# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is “SLANT”? SLANT is an acronym that teachers can use when they want their students to perform listening and paying attention behaviors. SLANT stands for: S it Up L isten A sk and Answer...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Pay attention!" "You need to focus." "Are you listening?"

If you have a child with attention issues, you've probably uttered some form of these words to her. And you may have been frustrated when your child kept looking away or slouching.

Inattention is one of those things that can easily anger us. Feeling like you're being ignored is very frustrating. But have you ever stopped and asked if your child understands what "pay attention" means?

In my experience, many kids actually don't know what being attentive looks like. They don't understand how their outward behavior affects their ability to focus and how adults view them. They've never been explicitly taught the signs of attention that people look for.

So here's a tip: Improve your child's focus by teaching her to pay attention with her body.

I've been doing this for years in my classroom with the acronym SLANT:

Explain to your child that SLANT is what she should do when asked to "pay attention." When she sits up straight, leans in, asks questions, nods and tracks with her eyes, it does two things.

First, it helps her be more mindful of how to actually pay attention, and that improves focus. Second, in conversation and in school, adults and other kids expect these behaviors as social signs of listening. Doing them will improve how people view your child and relate to her.

Sure, some kids can focus and listen while looking away and slouching. However, listening with SLANT behaviors is more effective. SLANT helps your child communicate interest and respect to others.

Although this might seem straightforward, many kids don't connect these behaviors to how they're perceived. That's why we sometimes say to kids "look at me" when we mean "listen to me."

Learning how to pay attention in this way takes time. Be patient. Practice with your child. Write SLANT down together and review it before a situation where she needs to focus.

And if the acronym SLANT doesn't exactly fit with your child's needs, modify it. For example, my son and I recently brainstormed what it looks like to pay attention to his swimming coach-and it included not going underwater when the coach is giving directions!

Nancy Hammill is the 2016 National Learning Disabilities Educator of the Year, awarded by Understood founding partner the Learning Disabilities Association of America. She has 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist and learning therapist.

Any opinions, views, information and other content contained in blogs on Understood.org are the sole responsibility of the writer of the blog, and do not necessarily reflect the views, values, opinions or beliefs of, and are not endorsed by, Understood.

About the author

About the author

The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers and editors. Many of them have kids who learn and think differently.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teacher Tip: Help Your Child Pay Attention With SLANT

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Pay attention!" "You need to focus." "Are you listening?" If you have a child with attention issues, you've probably uttered some form of these words to her. And you may have been frustrated when your child kept looking away or slouching. Inattention is one of those things that can easily anger us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Most educators are familiar with Think-Pair-Share, a popular technique used to ask questions in class and promote peer collaboration and communication. Yet, as with all classroom practices, it can be executed in a number of ways-some more successful than others.

We highly encourage weaving Think-Pair-Share into your regular classroom routine for all ages. But to do it well, keep the following in mind.

Don't Skimp on the "Think"

One of the biggest challenges to implementing Think-Pair-Share is making sure to not skimp on think. When you pose a question to your class, the first impulse for students will be to turn and talk to a peer, skipping the thinking stage. Ensuring that ample think time is provided before the pair and share steps take place can prevent this impulse.

During thinking time, students can write down their initial responses and engage in necessary retrieval practice-recalling information from long-term memory without any notes or support to make the memory stronger and more accessible in the future. But retrieval practice requires each student to recall information individually. If students are asked to recall information in pairs or groups, some students will miss out on the chance to strengthen their memory of the material. It can also be difficult to gauge whether an individual student recalled the information correctly themselves or is relaying something said by a peer.

Think time prepares students so that when they do talk to their partner, they have something to share, potentially adding another factor: think, pair, compare, and share.

When Pairing, Listen

Make certain that during the pair and share stages,students listen attentively to their talk partners. Students can be tagged "A" and "B" (for example, by the alphabetical order of their names) so that when the teacher tells the "A" students to talk, "B" students listen and then switch. A particularly powerful way of making students accountable for listening to their peers is to make it clear that they are likely to be asked to report to the class what their partner said ("Emily, can you tell us what Sarah told you?").

The response from the peer partner during the pair discussion might prompt students to add further points that they didn't include in their original answer or add depth to existing points. Pair time also provides students with a safe space to discover if their answers and thoughts align with their partner's or to discuss any questions they may have. This can be a powerful method for activating students as learning resources for one another in the classroom. And it provides the chance for students to rehearse the vocabulary that they will use in reporting back to the class.

Listening requires effort, attention, and time. Teachers should actively support student listening, as it's often an underrated element of Think-Pair-Share. In order to learn from each other, students have to listen to each other.

When Sharing, Pause

After the pair discussions have taken place, students share their thinking with the rest of the class. To further boost student confidence before whole-class discussion, award praise to students when walking around the classroom listening to conversations and individual responses, so students feel excited later to share with the whole class. Although overpraising students is ineffective, confirming to students that what they have said is worth sharing with the class is likely to make students more willing to share their ideas, and boost their confidence.

To start group discussion, the teacher can "" a term coined by Doug Lemov, for picking a student at random to answer a question. By this point, the students will have had the chance to recall information independently and rehearse their answer with their partner, making them more likely to be ready for wider discussion.

The teacher can then provide "response time"-at least several seconds-for students to listen and reflect on what others have said. This response time allows for further thinking, before students share their reactions, responses, and elaborations.

After an appropriate interval, a particularly useful technique is "Add. Build. Challenge." or "ABC" for short. Is there anything else that could be added? Can you build on that answer? Does anyone want to challenge the answer, for example, by providing an alternative response?

A particularly powerful way to do Think-Pair-Share is to use mini dry-erase boards. During the think stage, students write down what they can recall or jot down some initial thoughts. During the pair stage, students can add or remove thoughts from their board. Then, in the share stage, students hold up their boards to share what they wrote with the class. Dry-erase boards work best when student responses are short (about four words on each board), so they can be easily read.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, Think-Pair-Share is like all other aspects of teaching, in that the key is careful planning. While a very useful technique, Think-Pair-Share takes more time than traditional classroom questioning, so to make sure that this time is well spent, it is important that the questions posed to students are well-designed and carefully considered. They must be communicated so that students fully understand what is being asked and that the question homes in on key points linked to the lesson.

By making sure that the teacher asks "questions worth thinking about," Think-Pair-Share increases engagement, improves learning, and provides the teacher with actionable evidence about next steps-a uniquely powerful combination.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Getting the "Think-Pair-Share" Technique Right

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most educators are familiar with Think-Pair-Share, a popular technique used to ask questions in class and promote peer collaboration and communication. Yet, as with all classroom practices, it can be

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How well do your students communicate in class? If they tend to be shy participants, there's a learning tool you can use to help them think independently, pair up and discuss with a classmate or in small groups, and share their knowledge with the class. Developed by Frank Lyman, a professor at the University of Maryland, in 1981, it's simply called Think-Pair-Share. I'm a big fan of this collaborative discussion strategy, especially with my primary students.

How It Works

The teacher asks an open-ended question and students think quietly about it for a minute or two. Then every student pairs up with a partner and they discuss the question for two to five minutes. Finally, the whole class engages in a discussion where students raise their hands and share all the thoughts and ideas they've gathered.

With young children, it's best if the teacher models the technique with a volunteer so the class knows what to do. Just make sure to emphasize the rules of this exercise with your students. They must use their inside voices, take turns, and avoid interrupting their partner. Some teachers even pass out work sheets so students can write down the questions and their thoughts.
Further Reading: We Spy: An Interactive Classroom Activity
The Benefits

Some students feel safer and more relaxed when talking in small groups, rather than having to speak in front of the entire class. The Think-Pair-Share activity gives them the opportunity to feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts. In addition to fostering social skills, this strategy also improves students' speaking and listening skills. When pairs brainstorm together, each student learns from their partner. This can help students expand their vocabulary as they learn new words from their peers and build on their prior knowledge.

I found this activity to be particularly useful when I was substituting in the elementary grades. Whether I incorporated it into the daily lesson plans that were left for me or created a fill-in lesson with my own open-ended questions, the discussions generated by the children in the class were truly interesting. One piece of advice: Make sure your students stay on topic. Once, as I strolled the classroom during this activity and I heard a lot about costumes and parties-too bad the question I asked wasn't about Halloween!

When your class finishes a book, use Think-Pair-Share to check their comprehension. Invite your students to discuss the five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) to understand all parts of the story. Have them discuss who their favorite character was and why. Ask them, "What if you changed the plot of the story? What would happen if...?"

Make use of the Think-Pair-Share strategy when dealing with word problems. These complex situations can sometimes be difficult for young children to grasp, and this strategy can help your students work together to find the correct answer. You're not limited to word problems, either. Pairs can review the steps to finding the product or quotient in simple multiplication and division problems, too.

There's a wide variety of scientific topics students can discuss. For instance, if some students are struggling to understand the process of plant growth, why not lead a discussion on how plants start as little seeds and grow into the final product? Space travel is also a great discussion topic. How much do your students know about the International Space Station? How do astronauts live, eat, and work?

Use this strategy to spark conversations about your social studies curriculum. Because many areas of this subject connect to real life, this activity can also help you to get to know your class. Try asking questions like "Why is it important for families to work together?" or "How does your family celebrate holidays?" You can connect these inquiries to the class curriculum, learn about your students, and give your students the opportunity to bond and learn about each other.
Further Reading: Creative STEM Professional Development Activities to Plan Now
Whether you're a veteran teacher or new to the game, the Think-Pair-Share technique can be an effective tool for fostering discussions in the classroom. This cooperative activity can be used with kids of all ages, even middle and high school students. Any method that can stimulate a student's curiosity in a fun manner is a teaching tool to add to your book of tricks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Use the Think-Pair-Share Activity in Your Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How well do your students communicate in class? Try using the Think-Pair-Share strategy to engage students in effective discussions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Think-Pair-Share strategy is designed to differentiate instruction by providing students time and structure for thinking on a given topic, enabling them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with a peer. This learning strategy promotes classroom participation by encouraging a high degree of pupil response, rather than using a basic recitation method in which a teacher poses a question and one student offers a response.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Think-pair-share is a collaborative learning strategy where students work together to solve a problem or answer a question about an assigned reading. This strategy requires students to (1) think individually about a topic or answer to a question; and (2) share ideas with classmates. Discussing with…

# data[].attributes.body
Accountability to classmates
Efficiency
Increase Ownership to learning for the group
Collaboration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a set of student response cards for each student. Cards can be created with index cards or different colored pieces of paper or cardstock. They can be labeled with answer choices, such as A, B, C, D, or color-coded, such as green for yes and red for no.

# data[].attributes.body
Encourage whole class participation
Formative Assessment
Great for Number Talks

# data[].attributes.body
Peer Collaboration
A specific way to turn and talk
Share your thinking and be an active listener
Structured Mingling

# data[].attributes.body
Student Sharing
Encourage whole class participation
Formative Assessment

# data[].attributes.body
Practice Response Skills and Questioning.
Active Listening.
Learn to disagree agreeably.
Increase participation.

