# data[].attributes.body
How to implement idea.

# data[].attributes.body
How to implement idea.

# data[].attributes.body
How to implement idea.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Lecturing is not simply a matter of standing in front of a class and reciting what you know. The classroom lecture is a special form of communication in which voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, and eye contact can either complement or detract from the content. No matter what your topic, your delivery and manner of speaking immeasurably influence your students' attentiveness and learning."

Tools for Teaching Barbara Gross Davis

Some psychologists claim the typical student's attention span is about 10 to 15 minutes long, yet most university classes last 50 to 90 minutes. Students' attention levels vary widely based on factors like motivation, emotion, enjoyment, and time of day. Multiple Activities provide a way to retain students attention by changing up the lesson and what it is that students are being asked to do.

http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/30-tricks-for-capturing-students-attention/

Teaching & Learning Coach

Science Curriculum Specialist

Technology Integration Specialist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Lecturing is not simply a matter of standing in front of a class and reciting what you know. The classroom lecture is a special form of communication in which voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, and eye contact can either complement or detract from the content.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"I wish you would talk less..."

The comment smacks me in the face over and over as I read my 6th hour students' feedback for the semester.. At first, I think they must be forgetting how little I speak. How much work time I give them. How they clearly must be wrong, because I am the queen of not speaking much.

Yet, that very next day I realize that they are right. As I teach my 6th hour, the one right after lunch, I see how much longer I take to get directions. How much more information I give them. How my brain seems to work a little slower right after lunch and I am talking myself back into the lesson. At the expense of their time. At the expense of their attention span. And their eyes glaze over so I speak more to get them excited It's a vicious cycle.

And I am not the only one speaking too much. As I do workshops on student engagement, I keep adding m0re and more research on teacher talk versus student talk. The research is startling; according to John Hattie teachers ask between 200 and 300 questions a day, whereas most students ask 2. 2...And those questions are typically clarification questions.

Teachers dominate classroom talk speaking anywhere between 60% to 75% of the time. That means in an average 45 minute English class, the teacher may lead the conversation an average of 27 to 33 minutes, leaving little time for most students to speak. And while I know I do not speak that much in any class, unless we are learning an entirely new concept, I also know that most of us think we speak a lot less than we actually do. And I also know that the more my students seem disengaged, the louder I speak.

So what can be done to limit teacher talk. To create an environment where students have a much bigger chance to discuss and explore? Where every child has a voice and someone to hear it?

Own your talking. Like I said, I thought I was quick to get to the point, apparently not. If we won't acknowledge that we talk too much we won't see an impetus for change. And if you are not sure, ask your students.

Set a timer. I generally allow myself 10 minutes to teach a concept leaving 25 minutes for the students to work and me to do one-to-one or small group instruction (25 minutes because we start with 10 minutes of independent reading). I thought I was pretty good at keeping it to 10 minutes but my surveys are telling me otherwise. Time to pull the timer out again.

Have students answer in a group. Too often, we rely on the call out question and answer, which is not the type of talk we should be trying to generate since it only allows one student to speak. I often have students give their answers in their table groups instead and then have them share out. I find that it opens up the classroom for much deeper discussions since many students become invested in the conversation, and it also means that students who may have been confused get a chance to try out some ideas or unscramble their thoughts. Turn and talk also works for this. Circulate instead and pick up on their answers that way.

Avoid the echo. The best advice I received my first year as a teacher was to stop echoing student answers back to them and yet, I still catch myself doing it every now and again. Our job is not to be the voice of the classroom, it is to give students a way to be the voice. So when a child gives an answer do not repeat it, if the class did not hear it then have them ask for it to be repeated.

Change your questions. No more call and response, instead have open-ended questions that will lead to a discussion. I know this, yet I forget at times, I will therefore be writing some big questions down on a post-it to remind me.

Just ask the question. Too often when we ask a question, it becomes a long rambling sentence filled with anecdotes and extra information. Yet this ends up confusing students more and we then have to repeat the question. So get to the point and then add afterwards for those students who need it.

Stop the unnecessary repetitions. How often do we teach to the students who do not get it rather than assume that most will? So rather than over-explain, state the instructions and then head over and check in with those students who may not have understood. Think of how often we explain more than necessary because we are worried that a few students may not get it while the others have? Stop explaining so much and teach instead to those that do need it.

Stop interrupting. How many read alouds have we interrupted to ask just one more question? How many times have students been in the zone working and we have borken their concentration to do a quick check-in. I think I do it because that looks like teaching to me; a busy teacher asking lots of questions. Find the right time to interrupt, enjoy your read aloud rather than constantly model what you are thinking. Limit it to the very best things so that students can reach a state of flow more often.

Be mentally ready after a break. The hour that told me I spoke the most is the one right after lunch, where my brain has had a nice break and I feel more relaxed. Yet, I often enter the classroom right when my students enter and then launch into class. Get your brain woken up by revisiting (mentally or on paper) your main points of instructions. Take a few minutes to wake yourself up so that you are back in teaching mode, because when we don't we end up rambling.

Encourage student talk. By emphasizing the importance of students speaking up, asking questions, discussing and dissecting, we can create communities where all students are heard, where all voices are part of the learning. My amazing principal, Shannon Anderson, gave me the idea of giving each child two markers that they use when they want to speak. All students need to have used a marker in the group before they can use their second one. While I have not tried this yet, I want to try it for book club discussions to make sure all students feel they can speak and that not one voice dominates the conversations.

