Building on student contributions (also known as “uptake”) is an effective teaching tool, one that research has linked positively to student learning and achievement.

This practice builds a dynamic that signals to students that they are essential to the classroom learning community.

Students feel heard when their contributions are used. They form connections to the content, their teacher, and their peers.

In this post, I’ll introduce you to six strategies for building on student contributions -- acknowledgement, revoicing, reformulation, clarification, follow-up, and guiding.