Increasing Student Engagement and Rigor with Student Talk

Teachers often feel as though they need to debrief any student talk (pairs, small groups) with the entire class. Consider this for keeping the momentum up in your class.

Rather than calling on students after a pair share or small group discussion, circulate around the room during that discussion time and note the BEST THINKING that you hear.  

You could write on a small whiteboard, and then you could hold it up to show students your notes, or you could write notes on a clipboard and display them using the document camera. When you bring the class back together, share the BEST THINKING and use student names.  

Advantages:

• Everyone hears the BEST THINKING.
• BEST THINKING provides a model for rigorous work for the entire class.
• You elevate student status by naming students who demonstrated good thinking.
• It’s quick—you can share what you heard in a minute or less, and keep the momentum of the class going toward the next activity.
• Listening to pairs/groups provides you with a formative assessment opportunity, and gives you the opportunity to address any misconceptions students may have.
• Shy or introverted students will be less intimidated sharing in a pair or small group, and elevated when you share their good thinking.

Students talk in pairs = 100% of students participate

Teacher calls on 5 students in a class of 32 = 16% of students participate