As little as we think we speak, I think it is vital to take the pulse of our classrooms every now and again. We would all like to think that our words are dripping wisdom, but how often do we ramble on when students are ready to work? So check yourself and your talk, ask your students, and then change your ways. I never want to be main voice of the classroom, none of us do, but it takes changing our deep-seated ways to truly change it. We can create classrooms filled with passionate learners but to do it, students have to have a voice.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Enough with the Teacher Talk- Ideas for Getting More Student Talk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"I wish you would talk less..." The comment smacks me in the face over and over as I read my 6th hour students' feedback for the semester.. At first, I think they must be forgetting how little I speak. How much work time I give them.

# data[].attributes.headline
To Learn...students need to DO something

# data[].attributes.subject
To Learn...students need to DO something

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Listen to an extended version of this post as a podcast (transcript):
Sponsored by Peergrade and mysimpleshow

I first became aware that there might be a problem a few years ago, when one of my kids was studying weather systems: high- and low-pressure systems, cold fronts and warm fronts. We were trying to help her prepare for a test and also do some sort of homework, and she didn't get it at all.

We were really frustrated, my husband and I, because all we really had as a reference was the top half of this worksheet that explained the concept. So we were having trouble explaining it to her, and at one point I finally said to her, "You know, in your class, didn't your teacher ever draw a diagram on the board?"

She said, "No."

I said, "Did you guys ever do anything like where the teacher would grab a small group of kids and say, 'OK, you three, you're going to be a cold front, and then you three, you're going to be a warm front. Come up to the front of the room, OK. And I want this group here, I want you to wiggle around really fast because you are, I don't know, high pressure. And this group, I want you to move really, really slowly.'"

I was trying to figure out if there had ever been some kind of physical demonstration of these concepts. It seemed like even a three-minute re-enactment of how these systems work would help the kids get it right away.

"Did your teacher ever do anything like that?" I asked.

She looked at me like I was crazy and said no.

I said, "Well how did you learn this? How did you actually learn this for the first time?"

"Well," she said, "we just read the book."

"What do you mean 'we read the book'?" I asked. "Did everybody sit down quietly and read it and then the teacher talked to you?"

"No. We just opened it up to page 36, and then she would read a little bit to us, and then explain something, and then we would read a little bit more, and then she would say something else, and that was it."

"Is it like that all the time?" I asked, hoping for a no.

She shrugged and said, "Basically."

This was a couple of years ago, when my kids were all still in elementary school, but since that time, I've seen this pattern more and more as they've gotten older: Every day, for the most part, information is delivered to them in some really basic way-usually PowerPoint-and the kids copy down what the teacher tells them to from the slides. Then they have some sort of worksheet where they're basically regurgitating what was on those slides. After this cycle repeats four or five times, they have some kind of test. And that's it.

This is not good. If we want our students to actually learn the facts and concepts and ideas we're trying to teach them, they have to experience those things in some way that rises above abstract words on paper. They have to process them. Manipulate them.

To really learn in a way that will stick, they have to DO something.

I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here-that people who read these posts are probably doing a lot more in class than this information-in, information-out model-and if that's true for you, then great. But I listen to teachers talk all the time: in schools, on social media, in private messages, and I know that things are not going well for you all of the time. I hear teachers talk about "covering" concepts in class and even reviewing them with games, only to end up with half the class failing an exam. This is incredibly frustrating; I know. But the truth is, just because you covered it, it doesn't mean they learned it.

And I know that this is going to upset some people, but if you have a lot of students failing your tests, and those students are in class and they're showing up, then the problem is not them. The problem is you. It's something you're doing, or maybe something you're not doing.

The Problem: A Gap in the Lesson Plan

First, let me say that authentic, project-based learning is probably the best way to have students experience meaningful learning. But many schools and classrooms aren't quite there yet: They deliver instruction in a more traditional way. That model can still result in solid learning, if it's implemented correctly. And that's where I'm seeing a problem. I think we're skipping over one of the most important steps in our lesson plans.

Let's consider the classic lesson plan format:

1. Anticipatory set: This is where we get students interested in the lesson and set objectives for the day.

2. Direct instruction: Facts, concepts, and skills are delivered via lecture, video, reading-some way of getting the information into students' heads.

3. Guided practice and application: With the support of the teacher, students apply what they have just been taught.

4. Independent practice and application: Students apply the learning on their own.

5. Assessment: The teacher measures how well students have met the objectives.

I think what's happening is that we're skipping over the third step. We're going right to independent practice (often at the lowest levels-basic regurgitation), but students aren't being given any kind of task to actually process or apply the material in a meaningful way. We go straight from direct instruction to independent practice to assessment.

In some cases, we may even be skipping both steps 3 and 4. Not too long ago I had to help another of my kids study for a social studies test. All we had to work with were notes copied from a PowerPoint. I didn't understand the meaning of half of them, because they were just bulleted phrases, so it was nearly impossible to review the material. When I pointed at individual items and asked my kid to tell me what they meant, that turned out to be too difficult. The teacher had just told them to write down that bullet point, but my kid left class that day not really knowing what it meant.

Because I was a teacher myself, I know there's got to be more to the story. I remember how students could misrepresent or oversimplify the things we did in class. I would bet that this teacher took time to explain these concepts before having students copy down bullet points. But it wasn't enough. My kid was in class, paying attention, writing down the notes, but still didn't learn a whole lot.

Apart from the poor quality learning, this gap in our teaching is a problem for two more reasons.