# data[].attributes.body
Well Done, I thought the activities were well chosen to allow us to explore these strategies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Increasingly, modern classrooms support group work and peer-to-peer collaboration. The science says that's right on.

# data[].attributes.body
Why collaborate?

# data[].attributes.body
Comment and share.
KWL Chart
Comment on peer ideas.
Share posts, videos, pins, storyboards.
Question and Answer Session.
Organize resources and create group checklists.
Connect Content.

# data[].attributes.body
Specific and constructive feedback.
Peer modeling.
Assessment.
Project and idea sharing.

# data[].attributes.body
Sharing ideas, projects, results, answers, strategies.
Digitally it can be done anytime.
Get students out of their sets and moving around.
Goes well with 2 stars and a wish.

# data[].attributes.body
Student Sharing.
Formative Assessment.
Jigsaw Groups.
Book Talks.
Tech Integration.

# data[].attributes.body
Share Opinions.
Defend your thinking.
Quick Classroom Barometer.
See other points of view.

# data[].attributes.body
Plan projects.
Write collaboratively.  Divide and Conquer.
Give feedback and resolve suggestions.
Connect to everything Google.

# data[].attributes.body
Practice Response Skills, defending our thinking with evidence and sharing ideas.
Give Feedback.
An alternative to Turn and Talk.
Jigsaw Groups.

# data[].attributes.body
Practice Response Skills and Questioning.
Active Listening.
Learn to disagree agreeably.
Increase participation.

# data[].attributes.body
Brainstorm a topic.
Share several ideas in a short amount of time.
Structured Mingling.
A specific way to Turn and Talk and be an active listener.

# data[].attributes.body
What are your wonderings?
What are some misconceptions?
What are you interested in learning?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Flipgrid is where social and emotional learning happens! The leading video discussion platform for millions of PreK to PhD educators, students, and families.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
At its best, collaboration in the classroom can help students think more deeply and creatively about a subject and develop more empathy for others' perspectives. At its worst, group tasks can deteriorate into awkward silences, arguments-or frustration for the one child who ends up doing everyone else's work.

Now, as the teaching technique gains new prominence in state standards, researchers and educators are working to understand how to help students gain the skills needed to learn and work in groups.

"Learning through doing is an important component in this, ... but by itself, it's not enough," said Emily Lai, the director of formative assessment and feedback for Pearson, the educational publishing company. "Students go into these experiences with very little understanding of what they should be working toward-and so students walk away from these experiences a little jaded. Collaboration is just like any other skill; it has to be taught."

The ability to collaborate with others has become one of the most sought-after skills in both education and the workplace. A survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that more than 80 percent of midsize or larger employers look for collaboration skills in new hires-but fewer than 40 percent of them considered new graduates prepared to work in teams.

Collaborative Standards

Partly in response to industry and higher education recommendations, both the Common Core State Standards for reading and mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards call for students to develop skills for collaboration and group problem-solving.

Even assessments are changing to focus on the skills needed for group work. In 2015, the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, added interactive tasks that gauge how well students can develop shared understanding of a problem, take action together to solve it, and maintain a team organization. The first results of that test are expected this fall.

The nonprofit Partnership for 21st Century Learning, along with Pearson, this month released a report breaking down three main aspects of collaboration that need to be taught: communicating with others, resolving conflicts, and managing tasks.

Without a task that requires multiple perspectives, Lai said, students often simply divvy up different aspects of a task "and then sort of smoosh it together at the end. That's not really collaborating."

That's what Emma Mercier, an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, and graduate researcher Susan Kelly, both of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are also finding in a large, ongoing series of studies of middle school students working in groups.

For one forthcoming study, the researchers assigned groups of students using electronic "smart" tables to answer questions on the nutrition and energy costs of different foods, using different data sources. In the 45 discussions studied, all the students could identify and repeat data facts, but the groups that engaged in more discussion of the data were able to begin to synthesize different sources of information and how they were connected.

Yet none of the groups was able to synthesize data from several sources without help from the teacher.

Mercier found in a separate study that regardless of whether middle schoolers collaborated using paper and pencil or smart tables to solve complex math-based "mystery" problems, the groups in which a student generated the first idea and then students responded to each other produced more ideas for solving problems than those in which the first idea came from a teacher.

"The elephant in the room when you have students work in groups is, if you don't explicitly teach them how to collaborate, they are not going to do it. If you just put them in groups and give them a task, that's not enough," Kelly said.

Equitable Benefits

Kelly was among several researchers at last month's meeting of the American Educational Research Association who are exploring how collaboration can improve student learning.

The quality of group discussions can be more important than the individual student's previous knowledge about a subject, according to a separate series of studies previewed at the meeting by Joshua Adams, a science of learning researcher at Arizona State University. Adams tracked the growth in understanding of small groups in secondary school and college, some of which paired students of roughly similar background knowledge and some

that had large gaps in knowledge between students on the team. While that sort of mixed-ability grouping sometimes prompts concerns that more-gifted students will be held back, Adams found students' learning was better predicted by whether they engaged in substantive conversations than by their previous knowledge. In fact, among high schoolers, the longer that students of different abilities participated in engaged groups, the more the knowledge of the subject improved for all students.

And just as students' background knowledge differs from subject to subject, Mercier found in a separate study that students' leadership roles in the groups can vary as well, even though students who are naturally more outspoken do tend to be more likely to be primary leaders. When the researcher kept the same students in groups for math and history projects, she found different students led the group in the two subjects, regardless of who had higher social status.

"A partner can bring in information that's not in the learning materials ... [such as] procedures they've used to solve other problems," Adamssaid. "Students can generate new knowledge and work at a higher learning level. Instead of trying to choose whether the high-performing students will benefit the most or low-performing students will benefit the most, if teachers focus on prioritizing interaction quality, ... both benefit."

Teachers can set the stage for better student discussions by only using group work for tasks that "are too cognitively large for any one student to do on their own," Mercier said, and by discussing and modeling appropriate talking and listening in a group.

Building Strong Discussions

One Ohio State University researcher is piloting a program to build up students' social skills so they can better function in group work. In the program, Collaborative Social Reasoning, developed by Tzu-Jung Lin, students are separated into small groups over the course of a year and receive direct instruction on providing clear arguments with evidence, disagreeing with a teammate respectfully, providing substantive feedback, and understanding each person's responsibilities for group learning.

Teachers receive training on how to devise the kinds of tasks that will spur constructive group work. For example, the pilot study asked students to analyze the history of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II and compare them with modern debates over immigrant and minority groups.

"Through these historical backgrounds, students were able to relate the reading to their personal experiences," Lin said.

Shufeng Ma, another educational psychologist at the University of Illinois, found that students who participated in group discussions created longer chains of reasoning to answer complex essay questions. Even students who spoke less than others in a group learned more when their group engaged in complex conversations.

Ma analyzed the group discussions of 160 students in eight schools across Illinois who took part in a six-week reading unit on ecology, economic, and policy issues related to wild wolves near a community. Of more than 3,300 conversational turns, students engaged in 122 discussions in which one student explained and expanded on another student's thought.

Once those conversations started, students were more likely to generate multiple chains of logic together, she found. "Reasoning is forged in talk. ... Children adopt the way other people think and talk, so conceptual relationships and the words to represent those become more accessible to children in a group discussion," she said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Children Must Be Taught to Collaborate, Studies Say

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At its best, collaboration in the classroom can help students think more deeply and creatively about a subject and develop more empathy for others' perspectives. At its worst, group tasks can deteriorate into awkward silences, arguments-or frustration for the one child who ends up doing everyone else's work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best Student-Collaboration Tools | Common Sense Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Best Student-Collaboration Tools is a list of 32 apps, games, and websites curated by Common Sense Education editors.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Comment and reply to first-person accounts, poems, commentaries and news articles. Add your own.

Deepen your empathy by reading with newly-minted GPT Thinking Partners designed to simulate the voices of poets, scholars, citizens, and youth from many different Gazan and Israeli perspectives.

Turning Texts, Images & Videos into Conversations

NowComment has the most sophisticated collaboration tools available for group discussion, annotation, and curation of texts, images, and videos.

It displays threaded commenting alongside the sentences and paragraphs of texts, the areas of images, and timestamps of videos to create engaging online conversations literally in context. Brainstorm, debate, and collaborate as never before!

Now GPT Thinking Partners can bring the power of the latest OpenAI Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) to your NowComment conversations!

Free Accounts

Upload and discuss documents with people you invite or with the whole Internet ("Public Documents") at no cost!

Time Efficient

Interesting comments can be found quickly (they're tied to relevant document passages), and summary lines make skimming fast and easy.

Powerful

Any sentence, paragraph, image, or video can have multiple conversations, keeping discussions focused and on-topic.

Simple to Use

Our interface is intuitive, your documents are accessible wherever you are, and we do the hosting and maintenance.

Feature-Rich and Scalable

NowComment has the features to handle very large groups: notifications, assignments, subgroups, moderation, and more.

Read It Your Way

By default comments are off to the side (with multiple sort options!), but you can also display comments in-line.

Collaborate with AI in Comments & Replies

Introducing GPT Thinking Partners

Create your own versions of ChatGPT to be your
Reading Buddy, Writing Coach, Research Assistant, or Learning Puppet.
NowComment'sGPT Thinking Partners are GPTs (Generative Pre-trained Transformers)
designed to take you to new levels as a reader and a writer.

Write your own text of any genre or upload one from a Web Site, PDF or Word Doc.

Choose a sentence, paragraph, or the whole document. Click the button to Ask AI then select a GPT Thinking Partner. Pose a question and add a description of yourself if you would like, then wait for the results.

Critically read the output from OpenAI that comes to you in an edit box. You can also Resubmit and Resubmit to choose from alternative results. Edit the output of the results you choose so that it is helpful (for other users), honest (about the facts), and harmless (free of bias).

Hit Start conversation and see how a GPT comment is posted in context showing that this was written by a GPT Thinking Partner and edited by you. You and others can reply to any GPT-collaborated comments with human-only replies or with another GPT Thinking Partner.

Your work with OpenAI is free and anonymous on NowComment. No separate login is required and no identifying data is transmitted to OpenAI. The content you submit through NowComment is not being stored by OpenAI to train their models.

With the click of a button, you can deploy NowComment's Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) next to any document on NowComment. You can select from a bevy of brilliant GPTs.

We have designed these GPTs to be Thinking Partners who are always available to be your personal mentor, tutor, coach, teammate, student, simulator, or tool. GPT Thinking Partners don't just correct your writing or summarize a text; they help you to become a stronger writer and a more thoughtful reader.

NowComment's GPT Thinking Partners shape and transform the output you receive from the same Large Language Models that power ChatGPT. With NowComment's GPT Thinking Partners you make your own ChatGPTs to fit your specific needs as a reader and writer. You will be inspired by the control our GPT Thinking Partners give you over how to integrate AI into your own creative and thinking processes.

