What does it take to be mathematically literate in the 21st century? Share your thoughts in this blog.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Ensuring equitable participation is not always easy. Discuss some of the obstacles you face in getting everyone to participate. What kinds of practices or routines could help mitigate your particular set of obstacles?
My Kindergarten students are just getting used to sharing their ideas in an academic setting, which means they don’t usually answer in complete sentences and they have a limited vocabulary. I use a lot of explicit teaching of vocabulary and modeling of complete sentences. I also stumbled across the strategy of counting the number of words in the student’s response. The ultimate goal at the age of 5 or 6 is to have more than anyone else. So when a student gave a one-word answer, I would hold up one finger while repeating the word the student gave me and then wait. The student would usually provide the complete sentence, which of course, has more words.
Our school has recently started implementing strategies from the book Teach Like a Champion. At the beginning of the year each class discusses and implements the expectations for being a good listener (track the speaker, listen, be ready to answer questions). This helps to create and maintain a learning environment that is respectful and supportive. Other TLC strategies I have used include wait time (I consciously count to ten), and telling students to keep their hand down during the “thinking time”; counting out loud how many students have their hand raised to answer a question; or using calling sticks to choose a student, even if their hand is not raised. I have also used the accountability strategy of thumbs up/thumbs down, although sometimes students look to see in which direction their friend’s thumb is pointing. Last year, when I noticed this happening, I started asking students to explain why their thumb was up or down.
The Teach Like a Champion strategies that I used last year seemed to help ensure that most if not all students participated in academic conversations.
Some obstacles of participation include the fear of being wrong, not given a chance to talk, not listening, cultural differences, and just not wanting to talk/fear. One way to elicit participation could be to explain the rules and rationale for the new way of math discussion. Most everyone would most likely be willing to attempt discussion if they know the rules, and better yet, the etiquette of it. Another way to ensure participation by all is by starting slow. Begin the process by using math discussion in small groups. Students may feel more at ease discussing their ideas in small groups and gain practice to feel confident in the whole class setting. Using partners is another way to gain entry into whole class discussion too.
Trying to stay on track and having students actively participate in class is a struggle at times. This normally is a fear product of a child feeling "dumb" or not "getting it." These are genuine fears and problems that some teachers do not take into account when calling on students. A great way to encourage participation is to have all students understand and acknowledge all the rules of the classroom. Understanding that all opinions and remarks are important and should be respected should in fact be understood by all. In a few classroom where I have been in the teacher has made it a rule that all students pick on the next person who raises their hand. Their are each assigned numbers. They pick the next number/person and they have to respond with a "yes, thank you." I found this particularly polite and a great way to show respect to their peers and their teacher. I also gives them a great way to understand turn taking.
I completely agree that there is this fear of feeling "dumb" or "stupid" in front of your peers and that is why some students do not participate in class. It is our job to abolish these fears. I like the idea of having a fellow student call on the next student to answer the next question that is really creative. Did you notice if friends would just call on each other or was the teacher making sure everyone participated and there were not "clicks"?
There are many obstacles in getting all students to participate on a regular basis. For starters, class size can be an obstacle, with most first and second grade classes in my school numbering 26 students. Within that 26, there will be students who are confident about math and interested in participating as often as possible, students who are more reluctant, and students who will not be comfortable participating due to cultural background/expectations, lack of confidence, quiet/timid manner, etc. Piled on top of that are students who have attentional difficulties or other learning difficulties (students who struggle to process auditory information jump to tmind), and these students may have trouble participating in an extended fashion.
In order to address these issues, I think routine is a huge factor, along with class expectations. If students know that everyone is expected to participate, it does not come as a surprise. I liked the idea from the chapter of having a class list and marking down who is participating to be analyzed at a later date so that you can have a full understanding of who is participating regularly and who is not. I think that using systems like popsicle sticks with student names can help with participation, since there is an equal chance of pulling any name, and you can keep going within the context of a lesson to have different students participate.
In addition, defining participation for your given classroom is important too. Some students may not want to participate in the full group lesson; do they do better when talking with a partner? With the goal of getting everyone into the whole class discussion, I think partner and small group talk can be routines that help to have students speak more often and get more comfortable with the idea of sharing their strategies.