For one, it doesn't align with the standards. Look at any social studies standards for middle school, in pretty much any state. Do any of them say that kids need to be able to identify names of significant people in historical periods, or be able to regurgitate facts about certain cultures or regions?

No. They want students to be able to understand the relationships between social movements and changes and other influences. They want students to be able to explain and analyze things. I just randomly pulled up Wisconsin's standards for grade 7 social studies. Here's an example of what these students should be doing when they learn history (from page 10):

1. Use historical evidence for determining cause and effect.

2. Analyze, recognize, and evaluate patterns of continuity and change over time and contextualization of historical events.

3. Connect past events, people, and ideas to the present, use different perspectives to draw conclusions, and suggest current implications.

4. Evaluate a variety of primary and secondary sources to interpret the historical context, intended audience, purpose, and/or author's point of view.

These standards are GORGEOUS. If students are actually doing these things in Wisconsin middle schools, that would be amazing. But if Wisconsin is like a lot of other places, my guess is that students are sitting through PowerPoint lectures, copying notes from the PowerPoints, and transferring that information to worksheets and tests.

I know it seems like I'm picking on social studies here, but that's just because social studies is such an information-driven subject area. The same could be said for science, health, and other content-heavy classes. Even in English language arts, which really should be driven more by practicing reading and writing, there are some teachers who manage to run mostly lecture-worksheet-test-based classes.

The other problem with this kind of teaching is that it makes kids hate school. I already dealt with this extensively in this post about excessive use of worksheets, but it's worth repeating: When we do little more than have students copy down information or fill out worksheets, we are making school an awful place to be.

In a 2014 article, instructional coach Alexis Wiggins reported on her findings after shadowing two high school students through a typical school day. She was horrified by the amount of sitting and passive learning these students were subjected to. Friends of mine who work as instructional consultants and coaches, who visit hundreds of classrooms every year, say they see more low-level seatwork than anything else.

My own kids hate school more and more the older they get. And they rarely bring home anything lower than an A. The other parents I talk to-who live all around the country-report a similar pattern more often than not. This is not an isolated issue.

Why Is This Happening?

I think this epidemic of passive learning has come about for a couple of reasons:

High-Stakes Testing Mania

We're in an environment right now that is so driven by high-stakes testing and data that teachers have no choice but to only do things that produce data. Teachers say that they would like to be doing more engaging activities, but they end up in this cycle of information in, information out, assess, get a score, move to the next step again, repeat.

Death by Documentation

I'm hearing more and more from teachers who are required to document the crap out of their day -super detailed lesson plans, all the way down to having to indicate what font size they're using on something. When you have to do that much documentation, it squeezes teachers' time so much that they go to this default setting of get the content out there, cover it, test it, and move to the next thing.

Holes in Teacher Preparation

A friend who consults with schools tells me she believes teachers do not have sufficient tools in their toolbox for teaching. They literally don't know enough strategies for actively engaging students in the content, and that teacher prep programs may not be equipping teachers with enough strategies. Many teachers don't necessarily know how to go beyond direct instruction, worksheets, and tests, so they just go with the default. With teacher turnover at such a high rate and the number of emergency certifications growing in some states, it may be that teacher prep programs may not even be involved: There may not be much preparation at all.

The first two reasons need to be addressed at an administrative, policy level. But the last one we can deal with right now.

How Do We Fix It?

Now comes the good news. This problem can be solved in so many ways, and the solutions don't have to be complicated, time-consuming, or fancy. Simply add activities into your instruction that will help students build more pathways in their brains, see patterns, connect to previous knowledge, and experience some novelty so they remember the material better.

In between the direct instruction step and the assessment step of your planning, start adding in some of these activities:

1. Sorting

Organize the material by similarities and differences, categorize it, label it, do something that requires students to activate schema and create connections. An inductive learning lesson would be great for this.

2. Kinesthetic Work

Doing short role-plays and simulations can really help students visualize relationships and processes. This can also be done by creating models with Play-Doh or cardboard, or doing some kind of a maker project that connects to your standard.

3. Discussion

Even giving students a few minutes to discuss a topic-especially if they are taking some kind of a stance on the content and backing it up with evidence-can do so much to help them process and learn the content. But make sure all students are participating! Check out this big list of discussion strategies for tons of ideas.

4. Graphic Representations

Having students put the material into any kind of visual form will help them remember it better and understand how concepts are related. Graphic organizers and sketchnotes are two ways to accomplish this. Students can do these on their own or they can be constructed as a class with your support-for especially challenging concepts, this may be most effective.

5. Write to Learn

When students process ideas in writing, they are forced to synthesize the information that has only entered their brains passively, so stopping instruction every now and then to have students write short summaries or give their opinions on the things they're learning is a really effective, efficient way to cement their learning. This video from the Teaching Channel shows just how simple this can be to implement.

6. Mini-Projects

For learning to be active, it doesn't have to be a super complicated, long-term project. Students can do mini-projects that take just a day or two. This poster project, where students have to rank leaders of early America, then back up their choices with evidence, is a perfect example of a project that could be done in a short period of time.

7. Anticipation Guides

Anticipation guides are simple forms where students state their opinions on key statements before a learning activity. This primes them for the learning that is about to come. Once the direct instruction is done, they revisit the guides to see if their opinions have changed. This would be a really simple way to boost engagement and give students a bigger stake in a lesson.

8. Quality Note-taking

Although students seem to be taking a lot of "notes" in class, it's not clear that this is being done in a way that results in high-quality learning. If your classroom practices are aligned with the research on note-taking, this activity can be a powerful processing tool.