There are over 60 GPT Thinking Partners to choose from already (with more coming all the time)! And since there are so many, to guide your choice, we have organized them into the seven approaches for students that Dr. Ethan Mollick and Dr. Lilach Mollick describe in a recent paper, "Assigning AI," as briefly described in the next section, below.

We also invite you to make your own GPT Thinking Partners. NowComment is a platform where we learn with and about Artificial Intelligence.

Detail the persona of the best GPT Thinking Partner you can imagine having. Itemize for that character the reading strategies you want them to employ. Specify the output that you want to receive. Test and test until you have taught your GPT Thinking Partner how you want it to respond to the texts of any genre that you are reading or writing and uploading to NowComment. Become a prompt engineer.

AI as Tool: Extending Performance

We are learning together how to use GPTs as tools to extend our thinking. These can translate, adapt, and transform text. They can give you a prompt for creating an image and more. See Mollick & Mollick (2023) for more.

Use NowComment to add daily logs on one document each week. Also add images and videos. Invite others to comment. Use GPT Thinking Partners beside your freewriting, jottings, exploratory logs. Upload a new document each week for you logs, then collect these weekly log documents and things you are reading into a Personal Collection. This collection becomes your GPT Dialogue Notebook.

Featured Public Documents

Click on a comment's summary to see it in context

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NOWCOMMENT - Turning Documents into Conversations®

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Simple Ways To Use Google Docs In The Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
5 Simple Ways To Use Google Docs In The Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Collaboration is a key skill employers are looking for and the benefits of collaboration for student learning are well evidenced.

When looking to introduce collaborative learning in the classroom, the development of a model and framework are useful building blocks. but, putting these in place is only part of the journey to achieving success. The potential barriers must also be considered so that leadership teams are equipped to overcome them and also ensure that the teaching teams are prepared for areas of change. Here we take a brief look at some of the most common resistances to collaboration .

I don't think I have enough knowledge...
Genuinely collaborative learning ultimately requires a shift in attitude and an adaptation of role for teachers and pupils. It is demanding for both teachers and students, requiring teachers to be less controlling and students to be more autonomous and take greater responsibility for their own learning.
As such, effective collaborative learning requires teachers to view students as active owners of their learning and to be able to enable or 'activate' peer learning and other student centred strategies. Research shows these methods of teaching are more effective than limited approaches e.g. overly planned learning activities

How can I assess effectively?
There is a five step framework we recommend, used to structure collaboration in the classroom, it specifically addresses 'identify appropriate assessments' as part of the process. Best practice using this approach is to seek out examples of good collaborative assessments and adapt these to suit your specific needs. For example, use teacher specific assessments and tools such as observation rubrics, sampling and snapshots, group interviews and debriefs, chat analysis and activity reports. From a student perspective, self-marking, peer-marking, activity evaluation and personal learning stories are all proven methods of assessing collaboration.

There just isn't enough time
Allocating a realistic amount of time for teachers to learn and develop new techniques is critical. Failing to make sufficient time available will be a physical barrier to the adoption of new styles and skills. As part of the introduction of a collaborative approach, allocate time within the timetable specifically for 'collaboration', whether that is planning, adaption of existing materials or training sessions.

I just don't know where to start.
Using structured approaches and well defined tasks where students and teachers can talk, interact and reflect on the processes is an excellent starting point. It is also important to allow teachers to experience what it is like to work in a collaborative community themselves - not just within the classroom environment with students. Existing lessons, curricula and courses do not become redundant when adopting a more collaborative teaching and learning strategy. Instead, use these as a basis within a collaborative framework and simply restructure them accordingly.

While resistance will occur which can potentially compromise the embedding of genuine collaboration within the school environment, it can easily be overcome by identifying the most prevalent concerns in your school and preparing a proactive strategy which addresses them right from the start of your journey. If you're interested in learning more, our forthcoming ebook in this series has a lot of good advice on how to design and implement a school-wide collaboration strategy.

-

Gill Leahy and Janice Prandstatter of Promethean host a webinar to guide school leaders through the topic of collaborative learning, to equip you with the fundamentals surrounding collaboration and to help you develop a model for collaboration in your school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Collaboration in the Classroom - Breaking Down the Barriers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Collaboration is a key skill employers are looking for and the benefits of collaboration for student learning are well evidenced. When looking to introduce collaborative learning in the classroom, the development of a model and framework are useful building blocks. but, putting these in place is only part of the journey to achieving success.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You may be asking yourself, what are benefits of cooperative and collaborative learning? There are several advantages of collaborative learning. We can categorize them as to be of social, academic or psychological advantage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Speed Dating:  Teaching Strategy for the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Activities that get students out of their chairs and moving in the room can help them engage with course content, even in high school.

As teachers, we cannot do the work for students, but we can create dynamic and thought-provoking experiences that are connected to who our students are and who they want to be. To this end, we can design lessons that enable students to contemplate questions, formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments, and plant their own seeds.

Such lessons will set up conditions in which students can weigh and measure outcomes, consider various solutions, and imagine endless possibilities.

Designing Dynamic Learning Experiences

Showing why lessons matter: It's essential that we explicitly help our students understand how what they're learning in school relates to their lives, not only to foster engagement but because research shows that students do not apply what they've learned to new situations unless they're prompted to do so.

Students shouldn't be left without an answer to the question, "Why do we need to learn this stuff?" Instead, we can introduce or follow up our instruction by explaining why we're asking them to perform a task, or by explaining how the task matters to them in school and beyond.

We can also challenge students to make these connections themselves by offering guided questions that help them consider how the work they're doing matters beyond our classrooms. Guided questions may include: How does this mathematical proof apply to a current issue? What historical movements and conflicts seem to be repeating themselves? How can we apply what we're learning in school to improve our lives and our society?

Providing choice: If we know what we most want our students to learn, we can design backward from those outcomes to offer students different pathways to reach them.

For example, in a science class, if students are learning about Rube Goldberg machines, they can decide on a task they want to complete and assemble one using various objects of their choice. In a history class, students can be asked how they would address a global problem -they might choose from issues such as hunger, education, health, the environment, or gender equality, and then choose to demonstrate their solution through a slide presentation, a video, a sketchnote, a storyboard, or other means. In a language arts class, if the focus is on coming-of-age novels, the teacher can provide a choice of books with protagonists of different genders, cultures, ethnicities, and economic status, so students can connect with a character they're curious about.

Giving students choices in the work they do fosters engagement because, like adults, students are more likely to engage in work that matters to them.

Incorporating movement: Activities such as chat stations and speed dating encourage students to add their voices to classroom discussions and show them that their opinions matter.

In setting up chat stations, teachers can post questions at each station that require divergent thinking, such as: How would the modern U.S. be different if the South won the Civil War? Or: In what ways does the message of this book deepen your understanding of a truth you've discovered in your own life? Students can move around the room in groups of three or four, discussing each question for several minutes before moving on.

Speed dating-type activities offer students an opportunity to move around and engage in a variety of one-on-one conversations. I arrange the desks in pairs facing each other, and carefully time conversations and movement, determining who is speaking, who is listening, when to ask a follow question, when to respond, and then when to change seats.

Teachers can incentivize listening by providing students with 30 seconds to briefly record the gist of what they heard, followed by an opportunity to ask a follow-up question. Speed dating can be used for a variety of purposes: to foster language skills in a world language class, to offer students an opportunity to discuss controversial issues, or to enable students to share knowledge when they're working on different topics.

Building in Time for Reflection

Throughout the school year, we should offer students opportunities for reflection so they can consolidate what they've learned and determine what they did well, what they can do differently next time, and how they would like to move forward.

Toward the end of the school year, when engagement begins to wane, we can ask students to reflect on the work they did this year. We can frame this as our "Greatest Hits" and ask students: What did you produce this year that you'd most like to share with your peers? Why is it worthy of sharing? This share can culminate in a gallery walk replete with writing pieces, videos, demonstrations, and reinterpretations of lessons learned.

This year I'm expecting two students to perform their rap inspired by Langston Hughes's "Theme for English B," a few dramatic performances, some paired analyses and connections between excerpts from books and plays that anchored our year, as well as student editorials, narratives, and illustrations of universal themes.

Student engagement should be our highest priority because there is no real learning without it. Deeper learning is possible when students are actively involved in the life of the classroom, understand the connection between their schoolwork and the rest of their lives, and have repeated opportunities for reflection. When we invite students to the design table, our classroom becomes a place that is defined by its learners, which is the life force of engagement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Activities that get students out of their chairs and moving in the room can help them engage with course content, even in high school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This teaching strategy was originally designed for use in a face-to-face setting. For tips and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy in a remote or hybrid learning environment, view our Taking Barometer Online video and our Take a Stand Routine.
The Barometer teaching strategy helps students share their opinions by asking them to line up along a continuum based on their position on an issue. It is especially useful when you want to discuss an issue about which students have a wide range of opinions. Because a Barometer activity gets many arguments out on the table, it can be an effective pre-writing exercise before an essay assignment.

Prepare the Space
Identify a space in the classroom where students can stand in a line or a U-shape. Place "Strongly Agree" and "Strongly Disagree" signs at opposite ends of a continuum in your room. Alternatively, you can post any statement at one end and its opposite at the other end of the line.

Contract with Students
Set a contract for this activity. Since it deals with students literally putting themselves and their opinions on the line, it has the potential to promote outbursts that result from some individuals not understanding how classmates can hold whatever opinion they hold. Reiterate your class rules about respect for the opinions and voices of others, and call for students to be honest but not insulting. Re-address ways to constructively disagree with one another, and require that when students offer their opinion or a defense of their stance, they speak using "I" language rather than the more accusatory "you."

Students Formulate an Opinion
Give students a few minutes to reflect on a prompt or prompts that call for agreement or disagreement with a particular statement. You might have students respond to the prompt(s) in their journals.

Students "Take a Stand"
Ask students to stand on the spot along the line that represents their opinion, telling them that if they stand at either extreme, they are absolute in their agreement or disagreement. They may stand anywhere between the two extremes, depending on how much they do or do not agree with the statement.

Students Explain Positions
Once students have lined themselves up, ask them in turn to explain why they have chosen to stand where they are standing. Encourage students to refer to evidence and examples when defending their stance. It is probably best to alternate from one end to the middle to the other end, rather than allowing too many voices from one stance to dominate. After about three or four viewpoints are heard, ask if anyone wishes to move. Encourage students to keep an open mind; they are allowed to move if someone presents an argument that alters where they want to stand on the line. Run the activity until you think that most or all voices have been heard, making sure that no one person dominates.

Debrief
There are many ways you can debrief this exercise. You can have students reflect in their journals about how the activity changed or reinforced their original opinion. Or you can chart the main "for" and "against" arguments on the board as a whole-class activity.