I really liked the idea you referenced from the book Kate, where the teacher has a class list and records who participated for each class in order to gain perspective on which students may need encouragement, assistance or higher expectations in order to fully access the content. I have attempted this strategy to some degree during a literature circle unit and found it challenging to multi-task and record data while I was leading the group. I wonder if tape recording a lesson and then reviewing it later would be possible based on school rules. It might be more work in the long run, but it would allow me to collect more accurate data and devote all of my focus to the running the lesson or activity. The second point that I agreed with you on was defining participation by explicitly stating your expectation for participating in the lesson or activity. By providing the students with a variety of participation options, I think you increase the overall level of participation, because the students have a clearer picture about what you expect as the teacher and they can choose and option that fits their level of comfort and confidence. One expectation that the Gifford School outlines for our group activities is to "participate on some level", which I believe can have both positive and negative outcomes; however it sets the record straight for all students that we as the teachers expect you as the students to find a way to participate.
Due to the varying levels of understanding and confidence within a classroom, there are many obstacles to getting all students to participate equally. Two of the most common obstacles are probably shyness and fear of being wrong or ridiculed. In order to overcome these, a teacher must create an environment where students know there will be only positive outcomes to participation and that any negative/disrespectful behavior will be unaccepted. To target shyness, teachers can preview the discussion with students and help them prepare their ideas and/or let them know during the discussion that they will be called on next so they are not taken off guard. Partner talk and small group discussion are other strategies presented in the book that would help shy or fearful students because they can first discuss with only one other peer before having to engage with the whole group. This allows them time to get feedback on their ideas in a more safe way first. Other practices that could be helpful include waiting time and revoicing, which both give students time to process information and fully understand concepts.
I couldn't agree more! I use the turn and talk strategy all the time and I can attest to it's effectiveness. As you stated it allows feedback in a safe one-to-one arena before they need to share out to the whole group. This strategy also gives them a chance to re-frame their ideas as they incorporate the feedback from their partner. It's a wonderful teacher "move".
One of the major challenges I face in trying to ensure equitable participation is finding a way to encourage the more reluctant students to participate, while simultaneously acknowledging the willingness of the students who frequently participate during times when you are asking them to share the opportunity with other students. This year I taught a class of eight students within which I had three students who regularly participated and remained engaged as long as they were called upon. I had two students who were often reluctant to participate and often struggled to remain focused during group instruction and discussion. The remaining three participated on a mood, knowledge and interest dependent basis. One way that I attempted to approach this challenge was to use a jar full of popsicle sticks with each student’s name written on one. During times when we were participating in group instruction and I asked a question to the class, I would choose a popsicle stick to see who would have the first opportunity to answer the question. This method did not exactly yield the result I was looking for and more often than not the flow of the class began to stall if an unwilling student’s name was chosen. One method that I did find helpful was assigning students a particular problem of question to present at the end of independent practice time. Students would often seek support if they were unclear about how to find the answer and the refusal rate diminished greatly over a short period of time.
I have seen the popsicle stick strategy used in a public school classroom and thought it was very effective, but I can understand why it would not work as well with our population. It seems that the 1:1 time you spend with the students and previewing of the discussion is very helpful to your students. This is something I do often, but as I wrote in my repose would like to use more partner talk so the students are learning from one another instead of just me all the time! Have you tried using it at all in your classroom? I'd be interested to know if it has worked, because I struggle to make it successful with my students.
I also have used the popsicle sticks, and I have come across an iPhone/iPad app called Who's Next? You create classes in the app database and it randomly provides the name of the next student to call on. It also has the capability to randomly assign groups based on various group-size parameters. Another app I have found useful with younger students is the 'lite' version "I Earned That". If participation were on an IEP as a social goal, that may be helpful as well.
Fourth graders are starting to become aware of social status in the class and grade. Therefore, they sometimes hesitate to share because they are afraid or nervous of what others will think of them if they are wrong or even if they participate too often and are correct in their responses. Other times, students are just more comfortable to sit back and allow other students to respond. Finally, I have had students who are more comfortable listening rather than speaking in school as a result of cultural differences.
In order for all students to participate, I have used think-pair-share activities so that even the most shy or self-conscious of students can share their thinking with another student. I have also had partners not their thinking, but the thinking of their partner, which is often perceived as lower risk for the students. Having students discuss in pairs also allows them to bounce ideas off of one person before sharing with the whole class, which also increases their comfort level.
I think the think-pair-share is a great resource to use, and I especially like your technique of having the student share their partner's thinking. I believe this helps, as you said, because it is a lower risk. In addition, I think if students know they may be asked to share their partner's thinking that they will be more attentive while their partner is speaking and not as wholly focused on their own thoughts.