9. Retrieval Practice

Asking students to recall information is a great way to help them learn it better, but I'm not exactly talking about the kind of recall they do on worksheets. Whether it's stuff that just needs to be memorized or concepts that require more complex processing, building periods of retrieval practice into your instruction will boost learning.

Bonus: Collaboration

Most of these activities would be enhanced by some kind of collaboration: Have students share their write-to-learn responses with a partner. Do sorting tasks with small groups. Any time they work together, they're engaging with the content in a different way, which introduces more novelty and more opportunities to process it differently.

This is not an exact science, and no teacher designs instruction perfectly all the time. But if you're not getting the results you want, try to do more of this: When planning your lessons, ask yourself if students are doing anything with the material, or if you're just setting things up so it's information in, information out. If it's the latter, start adding in ways to have students engage with the stuff they're learning. There are a lot of different ways to do it. Even though it adds a little bit more time, you're going to see such big benefits. Not only are your students going to learn better, you will all-both your students and you-like coming to school a whole lot more. ♦

Come back for more.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Too often, we're expecting students to learn material without asking them to do much of anything with it. Why is this a problem? Where did it come from? And how can we fix it?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Small group discussions are a beneficial way for students to share ideas in an informal atmosphere that is, perhaps, not as intimidating as whole class discussions.

As a teacher, it is important to consider the goals for small group discussions. Is it to create or reinforce basic understanding or to extend student learning? Do you want to purposefully design groups for differentiation purposes or randomly group students together?

And what about group size? Well, this depends on the task. For non-paired tasks, I think that 3-4 students is a sweet spot. Any larger than this, and you risk some students opting out of the discussion or simply being overshadowed by others in the group.

Going beyond Think-Pair-Share for Paired and Small Group Discussions

One of the first paired discussion strategies I used as a student teacher was the good old think-pair-share or, as I call it, "elbow-buddy" talk. This turn and talk routine usually helps to encourage discussion, particularly in a quieter class or when the material or skill is new. The problem with my good friend TPS is that, like TPS reports (any Office Space fans?), they become routine, a hoop for students to jump through.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love me a good TPS...however, I suggest setting and projecting a timer and keeping them short and sweet. Also, give students specific questions for small group discussions or task to accomplish with a clear product and time frame.

Talk to your elbow buddy for 59 seconds (because I enjoy random times). This keeps the students on their toes.

Find at least one line in "Lose Yourself" that can connect to a line in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy. This is much better than simply saying Talk to your elbow buddy about ways the song can connect to Lady Macbeth's soliloquy.

This being said, you didn't come here to hear about think-pair-share. So let's take a look at some of my favorite strategies for small group discussions that will help you to engage your students in meaningful academic conversation.

The Gist: This versatile strategy for small group discussions incorporates movement as students "scoot" around the classroom.

With this small group discussion strategy, it is key to think about where you want the students to move and why? What materials will you have at each spot? Will they explore different texts? Work on different skills? Build on the ideas of others? No matter what, students should have a specific task to complete or question to answer each time a "scoot" is announced, and there should be a clear direction for movement, i.e. clockwise around the room, to the next color/number/table, etc. It is also helpful if you have a way to monitor student progress - how will you check for understanding or task completion?

Literary Lenses - Have students "scoot" in small groups (3-4) from table-to-table, applying different literary lenses to the same text.

Peer Editing - Have students "scoot" around the table, highlighting different items in their paper or a peer's paper. Each student could travel around the table, highlighting examples of different skills, one at each spot OR the papers could stay and each student could be assigned one skill to highlight and/or provide feedback. Then, students come together to discuss trends, find "rock star" moments, and talk about each paper's strengths/areas in need of revision. Individually, students could complete a goal-setting form to respond to feedback and make a plan for moving forward.

Discussion Stems - Have students scoot around the room to discuss a text, focusing on different questions, or different discussion stems at each station. At each station, they will focus on a different skill, i.e. summarizing.

2. Collaborative Mind-Mapping

Online collaboration tools can be a great way to involve students in a discussion-based task.

The Gist: You can have students create an online mind map (pen and paper works, too!) using MindMup which is completely free and compatible with Google Drive for easy sharing with group members and teacher. Students can "discuss" virtually through creation of this mind map, which forces them to purposefully think about how they are building a conversation (great for practice using conversation stems), OR students can track the progress of their discussion by creating the mind map together as they go. They will begin by posting an initial question or topic for discussion in the middle of the mind map (or multiple topics) and then insert child nodes which build on a main topic and sibling nodes for multiple branches off of one common idea. I always ask students to identify themselves by writing their name before their comment or assigning a certain color to each group member so that I can easily see who added what to the conversation.

Side Note: This works great for individual or collaborative writing and brainstorming, as well!

3. Buzz Words

The Gist: Choose at least five key words that directly relate to the reading and write them on cards or in grid boxes on a sheet of paper. Have students discuss how the words connect/disconnect, what their significance is, and find textual evidence to support their ideas.

Change it Up: You can have students map out their ideas on a sheet of paper as they talk. You can also invite more movement by calling out "connect" or "disconnect" and having the students move to find a word that their own word can connect or disconnect with as the start to a new paired conversation.

4. Save the Last Word

The Gist: Students take turns being the discussion "leader" who opens by asking a question or making a comment about the text. The conversation continues for a set amount of time or around the circle with each group member building on what the previous one has said. Then, the discussion leader has the "last word" in the conversation by providing a "recap" summary for everyone.