Forced Decision: Yes, No, or Undecided: Read a statement aloud. Rather than have a continuum for agreement, require students to make a decision about whether they "agree" with the statement, "do not agree," or "are unsure" about their agreement. If students agree with the statement, instruct them to move to one side of the room. If students disagree with the statement, instruct them to move to the other side of the room. Designate a place for students to stand near the middle if they are undecided or unsure. Have students explain why they are standing where they are standing. If after hearing another student's position a student would like to move across the room, allow for this movement.

Post-It Notes Barometer: Draw a continuum on the board. Ask students to place a sticky note on the spot along the continuum that represents their opinion. Then have students discuss what they notice about the collection of notes. This variation is less about individuals explaining their point of view than about illustrating the range of agreement or disagreement in the class.

Presenting Different Perspectives: The Barometer strategy can be used to present the different perspectives of historical figures, schools of thought, and literary characters. Assign students a perspective to represent. Then give them time to research or study the ideas of this person or group in relation to the question being studied. When you frame a statement, ask students to stand along the line at a position that represents how their assigned individual or group would respond. For example, you could use this activity to show how different philosophers or groups have responded to the statement "Individual freedom is more important than protecting the needs of the larger community."

Remote Learning: Taking Barometer Online: Learn how to implement the Barometer teaching strategy in an online learning environment. This strategy asks students to take a stand on an issue in an online class discussion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Barometer: Taking a Stand on Controversial Issues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This teaching strategy was originally designed for use in a face-to-face setting. For tips and guidance on how to use this teaching strategy in a remote or hybrid learning environment, view our Taking Barometer Online video and our Take a Stand Routine.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Padlet for Collaboration in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Promote Student Collaboration with Padlet

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Promote Student Collaboration with Padlet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Promote Student Collaboration with Padlet

# data[].attributes.headline
Fostering Student Collaboration with Google Docs

# data[].attributes.subject
Fostering Student Collaboration with Google Docs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ELA.W.9-10.6

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

W: Writing Standards 6-12

9-10: 9th & 10th Grades

6:
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology'\x80\x99s
capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and
dynamically.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

|

ELA.W.11-12.6

Common core State Standards

ELA: English Language Arts

W: Writing Standards 6-12

11-12: 11th & 12th Grades

6:
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update
individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback,
including new arguments or information.

Download Common Core State Standards (PDF 1.2 MB)

Thought starters

What skills do students gain by using Google Docs?

How does Ms. Wessling foster the development of these skills?

Imagine using Google Docs in your classroom. What issues might arise?

How could you address those issues?

School Details

Johnston Senior High School
6501 Nw 62nd Ave
Johnston IA 50131

Data Provided By:

Teachers

English Language Arts / 10 11 12 / Teacher

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
High School ELA teacher Sarah Brown Wessling has her students use Google Docs when writing collaboratively. Sarah talks about how she teaches students to navigate the collaborative writing process and learn the etiquette of Google Docs. When students share their Google Docs with Sarah, she is able to assess their progress and leave comments for her students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
MSU Information Technology Academic Technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Google Docs for Collaborative Work

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Written Conversations - RPS Content Literacies

# data[].attributes.headline
How to do written conversations in groups of 4

# data[].attributes.subject
How to do written conversations in groups of 4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Written Conversation / Silent Discussion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lesson Plan Tool - Educators can use the UEN Lesson Plan Tool to create their own lessonplans online. Lesson Plans can be easily shared with others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Watch a third grade classroom participate in a gallery walk, including discussing their thinking and reasoning. As students walk around to view other group's work, they strengthen their Mathematical Flexibility by understanding different ways to approach the same problem.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PLEASE CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT OR LOG IN TO ACCESS THIS CONTENT

Enjoy your first three pieces of content for free. Subscribe for unlimited access.

Have questions about subscribing? Click Here to learn more.

PLEASE CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT OR LOG IN TO ACCESS THIS CONTENT

Enjoy your first three pieces of content for free. Subscribe for unlimited access.

Have questions about subscribing? Click Here to learn more.

Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

What language objectives are integrated into this activity?

How does modeling the sentence frames of "I notice" and "One question I have" ensure that students achieve the intended takeaways?

How could a gallery walk be used as peer and self assessment?

Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Third Grade teacher Dale Eilers introduces an engaging, interactive idea called the Gallery Walk. A Gallery Walk can be used in every subject and across grades 3 through 12. Students rotate among stations at which student work is displayed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Use the Gallery Walk as an active learning strategy to engage students, promote collaboration, and encourage critical thinking.

Physical movement enhances learning, thinking, and retention. When your students participate in the Gallery Walk, they are working in pairs or small groups. They rotate from one flip chart to another as they move around the room solving problems, answering questions, and sharing ideas.

It takes a little time to set up, but it always promotes engagement and collaboration among students.

How to Use the Gallery Walk to Engage Students in the Flipped Classroom

For this strategy, you will need: flip chart paper, tape, and different colors markers. And you'll need to have a plan to divide students into groups.

Here's how it works!

First, set up the room. Write different questions at the top of separate sheets of flip chart paper. You'll need one question for each group of students. Then, post each sheet of flip chart paper on the walls around the room.

Next, divide students into small groups. Give each group a different colored marker.

Then assign each group one of the questions posted on the flip chart paper. Ask groups to gather at their flip chart paper to discuss the question.

Tell students to write their responses directly onto the paper using their group's colored marker. After 3-5 minutes, ask all groups to rotate clockwise to the next question.

Now their task is to add additional ideas to the comments from the previous group. Repeat this process until all groups return to their original question.

Analyze and Debrief the Gallery Walk

Give students time review the information provided from all of the other groups. They will be able to compare and contrast different responses, and you can track each of the groups by the color of the marker they used to write their response.

You can then lead a discussion comparing different ideas, interpretations, and answers. If you want to add another layer to the activity, you can ask each group to rank, sort, or prioritize the top three responses on their flip charts.

Use this information to increase the complexity of the class discussion and to explore possible alternative solutions.

Why Does the Gallery Walk Work in the Flipped Classroom?

This process creates a "gallery" of the students' thoughts and ideas (which is why this strategy is called the "Gallery Walk"). The process involves students in recalling information, making connections to the course content, and sharing experiences.

It combines physical movement, reflection, analysis, group discussion, and writing. And, it allows students to analyze and evaluate information shared by their peers.

This strategy engages students in higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and it allows you see where students are struggling so you can provide additional resources and support. It's a powerful strategy that can work with many levels of students in a variety of courses.

It can be used at any time throughout the semester and can be adapted to work in a variety of learning environments. When you use the Gallery Walk in your class, you are also introducing students to the changing roles in the classroom. Their role becomes more active and collaborative. Your role becomes more actively passive as you provide support and offer additional information as needed.

If you decide to give the Gallery Walk a try, let me know how it goes! Share your recommendations and experiences in the comments below!

For more active learning strategies, see the collection of FLIP It books and resources in the online store.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FLIP It with the Gallery Walk: An Active Learning Strategy for the Flipped Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use the Gallery Walk as an active learning strategy to engage students, promote collaboration, and encourage critical thinking.Physical movement enhances learning, thinking, and retention. When your students participate in the Gallery Walk, they are working in pairs or small groups. They rotate from one flip chart to

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Collaboration is cemented as one of the four C's in education, right along with communication, critical thinking and creativity.

When it comes to digital collaboration, one characteristic highlights almost all of our approaches.

Sitting.

A lot of sitting.

The concerns with obesity and Type 2 diabetes are well documented, along with the harmful effects of too much sitting on the brain.

How can we make a small step to get students out of their seats - and encourage them to share with an audience of their peers?

Meet the digital gallery walk

It's a simple idea, but it can be a powerful one. The digital gallery walk lets students display, share and discuss work much like a visit to an art museum.

1. Students create a digital artifact of their learning. Some examples we've covered include infographics, stop-motion animation, classroom friendly Instagram Stories, Caption This! image activities, or icon boards.

2. When everyone is finished, students display their work on their screens. If they created in Google Slides, they might click the "Present" button to enter presentation mode.

3. Students stand up and leave their devices on their desks.

4. They circulate the room, stopping at their peers' desks (and devices) to check out their work.

5. (Optional) Students can use the comment button in many apps/sites (especially G Suite) to leave feedback. They're like digital sticky notes.

Why does this work?

The digital gallery walk goes beyond the traditional way we think of collaborating with our digital creations. Often, we share digitally, letting students view each other's work on their own devices. We encourage students to view and interact individually at their seats.

This gets students to move. The brain benefits from this can extend into the next activity.

It encourages them to have face-to-face conversations - an art they have less and less opportunities to practice in a world filling up with digital communication.

Plus, it's a change of pace.

How to extend the digital gallery walk

Want to add a new dimension to a digital gallery walk? Give students extra opportunities?

Add comment conversations. While student work is on the screen, encourage the students that visit to write comments. In G Suite, look for the black speech bubble with the plus sign. Students who view the work can add a comment with feedback (what they like or what they'd change). They can give an additional detail. They can share their opinion or their personal experience with the topic. Then, the original author can circulate back to his/her own work occasionally to view comments and reply back to them.

Create poster sessions. In a class of 25 students, pick five at a time (five rounds) or six (four rounds) or eight (three rounds) to deliver a short presentation about what they've created to a small group. They can also answer questions. Students can rotate around to hear other students' presentations. After that round is finished, pick another group of students to be presenters. This type of presenting is less formal than a presentation in front of the whole class. It's more interactive. Plus, it's less intimidating because the groups are smaller!
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Digital Gallery Walk: Collaboration on their feet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Collaboration is cemented as one of the four C's in education, right along with communication, critical thinking and creativity. When it comes to digital collaboration, one characteristic highlights almost all of our approaches. Sitting. A lot of sitting. The concerns with obesity and Type 2 diabetes are well documented, along with the harmful effects of too much sitting on the brain.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Use a Gallery Walk format for students to get feedback on their work. Hang student products, such as drawings, visual representations, poster projects, etc. Students, individually or in groups, rotate around the room and provide feedback to the creator of the work.

# data[].attributes.headline
9 Tips for Creating Collaborative Conversations

# data[].attributes.subject
9 Tips for Creating Collaborative Conversations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
| By Terence Brake

A collaborative conversation is a purposeful, outcome-driven conversation aimed at building on each other's ideas. They generate new thinking and/or a more in-depth understanding of a desired outcome, e.g. a solution to a problem, a definition of a shared process. It also increases productivity and ownership of the outcome, results in fewer conflict and power struggles, promotes better decision making, and heightens creativity. According to the educator, Doug Fisher, a collaborative conversation is one in which participants "argue without being argumentative and disagree without being disagreeable."

How should you lead a collaborative conversation?

Establish desired outcomes for the conversation (no more than 2 or 3 otherwise the conversation will drift aimlessly). Don't try and do too much in each conversation. This is particularly the case in virtual conversations in which it is easy to lose concentration.