In my classroom the only group activity we do is during our gym time we have a group game. We rotate through stations to make sure that each student completes their physical therapy objectives. So at one station we have an obstacle course, the next station is red light green light and then the final station is basketball. The students rotate through until each student has completed each station at least once. I know this has nothing to do with the question but that is the only group activity we do in our classroom. So, thinking back to my preschool classroom before I went to Melmark, equal participation was hard to accomplish. There is always that student that always raises their hand and is always willing to volunteer for an activity. Then there are the students that like to just sit back and take everything in and not say a word. At that young age it is important to build each student’s self-confidence and teach them that is ok to participate and that sometime you will be right and sometimes you will be wrong. One thing I used in my preschool class that promoted everyone to participate was the wonder ball. I would ask a question during circle time and then I would lightly toss the ball to a student and they had to answer the question. This kept all the students engaged because they didn’t know when they were going to get thrown the ball, and I was also able to ensure that each student was able to participate.
I would say the top three obstacles are; lack of knowledge, being afraid to make a mistake, and/or lack of interest. Again, part of the way to encourage participation is the creation of a positive accepting class environment. The classic, "Everyone makes mistakes." holds so true. As the leader in the room you need to get kids to understand that they will not grow unless they take risks and yes when you take a risk you risk failure and embarrassment. There are many practices that can help foster participation and that help build that positive, accepting environment. One such move is to divulge mistakes of your own. Normalizing the risk taking for students is so important. They need to see that, "wow, even Mr. O makes mistakes." Additionally, I use turn and talk all the time. Kids need a chance to share their idea in a small setting (with a turn and talk partner) to get some feedback where it is a little safer (and audience of one). Once kids turn and talk I will then ask for people to share out to the whole group what was discussed. Last year I had a student from China who had yet to acquire conversational english. She was a very bright student and we used the ipad in our room as a translation tool. Everyone wanted to be her turn and talk partner so that they could type in their thoughts and then hear them spoken in chinese. It worked well and by the end of the year she was taking more risks by using her english vs. the ipad to express herself. It was very limited but those moments were wonderful to see. As stated in the text, take it slowly and only push one new challenge at a time. If you get creative and foster a positive environment you can ensure equitable participation.
Well stated, all!! It is challenging to ensure equitable participation of all students. It is easier to call on the students who know the answer so the lesson can go along smoothly. Drawing in reluctant learners often puts a little speed bump in the mix. But, if all students know their ideas are valued, it is well worth it.
My Kindergarten students are just getting used to sharing their ideas in an academic setting, which means they don’t usually answer in complete sentences and they have a limited vocabulary. I use a lot of explicit teaching of vocabulary and modeling of complete sentences. I also stumbled across the strategy of counting the number of words in the student’s response. The ultimate goal at the age of 5 or 6 is to have more than anyone else. So when a student gave a one-word answer, I would hold up one finger while repeating the word the student gave me and then wait. The student would usually provide the complete sentence, which of course, has more words.
ReplyDeleteOur school has recently started implementing strategies from the book Teach Like a Champion. At the beginning of the year each class discusses and implements the expectations for being a good listener (track the speaker, listen, be ready to answer questions). This helps to create and maintain a learning environment that is respectful and supportive. Other TLC strategies I have used include wait time (I consciously count to ten), and telling students to keep their hand down during the “thinking time”; counting out loud how many students have their hand raised to answer a question; or using calling sticks to choose a student, even if their hand is not raised. I have also used the accountability strategy of thumbs up/thumbs down, although sometimes students look to see in which direction their friend’s thumb is pointing. Last year, when I noticed this happening, I started asking students to explain why their thumb was up or down.
The Teach Like a Champion strategies that I used last year seemed to help ensure that most if not all students participated in academic conversations.
Some obstacles of participation include the fear of being wrong, not given a chance to talk, not listening, cultural differences, and just not wanting to talk/fear. One way to elicit participation could be to explain the rules and rationale for the new way of math discussion. Most everyone would most likely be willing to attempt discussion if they know the rules, and better yet, the etiquette of it. Another way to ensure participation by all is by starting slow. Begin the process by using math discussion in small groups. Students may feel more at ease discussing their ideas in small groups and gain practice to feel confident in the whole class setting. Using partners is another way to gain entry into whole class discussion too.
ReplyDeleteTrying to stay on track and having students actively participate in class is a struggle at times. This normally is a fear product of a child feeling "dumb" or not "getting it." These are genuine fears and problems that some teachers do not take into account when calling on students. A great way to encourage participation is to have all students understand and acknowledge all the rules of the classroom. Understanding that all opinions and remarks are important and should be respected should in fact be understood by all.