5. "Task Card Discussion"

The Gist: In the beginning of the year, as I am working with students on small group discussion skills, I find it useful to provide them with task cards to keep the discussion moving. This way, I know that students have questions which will sustain a student led discussion for any length of time, and I set the expectation that every student will contribute, and groups will discuss for the entire time given which is usually 10 minutes to begin, gradually increasing to 20 or 25 minutes at a time by the end of the semester.

6. "Roll-a-Die Discussion"

The Gist: Students roll a die to select from six different discussion questions and/or quotations. Students take turns rolling and being discussion leader.

Change it up: I like to do roll-a-die and flip a coin discussions. With a regular die, this gives students 12 different possible combinations. I usually pick 12 different quotations from the text, and also create two "repeated roll" questions so that the discussion keeps moving.

You can also get dice with more than 6 different numbers. Or, have students fill in their own quotations/questions to make their own game.

7. Interview Grid

The Gist: Create a "grid" or table with different questions for discussion. Ideally, these should be questions that focus on Bloom's Taxonomy levels of application, analysis, and creation as you want the interview process to involve cognitive challenge, representation of multiple perspectives, and result in new learning. Make sure to include a column in the grid for students to record the names of their interviewees and a row for them to summarize and/or respond to the comments of others.

Here is a sample grid from a recent discussion students in my class had about social justice:

I had students first brainstorm their own responses to each question. Then, they arranged themselves into two concentric circles for a "speed dating" interview session. With each partner (the outer circle rotated every two minutes), they took turns being the interviewer. As the interviewer, students asked a question from the grid, practiced asking follow-up questions, and paraphrased the response in the interview grid box. As the interviewee, students responded to questions, clarified their responses, and practiced using specific details to support their thinking. After this activity, I posted this question to Google Classroom:

Students, as a result of this structured discussion with each other, had insightful ideas to share as a response to this question. We have been focusing on social justice during this first quarter, pulling in different fiction and nonfiction texts, including our "article of the week." This activity came at the beginning of the year as we were exploring and defining social justice together. If you are interested in what came prior to this for my students, be sure to check out this Social Justice Activity I use to allow my students to explore and define social justice before coming together and discussing as a class using the interview matrix.

8. Minute...Win It...

The Gist: This is a discussion strategy that asks students to practice argumentation, whether it be use of rhetorical appeals and techniques, recognition of a counterclaim, or avoidance of logical fallacies. You'll want to put students in pair + 1 groups and give them a debatable topic (silly or serious). Two students face off (pro/con), with the third student acting as their coach. Each student gets one minute to "win" the argument for his/her side. Who wins? It works well to have the coach decide, and you may want to set a clear, quantitative goal.

Change it Up: You can do several rounds of this, focusing on different skills, or allowing students to refine their argumentation, and you should rotate roles within the trio. Or, you can give students one more minute after initial arguments to respond to the ideas brought up by the "opposing side." Just for fun: have students follow this up with a silly "minute to win it" game: see who can make the highest vertical tower of items from their backpack in one minute. You can also walk around the room, listening for good candidates for a whole-class minute to win it argumentation where two students play the game in front of the class.

9. Discussion Continuum

The Gist: Choose one or more two-sided issues. I'm using this in my class this week as a discussion activity for our article of the week which focused on the NFL protests. I gave half of the students in my class a sheet of paper with a continuum line drawn down the middle, with the two sides of the issue at either end of the continuum. Students with the paper met with students who did not have the paper, asking them to sign their names to the continuum, share their opinions on the issue and justify their opinions with examples and paraphrasing to show understanding. Then, partners switch roles before moving on to discuss/repeat the process with someone else.

Extensions: After 10 minutes of partner conversation, ask students to come together as a whole class and discuss the issue. You can create a whole-class continuum by drawing one on the board and adding student names to it (or asking them to come up, sign their name, and explain why). As you do this, model discussion skills by paraphrasing what is said, asking students to elaborate and connect to the ideas of others. You can encourage debate back and forth, or ask students then to write a journal response to the discussion/topic.

10. Role Play for Characterization and Perspective

The Gist: Students are assigned a role of a character from the text. In the case of a nonfiction text, you could give the role of author, the subject of the article, or person interviewed/represented in the text. Assign partners, and have students prepare questions for the other character which they will then discuss while remaining in character and referencing the text. After talking, have students write a journal entry as their characters describing and reacting to the conversation they had during class.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ELA Teaching Strategies for Small Group Discussions - English Teacher Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Go beyond think-pair-share with ten discussion strategies that will engage your students in meaningful paired and small group discussions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Listen to my interview with Pooja Agarwal and Patrice Bain (transcript):
Sponsored by Pear Deck and Kiddom

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. When you make a purchase through these links, Cult of Pedagogy gets a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.

If you've opened this post hoping to read something brand-new, you might be disappointed. There will be no fancy bells or whistles here.

That's because a lot of the strategies we're going to talk about are things you've already done; some teachers have probably been doing them for decades. You just might not have known exactly why they worked or how to harness them in the most optimal way.

That's what cognitive scientists have been doing, trying to pinpoint exactly which activities work best for storing concepts in long-term memory. Over the past few years, we've been following their progress: In our 2015 study of the book Make it Stick, we first talked about the concepts of retrieval practice, spaced practice, and interleaving. These concepts were also addressed in the 2016 post Six Powerful Learning Strategies You Must Share with Students, and in 2017, where I made a strong push again for using more retrieval practice in our teaching.