Set a cooperative rather than a competitive tone. A competitive conversation is like a sword fight - cut and thrust. When the tone is competitive, the most articulate and most powerful tend to dominate which stifles creativity and promotes group thinking. A collaborative conversation is more like playing on a soccer team - quick passing backwards and forwards between players who are committed to scoring in the same goal. Participants in a collaborative conversation look to interweave their views with the views of others and co-create agreements.

Keep contributions short. Points should be made in a few words, and build incrementally into a coherent whole. Points get lost in speechifying. Remember - this is a collaborative conversation, a dialogue, and not a series of presentations.

Check often for meaning: Say something like, "What I hear you saying is _______." Show that you are quite comfortable being corrected. Articulate what you have heard in your own words, clearly and persuasively (even if you disagree with the speaker).

Summarise points of agreement and disagreement: Taking the time to summarise agreements periodically (not just at the end) is important because it checks for the accuracy and depth of shared meaning. Superficially made agreements may unravel during the summarising process; this allows for developing more robust agreements. Disagreements should also be summarised. They help focus the collaborative group on where more work might need to be done; it might also turn out that the disagreements are more superficial and more easily managed than previously thought.

Integrate the points made by others: You are in a collaborative conversation not a monologue, and so remember to integrate points made by others. This demonstrates you are listening intently and respecting others. It also opens up possibilities for the creative exploring and linking of ideas.

Be inclusive: It might be difficult for members of some cultures - and those with less fluency in the 'official' language - to engage in a flowing collaborative conversation. You do not want to lose their input, and so you will need to be creative. Technology can help by providing tools that enable participants to contribute before, during, and after a conversation. For example, an asynchronous discussion on social media before a live conversation can help gather input. Instant messaging/Twitter or use of whiteboards during a conversation can also facilitate a more inclusive discussion (some tools allow for anonymity). Posting notes after a conversation on a collaborative writing tool (wiki) and asking for comments/additional input provides another channel for input.

Create short and long-term memory banks: During a collaborative conversation it is useful to record all points made. Turns can be taken to be the recorder. Some points might be glossed over in a flowing and energetic conversation, and it could be very valuable to have them held in a 'parking lot' or 'holding tank'. Stored notes (or a recording) of the whole conversation can support long-term memory so that the group doesn't need to start all over again each time. Not trying to do too much in a collaborative conversation also helps team memory. To aid memory, time should be taken to organise points (synthesise, categorise, prioritise)

Last, but not least: Watch your language: I mentioned earlier that it is important to set a cooperative tone. Collaborative rather than competitive language is vital. Here are a few helpful phrases:

Yes, and . . .

Can you tell me more about that . . .

My perspective is different . . .

The way I interpreted what you said was . . . please correct me if I'm wrong

Would you consider . . .

What if we . . .

I think we could benefit if we . . .\

We hope you've enjoyed reading our article. Why not sign up to receive our newsletter direct to your inbox? Click here to subscribe. We regularly share articles from industry leaders on how to perform in the global workplace as well as the latest news and trends affecting the L&D industry.

Ebook series
By Terence Brake

As part of our ongoing commitment to the development of borderless working strategies, Terence Brake, our Head of Learning and Innovation, has written a series of insightful books.
EXPLORE AND DOWNLOAD

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
9 Tips for Creating More Collaborative Conversations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Terence Brake A collaborative conversation is a purposeful, outcome-driven conversation aimed at building on each other's ideas. They generate new thinking and/or a more in-depth understanding of a desired outcome, e.g. a solution to a problem, a definition of a shared process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Stamina captains track stamina among students at their table throughout independent work. Especially while working on differentiated or individualized practice, students may feel "alone" in their work and thus easily get distracted (whereas they might feel more pressure if all students are working on the same exact practice). Thus, through emphasizing the skill of stamina, students constantly think about their level of focus and ability to avoid distractions. When students begin discussing something that is off-topic, the stamina captain will write down their name on a post-it. After that, those students get a chance to "fix" their behavior by getting back on task. If their stamina is not fixed, they then get a phone call home as a consequence for their lack of focus. Through this closed loop, parents and students understand their focus and work at school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mathematical Concept Turn & Talk | Blended Video | BetterLesson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stamina captains track stamina among students at their table throughout independent work. Especially while working on differentiated or individualized practice, students may feel "alone" in their work and thus easily get distracted (whereas they might feel more pressure if all students are working on the same exact practice).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the annals of being a teacher, hoping to see 20 eager hands raised when you've asked a question but seeing only two or three instead is among the most common challenges.

Since this blog is a judgment free zone I just want to say it's ok. We have all, every single one of us, been there.

But is it ok to just call on those 2 or 3 reliable hand raisers every time? No. Is it beneficial to announce to the class (with a bit of edge in your voice), "Do I need to remind you that your participation is graded?" or "I'm seeing the same three hands... I'd like to hear from some of the gentlemen in the back..." Not really.

So what can you do?

Here's a great video of Alonte Johnson, some time English Teacher and full time Dean of Curriculum and Instruction at Uncommon's Leadership Prep Ocean Hill Middle Academy, that shows a high level model of one solution- we call it a "Responsive Turn and Talk" because the Turn and Talk is a response to a low number of hands.

Alonte Johnson.TResponsive Turn and Talk from TLAC Blog on Vimeo.

Alonte's 7th graders are reading Edna St. Vincent Millay's Poem "The Courage That My Mother Had" and Alonte asks, "If she compares her mother's courage to a rock, what associations can we make about how the speaker views her mother?"

He gets two hands. He leaves four or five seconds of Wait Time and augments it by narrating hands, counting off the number he sees slowly ("I see one... two... three hands..." to show they matter to him and he notices who volunteers. He gets two more. Better but still not enough.

Notice he's calm here. No frustration evident. It's a hard question.

So Alonte goes to a Turn and Talk. The presumption here is that if reinforcing the importance of hand raising isn't enough they may well be genuinely stumped. He lets them talk it out and rehearse some initial thoughts for 30 seconds.You'll notice this is a routine for them. They do this all the time and they know how to do it the right way so when he says, "Turn and Talk to your partner. Go!" everyone engages right away. He circulates and engages during the 30 seconds to show he cares about the quality of their thinking.

Pause. He asks for hands again. He's casual and easy going about the question, repeating it in an easy-going tone.This time there are more hands 9 or 10 at least.

He's sure to tell them he notices the difference, making his goal of engaging the class in the discussion transparent: "Love the increased number of hands."

"Track Sakani," he says.

Sakani has had time to think through her thoughts and get confident. And everyone tracking her reinforces their respect for her ideas and the value they place in her contribution. So she pretty much crushes it:

"The daughter is inspired by her mother. She compares her mother to a rock because her mother is durable..." she begins.

So... the recipe here is:

Leave Wait Time

Narrate Hands to Show They Matter

Insert Turn and Talk if Necessary

Remain easy going and supportive in tone while structured and clear on expectations

Hope you'll let me know how it goes if you try it. Thanks to Alonte for sharing his video!

By the way, if you want to help your teachers crush Turn and Talk like Alonte does, our Turn and Talk Plug and Play might be for you!

Alonte Johnson, Turn and Talk, Wait Time

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Things To Do When You Don't Get Many Hands - Teach Like a Champion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the annals of being a teacher, hoping to see 20 eager hands raised when you've asked a question but seeing only two or three instead is among the most common challenges. Since this blog is a judgment free zone I just want to say it's ok.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How to Use Flipgrid in The Classroom

Using Flipgrid in the classroom is easy! Whether you are using Flipgrid in Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams, adding Flipgrid to your teaching and learning repertoire is one of the finest ways to incorporate technology into your classroom. In this post, we will dig into how to add to Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams give you a few quick ideas to get your started.

If you are new to Flipgrid consider checking out the FREE online course and become a pro in under one hour.

When I first heard about Flipgrid, I threw my hands up in joy and considered jumping up and down in my classroom, because I had been looking for something like Flipgrid for my entire career. I had longed for a tool that would allow me to hear from every student in my class - and give them a platform to easily making their thinking visible and better understand where they were in the cycle of learning.

Flipgrid is a response system that allows students to explain or show their learning using video. It then takes these responses and places them in a grid for easy viewing and access by the teacher and other students.

Using the Flipgrid environment, teachers can easily gather information about their students understanding and growth. Teachers are also afforded the opportunity to hear from all of their students - even the ones who are shy or might be too scared to speak in class due to language barriers, speech impediments or lack of confidence.

Flipgrid and Google Classroom

Once you get started with Flipgrid, using it will probably become an obsession and you will be dreaming up new inventive ways to impact learning using this meaningful tool.

Flipgrid and Microsoft Teams

The best way to incorporate Flipgrid with Microsoft Teams is through the Tabs feature. Create a grid with topics and then in Teams add your Flipgrid as a tab.

You can also share to Teams straight from Flipgrid, but this option just adds a link in the Post area - and is not the best option because students can' not interact with the chosen grid straight from within teams.

Need ideas for grids? Check out the three blog posts listed below - but let's begin with this quick start guide.

Quick Start Ideas for Using Flipgrid in the Classroom:

Here is a list of my 5 favorite ways to use Flipgrid in the classroom

Social Studies - AppSmash with a Chatter Pix to have the students take on the persona of a president - maybe do a grid of the first 10 presidents. Don't stop there...do this with world leaders, the crusades anything you can personify - yes, you can even personify the quadratic equation!

Math - Students talk though their solutions, showing and describing how they solved a particular problem.

Language Arts - Pre-Writing: Have students record their writing ideas. They use the recording to talk through their ideas. As they write they can refer back to the video to help them remember their original thoughts and stay on track. This really helps the reluctant writer. Other students can record responses that offer ideas and ways to make the writing piece even richer.

Using Flipgrid in the Classroom Collaboratively:

First, think about how you want to collaborate with Flipgrid. Then, go to Grid Pals at the top right of your dashboard and look for another teacher that wants to collaborate. You can look at grade and interest level too. Then reach out and let the connections begin!

For example, learning about states? Collaborate with a teacher from another state. Share a grid with each other with one topic being your state and another topic being their state. As students begin to learn about their states, they post fun facts about each state - and ask questions of each other. This is a really fun and collaborative way to share and learn with students from another geographic area.

Try this collaboration with a novel - find another class in a different state reading the same book and answer the prompts together - you might find they have completely different perspectives on some of the content based on geography or their unique cultural landscape.

Foreign Language - collaborate with a class in Spain or France - use the grid to help teach each other accents and language rules

Back to School Flipgrid for introducing students to each other, and the teacher before class begins.

Flipgrid in the Classroom: Video Tutorial Series:

Video 1: Setting up a Grid and Topics (Updated after 8.1.18 updates)

Video 2: The Different Ways to View Student Responses

Video 3: Taking Flipgird to the Next Level!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Flipgrid in the Classroom | The Infused Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using Flipgrid in the classroom is easy! Whether you are using Flipgrid in Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams, adding Flipgrid to your teaching and learning repertoire is one of the finest ways to incorporate technology into your classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You have probably heard of Flipgrid and have seen tons of people sharing their experiences using it on social media. It seems that people all over the world have been using Flipgrid in all sorts of creative ways.

