Children’s Tip by Linda Cowan
Have you ever asked your class a question to check for understanding, only to get blank looks and silence in return? I have … but I have also learned that silence teaches me a great deal about my students. Silence indicates that either I have not been explicit enough in my teaching, or that my students do not feel comfortable or confident enough with their new found skills/information to share in front of their peers.
Now, we teach a sport, which means we should be moving, sliding, gliding and riding … not standing around all day talking … but, there are times when I need to know what my students are thinking. Knowing what they think, and how they perceive the information I am conveying to them helps guide my teaching, and planning for my next steps. But, how can I get them to share when I’m met with silence? My remedy: “Turn and Talk.”
I often choose to ask questions at the bottom of a run after new learning has taken place, to get an indication of their understanding of what I’ve just asked them to do. When we are standing together and I get blank stares, I choose to follow the strategy of “Turn and Talk.” There are a couple of ways to incorporate this strategy. One option is to ask them to pair up, ride the chair together and have a conversation about my question on the ride up, but both partners are asked to be prepared to share their insights when we group up at the top. Another option is to simply have students turn to a neighbor right where we are and talk through their thoughts with another student.
“Turn and Talk” has multiple benefits. First, it gets the students talking about what they are learning. If they are shy, they can listen to their partner talk first, and gain more insight before they share. Second, sharing to one other person is much less threatening and intimidating than to a whole group, especially if no one knows anybody. Third, if I ask everyone to turn and talk as a group, I can listen in on a few comments and get a quick assessment of their understanding without even having to ask anyone to share out back to the group.
I need to know what my students are thinking in order to make responsible decisions but at the same time I do not want to take away valuable practice and adventure time. “Turn and Talk” is a quick strategy that gets everyone participating and beginning to take ownership for their new learning while also helping inform my teaching of what to do next and why.
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