So what's different this time? Well, until now we haven't gone very deep into what these strategies look like in the classroom. How exactly should teachers work strategies like retrieval practice into their teaching? Do these strategies replace the ones you're already using, or do they work alongside them? Will it require extra planning and time to add them in? Where do grading and paperwork come in, if at all?

Now we're getting specific answers to those questions. Cognitive scientist Pooja Agarwal and K-12 teacher Patrice Bain have collaborated on a new book, Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning. In the book, they go into detail about what it looks like when we actually apply four research-based "Power Tools" in the classroom: retrieval practice, spaced practice, interleaving, and feedback-driven metacognition-which is one we haven't covered at all yet. On the podcast, Agarwal and Bain talked with me about these strategies, the research behind why they work, and some ways you can start using them right away in your instruction.

Why This Book?

Agarwal and Bain have worked together for about 15 years doing research on how children learn. Bain's sixth-grade classroom was where Agarwal and her colleagues-"Roddy" Roediger, Mark McDaniel, and Kathleen McDermott-did much of the research that found its way into Make it Stick.

Since then, Agarwal says, "We expanded that through (Bain's) whole school district, and we've been working with teachers to really translate this research and make it actionable in the classroom."

It's that connection between research and actual classroom practice that motivated Bain and Agarwal to write the book.

"As we were conducting this research," Bain says, "we were finding what really works in authentic classrooms. And we were taking this research and the principles, and I was able to develop strategies that aligned to this research. And I continued to use these over the years, and it works. The science works. The stress decreases. The students retain knowledge, and it was just so exciting that Pooja and I wanted to share this information with other educators, with parents, with teacher prep programs."

What may come as a surprise is that these strategies are so simple. "It is not your fad of the semester," Bain says. "It doesn't cost a fortune. It is simply techniques and strategies that teachers can incorporate in their classrooms the following day, and the payoff is so great."

The Power Tools

Strategy 1: Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice is the act of trying to recall knowledge from long-term memory, rather than constantly feeding it into the brain.

"When students pull information out, when they have to think back," explains Agarwal, "they then are better able to remember that information for the long term than if they just kind of shove it into their heads. In the classroom we're often re-reading or lecturing and trying to shove things into students' heads, and retrieval is really about pulling information out."

Classroom Application: Instead of assigning homework to give students practice with course material, give mini-quizzes at the start of each class that ask 3-5 questions about the prior day's learning. These should either receive no grades or be given a very low point value, because the goal of these is to reinforce the learning, not measure or grade student work.

In her social studies classroom, Bain used to assign homework most nights, and found that not only was she spending up to two hours a night grading it, it also was doing nothing to help students retain information.

"So many students have absolutely mastered homework," she says. "They look at a question, they look up the answer, they write it down and repeat. They get good grades, but they can't retrieve the information; it's difficult to discuss the next day, a week later. And so I thought, there's really a disconnect going on here."

When she replaced homework with mini-quizzes, she got much better results. "The students started to be able to write down this information. They were able to retrieve. And that made all the difference in students being able to retain the information."

The new approach also saved her hours of time. "Once I quit giving that homework and gave them mini quizzes," she says "it would take me about a 15-minute analysis after school to see trends in questions students missed. It gave me a handle on how the students were doing. So it just turned into such a win-win situation. I no longer spent all that time at night, the students were retaining information, and I had a way to check for understanding."

2. Spaced Practice

In addition to doing regular retrieval practice on material that was covered recently, it's also important to revisit old information, asking students to retrieve information a few days, weeks, or even months after they learned it. Because that information is harder to recall, it actually makes the learning that comes from it that much more durable.

"We've talked about 'desirable difficulties' being a phrase that we use in the scientific literature," Agarwal explains. "It's desirable to help students engage in more difficult retrieval and spacing as opposed to what Patrice was talking about with the homework where students are simply copying down answers."

Classroom Application: Spacing is something that can easily be added to any retrieval practice by adding a question that asks students to recall something from an earlier time period in your course.

"You could call these throwback Thursdays or throwback Tuesdays," Agarwal suggests, "or you just simply ask students, hey, what did we do last week?"

When using spacing, Agarwal warns, teachers should be prepared for some discomfort.

"Students are going to forget," she says. "I asked my college students this past week, hey, it's Week 12, think back to Week 3 of this semester. What are two things you remember about neuroscience? I just got blank looks from students, which is okay. At first they were uncomfortable, and at first I'm like, Gee, I didn't teach that very well. But it's actually a benefit. It's a bit counterintuitive, but it's important for students to forget. Because with spacing, they bring it back up, and that then solidifies that learning moving forward."

3. Interleaving

Rather than asking students to retrieve similar types of information in one continuous session, apply the principle of interleaving, which mixes up content from different areas. "Students retain and learn more information when they mix it up," Agarwal explains.

Classroom Application: Resist the temptation to let students "get on a roll" with practice or retrieval, mixing up retrieval tasks instead.

To illustrate how this works, Agarwal provides an example from math: "If students know that they're learning how to multiply fractions and then how to divide fractions, which is always tricky, if they know they've got 10 multiplication problems, they can just, what I call 'plug and chug,' right? They know, I'm just going to follow the same procedure for these first 10 questions, and then I'm going to use division. But if you mix those up, then students have to choose the strategy." This prevents students from just repeating the same procedure over and over.

"With interleaving, mixing up very similar things provides that challenge where students have to know the difference, choose a strategy, and that then helps their learning."