Flipgrid is a video response platform where educators can have online video discussions with students or other educators. Teachers can provide feedback to students AND better yet students can provide feedback to one another.
The best part? Flipgrid is completely FREE!
My first experience with Flipgrid was back in early 2017 in our weekly #Ditchbook Twitter chat where a group of educators from all over the country shared ideas and inspire one another online. Since then I have had the opportunity to use Flipgrid with students, administrators, as well as other educators in workshops and professional development sessions.

Each time I introduce it the reaction is always the same, "Wow! There are so many ways to use this tool. I can't wait to try it out in my class!".

But don't take my word for it, check it out and try it yourself!

In this post you will find over 50 ideas and ready-to-use Flipgrid activities for your class. You can use the quick navigation box below to jump to any section or scroll through the post to find something that you can use in your class tomorrow!

Getting started with Flipgrid

Getting started with Flipgrid is easy. As a teacher you can sign up (see the steps below) and start creating your grids and topics right away. Students and participants don't need an account, they will simply use the code you provide to log in and start recording!

The Flipgrid Getting Started Guide

Want even MORE assistance bringing Flipgrid to your classroom? Check out their onboarding webinar or visit the updated help center that to get up and running in no time!

Flipgrid conversation starters from the Disco Library

Flipgrid understands the power of community and educators connecting and becoming better together. The "Disco Library" tab at the top of your Educator Dashboard and you will find over 20,000 Flipgrid topics ready for you to add to your Grids. Once you select a Topic to add you will have an opportunity to update and make any changes to the Topic before it is added to your grid.

Below you will find six popular topics from the Disco Library that can help your students get started using Flipgrid in a fun and easy way. Just click on the button Don't see a topic you like? There are lots more here.

50+ Flipgrid activities for your class

English Language Arts

Ready-to-use ELA activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Reflect and assess with Flipgrid

Flipgrid Math activities

Ready-to-use math activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Science and Social Studies

Ready-to-use science activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Creating a community

Ready-to-use community building activities from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Flipgrid beyond the classroom

Conversations about race, equity and justice from the Flipgrid Disco Library

Appsmash with Flipgrid

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Flipgrid for ALL! 50+ ways to use Flipgrid in your class

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You have probably heard of Flipgrid and have seen tons of people sharing their experiences using it on social media. It seems that people all over the world have been using Flipgrid in all sorts of creative ways. Flipgrid is a video response platform where educators can have online video discussions with students or other educators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There are so many new resources that allow teachers incorporate technology into the classroom that it can be overwhelming at times. I've found that it's best for me to slow down and pick a few things that I want to focus on and learn well. Otherwise, I do a lot of things poorly. I also make it a point for the technology I integrate to fit with my curriculum and instruction-not to make my curriculum and instruction fit with a particular type of technology.

One new resource that I've been really excited about is Flipgrid. This is a site that combines a bit of Snapchat, Instagram, and Youtube. If you're not familiar with any of these, no worries! The interface is very user friendly.

You can sign up for a free, that's right FREE, account to get started. You can use this with pretty much any device, including Chromebooks.

The first step is the only place where I was a bit confused. I thought of a New Grid as a new topic, but really it's more like setting up your classroom. Just select New Grid and enter your information. The Grid Name is where you would enter your class name. You can use the free version even if you're departmentalized. I have not done much with the Grid Code, so that's not something super important when you're getting started.

You will then be able to create a topic for discussion. This is where the fun happens! You can add unlimited topics, so if you're departmentalized you could have new topics for different classes. You can also set a Video Response Time limit, which is a great option.

As you set up your topic, you can scroll down to customize the experience for your students. I like the idea of setting a launch and freeze date. I found that students continued adding videos to some of our first assignments weeks after it was due. You can also record a video or upload a video for your students to view. I was able to link videos from YouTube as well.

In the Response Features, you can choose a few more specifics for your students. My students got a little carried away with adding stickers and drawings, so that option may be removed for my class.

Your topics will show up as a list of topics, prompts, or assignments. The Ideas icon is always at the top, and I'm still not quite sure what it's purpose is.....maybe for students to generate a topic?

On of my goals for the year was to incorporate more book talks, which you can read more about book talks here. Book talks are a great way to increase students' reading engagement, as well as help improve your students book choices. I recently had each student select a book and complete the book talk planning guide. Once students completed the planning guide, they recorded their book talk on Flipgrid. Students were then allowed to view and comment on each other's book talks. It also let me see that I need to strongly encourage my students to branch out and expand their reading horizons.

I love incorporating jigsaw presentations into my social studies and science instruction. Earlier this year, we completed a jigsaw activity on different biomes, which you can read more about here. One of the final parts of the project was to share or teach the content learned in students' expert groups to students jigsaw group. This was a great experience for my students, but I think that I could also incorporate the presentations into Flipgrid. One of the more challenging aspects of the project was that each student in the expert group needed to teach the content to a different group, so it was difficult to share resources. This will allow students to share together.

I am hooked on number talks, but since only a couple students share a day, I've found that it can be easy to accidentally overlook some students or miss that some students are not quite grasping a particular skill. I recently used Flipgrid for a brief, informal number talk assessment. I asked students to explain how to use the strategy of counting up to solve 600-324. Each student recorded their response, all at the same time in the classroom. I was later able to listen to their video and did see/hear a few surprises. Of course, this is more time consuming, so it's not something I'd do on a regular basis, but this video will be excellent for parent conferences and communication, because I can email individual parents their child's video.

Flipgrid and serve more than academic purposes, because it can also be an excellent tool for building classroom community. There are several different ways to do this. You could have students wish each other a happy birthday or send home get well messages when a child is out sick. One fun strategy is to choose a student of the week. Over the course of the week, the student of the week's classmates should record a video to share a compliment or other positive affirmation about the student of the week. Of course, if you do this, students will need to be taught how to leave appropriate responses, because students can be a bit, okay sometimes a lot, over the top. The responses should be meaningful and possibly carry over from a morning meeting.

STEM and STEAM projects are awesome, and recording a demonstration of students' creations is an amazing way to share their hard work with others. It's also a valuable source for student evaluation of their own STEM design. When students record their demonstration, they can go back and look for ways to improve and retest their design. This also allows students to ask questions about each other's STEM projects or to give suggestions of next steps. Students will also be able to share the results of their project with others, which is often difficult.

While I obviously love this resource, I don't believe it should ever take away from real life interactions between students and teachers and students and their peers. It is a great tool, but I only plan to use it as a tool, not as a replacement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Ways to Use Flipgrid in the Classroom - Ashleigh's Education Journey

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are so many new resources that allow teachers incorporate technology into the classroom that it can be overwhelming at times. I've found that it's best for me to slow down and pick a few things that I want to focus on and learn well. Otherwise, I do a lot of things poorly.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Carol Dweck interview, Part 2: Two stars and a wish

# data[].attributes.headline
Classroom Techniques: Formative Assessment Idea Number 6

# data[].attributes.subject
Classroom Techniques: Formative Assessment Idea Number 6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Classroom Techniques: Formative Assessment Idea Number Six

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Two Stars and a Wish is a formative assessment strategy that can help teachers elicit evidence of student learning and engage the entire classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our S.O.S series provides help, tips, and tricks for integrating DE media into your curriculum.

Leave a comment and let us know how you'll use this strategy in your class.

Have an idea for a strategy? Share it with us by completing and we'll feature you!
Two Stars and A Wish
PDF and Vignette Version

Numerous studies indicate that feedback is most effective when it is given immediately. Research indicates that individuals who are given immediate feedback show a significantly larger increase in performance than those who receive delayed feedback. James Pennebaker states that , " S tudents must be given access to information about their performance . . . At the broadest level, students need to know if they actually have mastered the material or not. Giving them information about the ways they are studying, reading, searching for information, or answering questions can be invaluable . "

Materials: Pencil , paper

Note: Use this strategy a fter students have completed a response or other assignment . It will give them the opportunity to receive constructive criticism and immediate feedback on their work. This strategy may be used in pairs or small groups .

Have students trade assignments.

Each student should read the other individual's writing and record two stars (things that he or she liked, thought that the other student did well, or were noteworthy) and one wish (something that he or she thinks could be improved or changed beginning with an "I wish...").

Have s tudents trade papers again until all students have completed the process or , if in pairs , trade back.

Having students evaluate work gives them authentic opportunities to learn critical thinking skills. Additionally , this strategy allows students to learn how to provide positive feedback in a safe environment.

- Have students evaluate a new lesson by giving two stars and one wish to a lesson you've delivered!

- Have students record their Two Stars and One Wish with a W eb 2.0 tool such as . This could be an effective way to collect Google Docs or Padlet Exit Ticket information, particularly in a 1:1 environment where all students have immediate access to devices.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Numerous studies indicate that feedback is most effective when it is given immediately. Research indicates that individuals who are given immediate feedback show a significantly larger increase in performance than those who receive delayed feedback. James Pennebaker states that, "Students must be given access to information about their performance .

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the new and revised edition of Comprehension and Collaboration, Stephanie Harvey and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels share inquiry units of increasing richness with all the teaching and planning resources you need.

In today's blog, coauthor Smokey explains how to prepare students for small group work. Small group work is not innate, and Steph and Smokey provide strategies for students to lead up to skilled social interactions. Watch Smokey below as he explains more:

With all this experience, you know plenty about what makes small groups operate effectively-and also how they can become distracted, ineffective, or dysfunctional. So, what are some of the things that can wreck a small group, grind its work to a halt, and send everyone off with a bad attitude? Do any of these problems sound familiar?

People who talk all the time and dominate everything

People who never speak up and let everyone else do the work

People who always show up late and unprepared

People who must have it their own way

People who are rude and put others down

People who never listen and just wait for the next turn to talk

People who don't follow through on their commitments to the group

People who always get off topic and distract everyone from the work

But small groups do work when the members share a repertoire of strategies that help them operate effectively. Just as with the comprehension strategies, we proficient adult collaborators have specific social skills that we depend upon, mostly unconsciously and automatically.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Comprehension and Collaboration, Revised Edition ships in late June. Get pre-publication savings with coupon code CANDC2.

Stephanie Harvey has spent her career teaching and learning about reading and writing. Harvey "Smokey" Daniels has been a city and suburban classroom teacher and a college professor, and now works as a national consultant and author on literacy education.
Click here to view our official page for Comprehension and Collaboration, Revised Edition
Follow @smokeylit Follow @Stephharvey49

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the new and revised edition of Comprehension and Collaboration, Stephanie Harvey and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels share inquiry units of increasing richness with all the teaching and planning resources you need. In today's blog, coauthor Smokey explains how to prepare students for small group work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This strategy permits all students to participate in discussion, rather than only a few students participating in a class-wide discussion. All students are able to process new learning while engaging in meaningful conversation with a classmate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When we think of student choice in the classroom, we typically think of tools like choice boards. This tool allows students to choose how to demonstrate what they've learned by giving them product options. The ownership over how to "show what they know" is fantastic. But how often do students have an opportunity to choose their own topic for learning during school hours?