ReplyDeleteIn a few classroom where I have been in the teacher has made it a rule that all students pick on the next person who raises their hand. Their are each assigned numbers. They pick the next number/person and they have to respond with a "yes, thank you." I found this particularly polite and a great way to show respect to their peers and their teacher. I also gives them a great way to understand turn taking.
I completely agree that there is this fear of feeling "dumb" or "stupid" in front of your peers and that is why some students do not participate in class. It is our job to abolish these fears. I like the idea of having a fellow student call on the next student to answer the next question that is really creative. Did you notice if friends would just call on each other or was the teacher making sure everyone participated and there were not "clicks"?
DeleteThere are many obstacles in getting all students to participate on a regular basis. For starters, class size can be an obstacle, with most first and second grade classes in my school numbering 26 students. Within that 26, there will be students who are confident about math and interested in participating as often as possible, students who are more reluctant, and students who will not be comfortable participating due to cultural background/expectations, lack of confidence, quiet/timid manner, etc. Piled on top of that are students who have attentional difficulties or other learning difficulties (students who struggle to process auditory information jump to tmind), and these students may have trouble participating in an extended fashion.
ReplyDeleteIn order to address these issues, I think routine is a huge factor, along with class expectations. If students know that everyone is expected to participate, it does not come as a surprise. I liked the idea from the chapter of having a class list and marking down who is participating to be analyzed at a later date so that you can have a full understanding of who is participating regularly and who is not. I think that using systems like popsicle sticks with student names can help with participation, since there is an equal chance of pulling any name, and you can keep going within the context of a lesson to have different students participate.
In addition, defining participation for your given classroom is important too. Some students may not want to participate in the full group lesson; do they do better when talking with a partner? With the goal of getting everyone into the whole class discussion, I think partner and small group talk can be routines that help to have students speak more often and get more comfortable with the idea of sharing their strategies.
I really liked the idea you referenced from the book Kate, where the teacher has a class list and records who participated for each class in order to gain perspective on which students may need encouragement, assistance or higher expectations in order to fully access the content. I have attempted this strategy to some degree during a literature circle unit and found it challenging to multi-task and record data while I was leading the group. I wonder if tape recording a lesson and then reviewing it later would be possible based on school rules. It might be more work in the long run, but it would allow me to collect more accurate data and devote all of my focus to the running the lesson or activity. The second point that I agreed with you on was defining participation by explicitly stating your expectation for participating in the lesson or activity. By providing the students with a variety of participation options, I think you increase the overall level of participation, because the students have a clearer picture about what you expect as the teacher and they can choose and option that fits their level of comfort and confidence. One expectation that the Gifford School outlines for our group activities is to "participate on some level", which I believe can have both positive and negative outcomes; however it sets the record straight for all students that we as the teachers expect you as the students to find a way to participate.
DeleteDue to the varying levels of understanding and confidence within a classroom, there are many obstacles to getting all students to participate equally. Two of the most common obstacles are probably shyness and fear of being wrong or ridiculed. In order to overcome these, a teacher must create an environment where students know there will be only positive outcomes to participation and that any negative/disrespectful behavior will be unaccepted. To target shyness, teachers can preview the discussion with students and help them prepare their ideas and/or let them know during the discussion that they will be called on next so they are not taken off guard. Partner talk and small group discussion are other strategies presented in the book that would help shy or fearful students because they can first discuss with only one other peer before having to engage with the whole group. This allows them time to get feedback on their ideas in a more safe way first. Other practices that could be helpful include waiting time and revoicing, which both give students time to process information and fully understand concepts.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more! I use the turn and talk strategy all the time and I can attest to it's effectiveness. As you stated it allows feedback in a safe one-to-one arena before they need to share out to the whole group. This strategy also gives them a chance to re-frame their ideas as they incorporate the feedback from their partner. It's a wonderful teacher "move".
DeleteOne of the major challenges I face in trying to ensure equitable participation is finding a way to encourage the more reluctant students to participate, while simultaneously acknowledging the willingness of the students who frequently participate during times when you are asking them to share the opportunity with other students. This year I taught a class of eight students within which I had three students who regularly participated and remained engaged as long as they were called upon. I had two students who were often reluctant to participate and often struggled to remain focused during group instruction and discussion. The remaining three participated on a mood, knowledge and interest dependent basis. One way that I attempted to approach this challenge was to use a jar full of popsicle sticks with each student’s name written on one. During times when we were participating in group instruction and I asked a question to the class, I would choose a popsicle stick to see who would have the first opportunity to answer the question. This method did not exactly yield the result I was looking for and more often than not the flow of the class began to stall if an unwilling student’s name was chosen. One method that I did find helpful was assigning students a particular problem of question to present at the end of independent practice time. Students would often seek support if they were unclear about how to find the answer and the refusal rate diminished greatly over a short period of time.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the popsicle stick strategy used in a public school classroom and thought it was very effective, but I can understand why it would not work as well with our population. It seems that the 1:1 time you spend with the students and previewing of the discussion is very helpful to your students. This is something I do often, but as I wrote in my repose would like to use more partner talk so the students are learning from one another instead of just me all the time!