4. Feedback-Driven Metacognition

"When you study, and you don't do well," Bain says, "often it is because you were studying what you already knew. It feels better. It's like, oh, I've got this. And not studying what you don't know. Feedback-driven metacognition is being able to help students learn how to discriminate between what they know and what they don't."

Classroom Application: Feedback-driven metacognition can be applied during retrieval practice; Bain does it right after giving her mini-quizzes. "As soon as they were over, I would go over those answers so the students would know right away if they got them correct or not. The following day, after I had done my analysis after school and I handed them back, I would go over the questions again and allow them to retrieve the answers. So they're not only getting feedback again, but I'm incorporating spacing."

Just like the other strategies, implementing this takes very little time. "Being able to present the information when I go over the answers, it takes, what, 90 seconds perhaps?" Bain says. "But they have a chance to retrieve and to space. And then when I do a blast from the past- Hey, remember when we did such and such? -again, either they knew it right away or they had a desirable difficultly, but they again were testing their metacognition, and then by having a pair and share, having students discuss, they've been able to test their metacognition too."

What You Do Already, But Better

"Many teachers might be doing some of these things already," Bain says, but what she and Agarwal hope to accomplish with their book is help teachers get a better understanding of why they work, "to be able to learn about the science behind why they work, and also to take a look at how purposeful you are in using these strategies in your classroom. The beauty of this is to find out why we should be doing them, and how to incorporate the principles so we can do them even better."

Learn More

To learn more about specific ways to use these tools, grab a copy of the book, Powerful Teaching. Follow Pooja Agarwal on Twitter at @RetrieveLearn, and Patrice Bain at @PatriceBain1.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Four Research-Based Strategies Every Teacher Should be Using

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn the simple, quick strategies cognitive scientists say can boost student learning in any classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Alternative note-taking practices like mind-mapping and sketchnoting prompt students to organize their thoughts visually, boosting comprehension and retention.

kategisme/Twenty20; AJ_Watt/iStock; sydneyskye/Twenty20;

Unlike conventional note-taking, which can "border on the edge of transcription," allowing students to try more visual, interpretive methods of processing materials helps them "identify connections between topics and themes," writes Nimah Gobir for KQED.

One technique known as sketchnoting-simple, hand-drawn renderings of things like facts, dates, or abstract concepts-allows students to respond to complex new ideas by engaging multiple parts of the brain simultaneously to deepen learning and retention, says Gobir. Instead of passively writing down everything a speaker is saying, the practice pushes students to actively process and make sense of what they're learning.

"Sketchnoting doesn't just lead to gains in keeping students' attention, it's a useful way for learners to organize and retain information," she writes. "They're actively listening and creating a visual representation of what they're learning while continuing to stay engaged in class."

Findings from a 2018 study back that up: Students who were asked to draw what they'd learned were nearly twice as likely to remember information than students who wrote the same information down. Drawing wins out because it allows information to be processed in multiple ways, explained Edutopia's research editor Youki Terada: "When we draw, we encode the memory in a very rich way, layering together the visual memory of the image, the kinesthetic memory of our hand drawing the image, and the semantic memory that is invoked when we engage in meaning-making."

Here are some ways to introduce visual note-taking to your students:

Rethink Your Paper: Note-taking doesn't need to happen between the lines and within the margins of a sheet of notebook paper. The "more rigid structure of lines and lines of text" can bind the minds of some students, while the freedom to reimagine the space can free them, writes Gobir. Encourage students to play with spacing, vary text sizes, and add symbols anywhere on the page "to create a hierarchy of information that might be harder to capture in linear text."

Start With a Little Practice: Not all students will welcome the idea of sketchnoting and other visual note-taking methods at first, so encourage them to start off just scribbling. Artist and educator Todd Berman has students "scribble for the duration of a song," Gobir explains, which gets the creative juices flowing and creates a comfortable setting for the introduction of the concept. Berman then invites students to share what they've created with the class.

Develop a Symbolic Language: Educator Wendi Pillars has students "identify 10 key words or concepts" from the current learning materials and begin developing a visual library of shorthand-like an icon or character-to represent them, shares Gobir. Get students' input for the library too, recommends Pillars, so "you have a co-created visual vocabulary that everybody can refer to when they take their own notes." In time, students will develop their own vocabularies and visual note-taking styles independently.

Keep It Low-Fidelity: Communicate to your students that they don't have to be accomplished artists to use visual note-taking techniques: The process isn't about ensuring that the sketches and drawings look good, but that students find a way to tease out the relationships between topics and concepts. "It's giving them permission to say, 'You know what? Here's the key concept. Here's the key information," explains Pillars, who says she emphasizes to students that there is no right or wrong way to take visual notes.

Skip the Grading: Sketchnoting, diagrams, freehand drawing, mind-mapping, and similar techniques are vehicles to get student thoughts down on paper-not practices meant to demonstrate their mastery of subject material. Educator Sarah Schroeder suggests focusing on grading what is "construct relevant," or "avoiding measuring what is irrelevant or can't be measured," like creativity. Attaching a grade to visual note-taking might inhibit the student as they struggle to make sense of complex material, make them feel self-conscious, or simply be so subjective as to be meaningless-so provide feedback rather than a grade.