Students accustomed to "doing school" and having teachers drive the content. If we offer open-ended learning experiences like this, they are usually an extension activity for early finishers. However, when given the chance for students to choose their own topic, some don't know where to begin or even have an idea to explore. On the other hand, some eager students frequently ask "I wonder..." questions, but they're not on our curriculum or pacing guide. So we divert them. "That's a great question, Ella! Why don't you do some research after school and share your findings with us tomorrow?"

How to Manage Student-led Inquiry

Like George Couros said, " If students leave school less curious than when they came, we have failed them." As students progress through each grade level, they become less and less inquisitive. I am certain that this is not just due to age, but due to the fact that teachers have not felt that they were prepared to venture into uncharted territory - off the curriculum map. There's no time! I will fall behind on the pacing guide! That's not in our curriculum! I only see this group once every 6 days! These are valid concerns - we've been trained to stick to the guides. While allowing students to learn about their own interests seems like an impossible feat, there are actually simple ways to make it happen in all classrooms. It starts with a mindset shift and 1 simple, interactive tool: The Wonder Wall.

Simply put, a Wonder Wall (aka "Wall of Inquiry") is a place in the classroom for students to post topics they wonder about or questions they have. The wall can be as small as a poster, occupy the space on the back of a door, or cover an easy-to-reach bulletin board. All it needs is a title, directions, and some post-it notes for students to write on.

My Wonder Wall Fail (And How to Avoid It)

During my first year of teaching, I had six huge bulletin boards to fill. Without too much thought, I decorated one as a Wonder Wall to encourage students to ask questions. A few students wrote questions, but it quickly blended into the background and fizzled out. I didn't have a plan in place for how to handle the questions- they weren't part of our curriculum and I didn't know what to do with them. Reflecting back, the same thing happened with KWL charts of the past. We listed many "wonder" questions in the "W" column, but even as we were writing them I knew which questions would be answered during the unit and which wouldn't be because I knew our curriculum guide.

How to Make it Happen

A Wonder Wall with a solid procedure and a bit of structure would have solved my problems of the past. It provides an opportunity for student choice and inquiry without taking up a lot of class time. Here's one way to make it happen:

Prior to launching the Wonder Wall, introduce it to students so they know how to use it as a tool.

Together as a class, brainstorm types of questions that work well for student-led inquiry.

Share the process for the board up front.
Ideas to think about:

When may students post?

How will they find answers?

How often will they share their findings?

What will happen once they find an answer?

Tips for Success

Allow students the freedom to post any question (provided it is appropriate) instead of requiring them to write questions related to teacher-chosen topics.

Carve Out Time for Research & Question Writing

To make time for our Wonder Wall, I provide a bit of time a few days a week for students to explore burning questions.

If a student discovers an answer or learns something new, they share it with an authentic audience. (See ideas for sharing below.)

Help students learn to write follow up questions that (hopefully) begin to arise from their explorations.

Sharing Discoveries

It is empowering for students to discover answers to their questions on their own (although it needs some scaffolding at first). To really give students a voice, allow them to share their findings with an authentic audience. There are many ways to make this happen. At a basic level, simply use five minutes at the end of class for a student to share their question and the answer they found. Online portfolios such as Seesaw are a great step up from a quick share in class since students gain a larger audience and have multiple tools (camera, drawing, recording, etc.) for sharing their learning with the class and their family. And one step up from that is to create student blogs or websites so that students can post findings and gain followers.

These mini-explorations based on student-generated questions are the perfect stepping stone to a Genius Hour Project or Innovation Day. They also get students thinking and wondering, bringing back that inquisitive nature that is so important for the future. Why not try a Wonder Wall today?

Examples of Wonder Walls

If you think a Wonder Wall would work for you, you won't want to miss EdCloset's article on Effective Bulletin Boards, MadlyLearning.com's thorough post on Making a Wonder Wall, or how to ramp up curiosity with Smekens Education.

More on Inquiry

Are you interested in learning more on inquiry? Then you'll definitely want to check out EducationCloset's Driving Questions for Arts-Based Inquiry and The Umbrella of Inquiry. KQED also has a fantastic article on How to Ease Students into Independent Inquiry Projects. And last, but certainly not least, is the amazing John Spencer who has shared 10 Reasons to Pilot Genius Hour this Year and Geek Out Projects.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Low-Prep Strategy to Cultivate Inquiry, Voice, and Choice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When we think of student choice in the classroom, we typically think of tools like choice boards. This tool allows students to choose how to demonstrate what they've learned by giving them product options. The ownership over how to "show what they know" is fantastic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Are you trying out some new inquiry based learning strategies? Are you experienced with inquiry but limited on wall space? Are you looking to integrate more technology into your classroom? This is the perfect way to do this...a digital inquiry wonder wall. Using the web tool called Padlet you can easily create a digital wonder wall. If you're a Google Classroom students can sign in through Google as well but this isn't necessary to use it.

Read on to find out how easy it is to use Padlet!

How to Create a Digital Wonder Wall:

Padlet is a great tool for teachers to use to aid in the inquiry process. If you aren't into inquiry based learning it is still a great tool for your classroom.

What is a Wonder Wall?:

A wonder wall is literally a wall where students write their wonders. It is often used in inquiry based learning when starting out on a new unit. Students write their wonders on sticky notes or on a chart and then you explore the learning to find out the answers to their wonderings. It's great for teachers to get an idea of what students need to learn and provides students with an opportunity to direct their learning. Wonder walls help to promote student engagement and critical thinking.

Here is a sample of a non-digital wonder wall:

Digital wonder walls are NOT better than a regular wonder wall, they are simply another option. They are especially great if you are short on wall space BUT what I particularly like about using Padlet is that students can add voice notes, photographs and links to their wonders. It allows for more depth. When they find the answer to their wonderings they can post them right on the padlet.

Here's How it Works:

You sign into your padlet account and click on "New" in the top right corner".

Next select the type of Padlet you want to create. I often select "Wall" but they all work well, just play around and decide which layout you prefer.

You can choose a background image for your Padlet. I selected this one because our Wonder Wall is about plants. To add posts to the wall, students click on the pink plus symbol in the bottom right corner.

This box will pop up on the screen for student to add their thoughts. You can see the icons at the bottom of their text box. They have the option to add a voice note, video, a photo, a link to another website or even attach a file!

Students start adding their thoughts...

And magic starts to happen...

Padlet can be used for many things, a digital wonder wall is just one way that you can use it with your students.

Have you used Padlet before? Let me know in the comments below!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hi, my name is Heidi and I'm an elementary school teacher. I blog about ideas and resources for the classroom as well as issues in education. I love technology and inquiry based learning so I often include those topics. I create resources for a variety of subject areas and grade levels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Creating a wonder wall is a great tool to use in inquiry to build a space where students can

get students thinking

share their learning throughout their inquiry

keep ideas concepts and questions visible

interact with others

share standards, learning goals, and assessment criteria

share evidence of learning

This post is part 1 in my inquiry series. To learn more about inquiry click through to see my many other posts about inquiry. If you are new to my blog, consider starting here with my post on planning for inquiry-based learning!

Also, why not connect and stay up to date on all things inquiry by joining my teaching with inquiry facebook group.

What's a Wonder Wall?

Wonder wall boards are built at the beginning of a unit and are kept alive throughout student learning. These are living examples of student learning throughout the unit.

Begin building this board when you provoke students to think about the topic you will be studying. Students will look at artifacts and ask questions about what they are seeing. They activate prior knowledge and share this with others in a knowledge building circle.

Type of Display Board

This is an example of the board that I use for my wonder wall. It is a trifold board. One side is for my fourth graders and the other side for my fifth graders.

Sometimes I use these trifold boards and other times I just use my bulletin boards but this is great if you are lacking wall space and it also works to move around the classroom for students to use when you are working with them.

Artifacts

I use artifacts to help provoke conversations and interests in a topic at the beginning of a unit. Artifacts can be many things

Most of the time I use pictures that I print out in colour. Especially if I don't have access to real-life objects.

If I have easily accessible artifacts like my rock collection or some small appliances from home I might use those as well.

The Role of Questions

Using a wonder wall at the beginning of an inquiry unit means that you provoke students to think about a topic. Providing them with artifacts gets them thinking.

Now, having them ask questions is the next step. If you are struggling with getting your students asking the right questions, check out my post on Asking Questions.

Students will take sticky notes and ask questions about what they see. Use these doodle notes in my free resource library to help your students keep track of what they are thinking.

As students share their background knowledge and their questions the board is built. These questions are the driving force behind your learning.

Group their questions into themes, use them to develop learning goals and success criteria, and to find gaps in their knowledge that may require a teacher-directed lesson to fill.

Put student questions beside the artifact or picture on the wonder wall, and throughout the learning strive to answer these questions and keep track of unanswered questions.

It is through student questions that learning is constructed.

Lessons Learned

Another thing I learned while implementing my wonder wall is that when students ask questions I really really want to answer them! I want to share my knowledge and have them soak it all in and teach them something. I am a teacher!! this is what I do!! I know stuff and teach about it!! STOP STOP STOP. I had to get myself to stop!

This was not what inquiry was about. Sure, I am a teacher, but I am not as powerful or as knowledgeable as Google. I mentally needed to stop myself and concentrate on not answering their questions but to ask them to add their questions to the Wonder Wall and allow them to figure out the answers for themselves.

I knew that I was going to lead them through my lessons to these answers but I needed to stop just giving them the information. They would now have to start working for this information because I was not going to give them an easy way out.

Sure later on in the unit, we would have a discussion on certain topics and I would explain different concepts to them. BUT we did this together. I was not teaching them I was facilitating their learning.

Giving them the tools to let them find the answers to their questions on their own.

Results

And you know what...a funny thing happened.

They started learning faster than I had expected.

My students took those questions home and found out the answers to them. They would read books during independent time and find the answers to our questions. They were discussing these things with their parents at home.

It was amazing to see how excited they were about learning these concepts which in turn also allowed our discussion at school to become more vibrant and engaging.

Sure there were times when a teacher-directed lesson was necessary, especially in the technical aspects of the units. But overall it was great to see them apply their learning in new and interesting ways.

If you would like to see how I made my Wonder Wall for these units check out my video below

I now include wonder wall cards in most of my units to help teachers get started with artifacts for students and teachers to use as a provocation to get started with the units that they are teaching. If you are interested in the cards that were used for the wonder wall on the video you can get them in the two units below.

