do we as teachers do that in practice??
“It’s more than a collection of strategies. It’s a mind shift.”
Here’s the TL;DR summary of the best practical teaching tips on how to get students talking about what they are learning from the article and linked material:
1. Consider Your Opener
Avoid talking at students too much at the very beginning of class, when they are freshest. Instead, start with an engaging warm-up activity centered around them talking (e.g. a micro-debate).
2. Toss the Ball Back
Try “tossing the ball back” to students with simple responses: Why do you think that?, Go on., or Tell me more.
Avoid quickly resolving a question with a “right answer” to produce more complex, interesting discussions.
Ask questions that give you insight into your students’ thought process: What do you mean by that?, How did you figure that out?, or How did you get to that answer?
Encourage students to cite evidence: Is there anything in the text that makes you think that?, What evidence do you have to support that claim?, or Can you give an example?
Before correcting wrong answers, use an open-ended prompt: Is that right? How do you know?
3. Give Think Time
Provide time for your students to think about what they’re going to say by using strategic silences (or “Wait Time”), or by giving students time to write or talk about ideas with a partner before discussing with the full class so they can expand and clarify their own thinking.
Instead of calling only on students who raise their hands, ask everyone to write their responses down before a discussion begins.
4. Challenge Ideas
Students may not always get where you want them to go in a discussion without some nudges from you. Challenge their ideas and provide counterexamples: Does it always work that way?, How does that idea go with the other example?, or Are there instances when that suggestion might not work?
5. Encourage Metacognition
Get students to reflect regularly on their own talking.
During class discussions, ask students to make notes about things like whether they built on classmates’ ideas or cited textual evidence, and how much they talked. (Some teachers distribute “metacognitive cards” for students to keep on their desks for this purpose.)
Have students evaluate their own class participation and set goals for improvement.
6. Examine Your Lesson Plans
Plan lessons carefully so that they include more open-ended questions.
Split your lesson into “surface” and “deep” stages and plan distinct questioning strategies for each. (Most teachers’ questions seek lower-order responses like factual recall and never get to the “deeper” stage.)
Make rules for yourself. For example, you could restrict yourself to no more than 7 minutes of Teacher Talk at a time in your lesson plans.
7. Have the Right Attitude
Adopt an attitude about your role as a teacher that is more focused on getting your students to do the thinking and talking: “Move away from teacher ego, toward student voice, student agency. Join their discussion, answer their questions.”
Instead of always assuming a central role, “eavesdrop” on your students’ discussions, noting areas of misunderstanding that could use a follow-up mini-lesson.
I hope these tips are helpful! Keep in mind that educators who have truly changed their classroom talk habits need to reimagine their roles as tellers and become askers and listeners. As TeachFX user and California Teacher of the Year Rosie Reid puts it, “It’s more than a collection of strategies. It’s a mind shift.”