DeleteHave you tried using it at all in your classroom? I'd be interested to know if it has worked, because I struggle to make it successful with my students.
I also have used the popsicle sticks, and I have come across an iPhone/iPad app called Who's Next? You create classes in the app database and it randomly provides the name of the next student to call on. It also has the capability to randomly assign groups based on various group-size parameters. Another app I have found useful with younger students is the 'lite' version "I Earned That". If participation were on an IEP as a social goal, that may be helpful as well.
DeleteFourth graders are starting to become aware of social status in the class and grade. Therefore, they sometimes hesitate to share because they are afraid or nervous of what others will think of them if they are wrong or even if they participate too often and are correct in their responses. Other times, students are just more comfortable to sit back and allow other students to respond. Finally, I have had students who are more comfortable listening rather than speaking in school as a result of cultural differences.
ReplyDeleteIn order for all students to participate, I have used think-pair-share activities so that even the most shy or self-conscious of students can share their thinking with another student. I have also had partners not their thinking, but the thinking of their partner, which is often perceived as lower risk for the students. Having students discuss in pairs also allows them to bounce ideas off of one person before sharing with the whole class, which also increases their comfort level.
I think the think-pair-share is a great resource to use, and I especially like your technique of having the student share their partner's thinking. I believe this helps, as you said, because it is a lower risk. In addition, I think if students know they may be asked to share their partner's thinking that they will be more attentive while their partner is speaking and not as wholly focused on their own thoughts.
DeleteIn my classroom the only group activity we do is during our gym time we have a group game. We rotate through stations to make sure that each student completes their physical therapy objectives. So at one station we have an obstacle course, the next station is red light green light and then the final station is basketball. The students rotate through until each student has completed each station at least once. I know this has nothing to do with the question but that is the only group activity we do in our classroom.
ReplyDeleteSo, thinking back to my preschool classroom before I went to Melmark, equal participation was hard to accomplish. There is always that student that always raises their hand and is always willing to volunteer for an activity. Then there are the students that like to just sit back and take everything in and not say a word. At that young age it is important to build each student’s self-confidence and teach them that is ok to participate and that sometime you will be right and sometimes you will be wrong. One thing I used in my preschool class that promoted everyone to participate was the wonder ball. I would ask a question during circle time and then I would lightly toss the ball to a student and they had to answer the question. This kept all the students engaged because they didn’t know when they were going to get thrown the ball, and I was also able to ensure that each student was able to participate.
I would say the top three obstacles are; lack of knowledge, being afraid to make a mistake, and/or lack of interest. Again, part of the way to encourage participation is the creation of a positive accepting class environment. The classic, "Everyone makes mistakes." holds so true. As the leader in the room you need to get kids to understand that they will not grow unless they take risks and yes when you take a risk you risk failure and embarrassment. There are many practices that can help foster participation and that help build that positive, accepting environment. One such move is to divulge mistakes of your own. Normalizing the risk taking for students is so important. They need to see that, "wow, even Mr. O makes mistakes." Additionally, I use turn and talk all the time. Kids need a chance to share their idea in a small setting (with a turn and talk partner) to get some feedback where it is a little safer (and audience of one). Once kids turn and talk I will then ask for people to share out to the whole group what was discussed. Last year I had a student from China who had yet to acquire conversational english. She was a very bright student and we used the ipad in our room as a translation tool. Everyone wanted to be her turn and talk partner so that they could type in their thoughts and then hear them spoken in chinese. It worked well and by the end of the year she was taking more risks by using her english vs. the ipad to express herself. It was very limited but those moments were wonderful to see. As stated in the text, take it slowly and only push one new challenge at a time. If you get creative and foster a positive environment you can ensure equitable participation.
ReplyDeleteWell stated, all!! It is challenging to ensure equitable participation of all students. It is easier to call on the students who know the answer so the lesson can go along smoothly. Drawing in reluctant learners often puts a little speed bump in the mix. But, if all students know their ideas are valued, it is well worth it.
ReplyDelete