Learn more about inquiry. Next up in my inquiry series

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Creating a wonder wall is a great tool to use in inquiry to build a space where students can get students thinking share their learning throughout their inquiry keep ideas concepts and questions visible interact with others share standards, learning goals, and assessment criteria share evidence of learning This post is part 1 in my inquiry series.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The days of students silently working independently from textbooks at desks neatly arranged into perfect rows are long gone! In today's classroom, you're more likely to see students standing or sitting together around tables or huddling on the rug, gesturing and talking excitedly, drawing diagrams on tablets, sketching ideas on whiteboards, or gathered around computers.

Collaborative learning is a 21st-century skill that is at the top of most districts' curricula. When students work collaboratively, they become involved in a process that promotes cooperation and builds community. New ideas are generated as students give one another feedback. Collaboration creates a culture that values every student's strengths and an environment that believes that everyone can learn from one another.

Here are eight activities and tools to foster an environment of collaboration in your classroom.

1. Play games!

Collaboration doesn't necessarily come naturally to students. It is something that requires direct instruction and frequent practice. One of the best ways to train your students to work collaboratively is through game playing. Cooperative classroom games help students become critical thinkers, learn to work with one another and establish a positive classroom environment. The best part? Kids have fun while developing these skills! Check out these ideas from TeachHub and TeachThought.

Source
2. Give everyone their moment in the spotlight!

Put your students' affinity for selfies to good use with Flipgrid, a simple yet powerful tech tool that allows students to express themselves creatively and amplify their voices.

Teachers create grids with topics of discussion and students respond with recorded videos to talk about, reflect, and share via webcam, tablet, or mobile device. Talk about active, engaged learning!

Read this article to learn more about how the six C's of 21st-century learning are an intrinsic element of the Flipgrid experience.

3. Save the last word!

Tap into your students' visual skills with a fun strategy called Save the Last Word for Me.

How to do it: Prepare a collection of posters, paintings and photographs from the time period you are studying and then ask students to select three images that stand out to them. On the back of an index card, students explain why they selected this image and what they think it represents or why it is important.

Divide the students into groups of three, labeling one student "1," one "2" and the other "3." Invite the 1s to show one of their chosen images and listen as students 2 and 3 discuss the picture. What do they think it means? Why do they think this image might be important? To whom? After several minutes, the 1 students read the back of their card (explaining why they picked the image), thus having "the last word." The process continues with student 2 sharing and then student 3.

4. Create a safe space for discussion.

Edmodo is a multi-platform, kid-safe platform that is perfect for active learning. Kids can share content, have a dialogue (in or out of the classroom), and even get parents involved! Tools like Learning Communities and Discussions have made Edmodo one of the most popular free education tools on the Web.

5. Zoom in on the details!

Zoom is a storytelling game that is a classic classroom cooperative activity. It gets kids' creative juices flowing and allows them to not only tap into their own imaginations but create an original story together.

How to do it: Form students into a circle and give each a unique picture of a person, place or thing (or whatever you choose that goes along with your curriculum). The first student begins a story that incorporates whatever happens to be on their assigned photo. The next student continues the story, incorporating their photo, and so on. (Younger kids may need some coaching around appropriate language, topics and so on.)

6. Try Brainwriting!

Brainstorming is a common element of collaborative learning. But sometimes a brainstorming session only results in the easiest, loudest, most popular ideas being heard, and higher-level ideas never really get generated.

The general principle of Brainwriting is that idea generation should exist separate from discussion-students write first, talk second. When a question is introduced, students first brainstorm on their own and write down their ideas on sticky notes. Everyone's ideas get posted on a wall, with no names attached.

The group then has a chance to read, think about and discuss all of the ideas generated. This technique provides a level playing field for the best ideas to surface as students combine, tweak and come up with original, higher-level solutions.

7. Dive into a Fishbowl!

Fishbowl is a teaching strategy that lets students practice being both speaker and listener in a discussion. The steps are simple. Form two circles with student desks, one inside the other. The conversation begins as kids on the inside circle of the Fishbowl respond to a teacher-provided prompt. The first group of students asks questions, expresses opinions and shares information, while the second group of students, on the outside of the circle, listens carefully to the ideas presented and observes the process. Then the roles reverse.

This strategy is especially helpful for modeling and reflecting on what a "good discussion" looks like, for making sure that no one is left out of the conversation, and for providing a structure for discussing controversial or difficult topics.

Check out this link from Facing History and Ourselves for a step-by-step explanation and watch these middle schoolers demonstrate a Fishbowl on YouTube.

8. Give every student a voice.

We've all witnessed the group activity where the students with the strongest verbal skills or personalities end up taking over the conversation, crowding the rest of the students out. Teaching your students how to have meaningful conversations by introducing the rules of collaborative conversation and giving them specific language to articulate their ideas is a valuable investment.

These sentence stems from TeachThought are just the ticket for providing the scaffolding necessary so that all students can receive the level of support they need in order to be communicate successfully.

What are your best strategies for encouraging collaboration? Tell us in the comments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
8 Fun Ways to Help Your Students Collaborate in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here are eight great games, activities and tech tools to help your students learn to collaborate in the classroom. Build your student community!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Written Conversations

We were fortunate to work with author and consultant Ellin Keene last week. We are developing a cohesive approach to vocabulary for our K-8 district, and Ellin facilitated our learning around vocabulary research. As part of her visit, she taught a demonstration lesson to a class of 7th graders.

Ellin used an activity called written conversations as part of her demonstration lesson. For more information on written conversations, Ellin referred us to The Best Kept Teaching Secret by Harvey "Smokey" Daniels and Elaine Daniels. The protocol for written conversations is as follows:

Students are seated with a partner. The teacher prompts the students with an open-ended question. Examples might be, "What struck you about this text?" or "What are the most important ideas here?" For Ellin's lesson, the prompt was "Write down everything the word 'brilliant' means to you."

Both students in each pair begin writing their thoughts on paper. After 2-3 minutes, the students exchange papers. The students read what their partner wrote and respond in writing. For example, students might agree, disagree, ask a question, affirm their partner's thinking, or relate a personal anecdote. After another 2-3 minutes, students swap papers again.

After 2 or 3 exchanges are complete, students then talk out loud to their partner or participate in a whole-class discussion. Everyone should have fresh ideas about the topic after merging their thinking with a partner.

Here are some examples from our 7th graders' first attempt at a written conversation. In these examples, their conversation was focused on their own personal understandings of the word 'brilliant' after listening to an excerpt from the beautifully written Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.

In this first example, you will notice Partner B empathizes with Partner A by writing, "Dear _______, this happened to me too. Everyone expects me to be as smart and bright as my sister _____."

Sharing and reflecting on a common experience will undoubtedly deepen these students' understanding of the word.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We were fortunate to work with author and consultant Ellin Keene last week. We are developing a cohesive approach to vocabulary for our K-8 district, and Ellin facilitated our learning around vocabulary research. As part of her visit, she taught a demonstration lesson to a class of 7th graders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore resources related to recognizing and valuing student knowledge, input, and expertise and building student-centered learning environments where students make decisions about how learning happens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Student engagement is another of those buzz phrases popular in higher education. As with many regularly used terms, everyone assumes we are talking about the same thing; but when asked for definitions, either we are hard pressed to come up one or what's offered is a decidedly different collection of definitions. Here's an article that includes clear definitions and, based on a creative synthesis of research, offers 10 ways to promote student engagement.

The authors propose definitions broad enough to include more specific descriptions. For example: engagement is "students' cognitive investment in, active participation in, and emotional commitment to their learning." (p. 168) Or, engagement is "students' involvement with activities and conditions likely to generate high-quality learning." (p. 168)

Based on this synthesis of research, student engagement can be promoted in the following ways:

1. Enhance students' self-belief - There is no agreement in the research literature as to what motivates learners to engage, but the dominant view is that students engage when they act as their own learning agents working to achieve goals meaningful to them. This means that what students believe about themselves as learners is very important. They must believe they can learn, including that they can overcome and learn from failure. Giving students some control over learning processes helps develop this confidence and commitment to learning.

2. Enable students to work autonomously, enjoy learning relationships with others, and feel they are competent to achieve their own objectives - "When institutions provide opportunities for students to learn both autonomously and with others, and to develop their sense of competence, students are more likely to be motivated, to engage and succeed." (p. 170) Not unrelated to the first recommendation, the focus here is on cultivating intrinsic motivation, which fosters the self-determination that leads to engagement.

3. Recognize that teaching and teachers are central to engagement - Much research places teachers at the heart of engagement. For example, one study found that "if the teacher is perceived to be approachable, well prepared, and sensitive to student needs, students are committed to work harder, get more out of the session, and are more willing to express their opinion." (p. 170)

4. Create learning that is active, collaborative, and fosters learning relationships - "Findings acknowledge that active learning in groups, peer relationships, and social skills are important in engaging learners." (p. 171)

5. Create educational experiences for students that are challenging and enriching and that extend their academic abilities - Easy learning activities and assignments are not as effective at engaging students as activities and assignments that challenge them. When students are reflecting, questioning, conjecturing, evaluating, and making connections between ideas, they are engaged. "Teachers need to create rich educational experiences that challenge students' ideas and stretch them as far as they can go." (p. 171)

6. Ensure that institutional cultures are welcoming to students from diverse backgrounds - To become engaged, students must feel they are accepted and affirmed. They must feel they belong at an institution.

7. Invest in a variety of support services - Sometimes it seems as though students don't take advantage of support services like learning and advising centers, but a wide variety of research findings confirms the importance of these support services. They are perceived as part of the institutional culture, and students engage when that culture values and supports their efforts to learn.

8. Adapt to changing student expectations - An institution should never be satisfied with how it is promoting student engagement. As students change and new research evidence emerges, institutional practices should be adjusted. Engagement cannot just be promoted, it must also be maintained.

9. Enable students to become active citizens - "What is needed is a democratic-critical conception of engagement that goes beyond strategies, techniques, behaviours, a conception in which engagement is participatory, dialogic and leads not only to academic achievement but to success as an active citizen." (p. 173)

10. Enable students to develop their social and cultural capital - This kind of capital derives from a sense of belonging, from active relationships with others, and from knowing how things work around the institution. It is especially essential for minority students who need to be successful not only in the classroom but beyond it as well.

Reference: Zepke, N., and Leach, L. (2010). Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11 (3), 167-177.

Excerpted from Ways to Achieve Student Engagement. The Teaching Professor, 25.6 (2011): 8.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Student engagement is another of those buzz phrases popular in higher education. As with many regularly used terms, everyone assumes we are talking about the same thing; but when asked for definitions, either we are hard pressed to come up one or what's offered is a decidedly different collection of definitions.

# data[].attributes.body
Article and video by Understood

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
About the author

About the author

Educators Team at Understood is made up of passionate writers, editors, educators, and subject matter experts who have worked in classrooms and with students who learn and think differently.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, EdD is the executive director and chief scientist at EdTogether and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video: See UDL in action in the classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What does UDL look like in the classroom? Watch a video to see how one teacher uses UDL with his students. Then, learn how you can implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in your class.