Join In: Modeling visual note-taking techniques for your students can be a great way to inspire them to try something new. Pillars uses her whiteboard and paper to show students how she visualizes her thoughts. "As we take the notes together, I will ask students, 'How would you represent it?'" she shared with Gobir. "And they'll shout out ideas like, 'You could draw this or this!' And sometimes I tell them 'I can't draw that! You want to come on up here and show [the class]?'"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How-and Why-to Introduce Visual Note-Taking to Your Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Visual note-taking allows information to be processed by the brain in three different ways.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
15 exit ticket ideas for any subject or grade level! These exit ticket questions and prompts will work to assess elementary, middle, or high school students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Secrets Of Successful Schools No One Told You

How To Design Visual Aids For Teaching Purposes

The 12 Rules Of Effective Instructional Technology Coaching Infographic

Instructional methods are used by teachers to create learning environments and to specify the nature of the activity in which the teacher and learner will be involved during the lesson. While particular methods are often associated with certain strategies, some methods may by found within a variety of strategies. Instructional strategies determine the approach a teacher may take to achieve learning objectives.

The Instructional Strategies Infographic presents a variety of strategies for monitoring progress, staying active, comparing and contrasting ideas, forming groups, fostering cooperation/collaboration, adapting content and taking notes.

Embed this Infographic on your site or blog!

Copy code The code has been copied to clipboard!

Stay up to date on the latest eLearning news, articles, and free resources sent straight to your inbox!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teachers' Instructional Strategies Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Instructional methods are used by teachers to create learning environments and to specify the nature of the activity in which the teacher and learner will be involved during the lesson. While particular methods are often associated with certain strategies, some methods may by found within a variety of strategies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you get stressed trying to squeeze in all the curriculum you need to cover? This is Deanna from A Primary Owl and believe me this is my daily struggle! I teach third grade and the amount of Social Studies and Science topics we have to cover is crazy....plus we take District Assessments over all these topics so nothing can be skipped or else my students will bomb the tests.

One of my go-to strategies is one that has been around a long time, it's one of those oldies but goodies. So when I am crunched for time, I have my students JIGSAW the topics and let THEM be the experts. They love this part, I tell them they are going to be the teachers. Third graders just eat that up:)
STEP ONE:
Here is a great website that can give you the break down of all the steps but the first thing I decide is how I want to break apart the material being studied. Often for me, it is a chapter in a textbook. For example, right now we are studying the Habitats of Georgia so I divided the groups into the different regions.
STEP TWO:
Then decide how many students will need to be in each group. I let my students pick the group they want to be in but you can also assign groups. Then give the groups their guidelines on how they are going to study and present the material. This is where large chart paper comes in handy! I almost always have my groups make a chart.

STEP THREE:
After each group has time to study the material and decide how to "teach" it, it is time to do the presenting. The idea is that you take one expert from each group and form the JIGSAW groups, where each person presents their material to a small group. Sometimes, I have the groups present to the class as a whole (depending on the subject matter and how many groups I have).
STEP FOUR:
One important step, is to make sure you have a way for students to demonstrate what they learned from each group. You may want them to take notes as each person presents, or have a short formative assessment.
FREEBIE:
This strategy works so well and students love it. They enjoy learning from their peers and I love being able to cover topics in an efficient way. You can get a copy of my planning guide by clicking the picture:

So don't forget about this awesome strategy the next time you're trying to squeeze it all in!

Don't forget to keep checking back with us, we've got some great tips for fall coming up!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Cooperative Learning Strategy You Forget About

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you get stressed trying to squeeze in all the curriculum you need to cover? This is Deanna from A Primary Owl and believe me this is my daily struggle! I teach third grade and the amount of Social Studies and Science topics we have to cover is crazy....plus we take District Assessments over all these topics so nothing can be skipped or else my students will bomb the tests.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This Week...
August
Monday, Sept. 3: NO SCHOOL-LABOR DAY

Tuesday, Sept. 4: K MAP

Wednesday, Sept. 5: K MAP

Thursday, Sept. 6:

Friday, Sept. 7: 1st/2nd MAP and 4/5/6 Curriculum Alignment

Happy Birthday!

Tuesday, Sept. 4th: Deleta Geaslin

SHOUT OUTS!

Shout out to Brandi and Tracy for using their points to help get a class set of Ghost Track #1 for our WIN book study! -Brooke Davis

Shout out to Mrs. Baird for a motivating Splash Bash!--Claire Brown

Shout out to Mrs. Jones for taking my kids for an hour when she didn't have to!-Claire Brown

Shout Out to Mr. Stanley and Mrs. Sturdivant! Greg and Robert! Silma and Lucia! Matt and Shannon! It takes a village to host a Splash Party! The kids loved it and we got some great pics for the yearbook LOL!--Alison Baird

Shout out to Officer Reeves, Coach Koerdt, and Dr. Jackye Underwood for their quick thinking and assistance with Evan!!!--Yvonne

Shout out to David Reeves for his quick response and quick thinking that saved Evan--Tara Williams

Shout out to everyone else (I don't know everyone who was and don't want to leave anyone out) involved in helping with the whole situation (taking the rest of the team outside, providing assistance wherever needed, etc).--Tara Williams

Shout out to the middle school team for always being there for each other and always being willing to help out when/where needed.--Tara Williams

"Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember, Involve me and I learn" --Benjamin Franklin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
August Monday, Sept. 3: NO SCHOOL-LABOR DAY Tuesday, Sept. 4: K MAP Wednesday, Sept. 5: K MAP Thursday, Sept. 6: Friday, Sept. 7: 1st/2nd MAP and 4/5/6 Curriculum Alignment Tuesday, Sept. 4th: Deleta Geaslin Shout out to Brandi and Tracy for using their points to help get a class set of Ghost Track #1 for our WIN book study!

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.text
Where does your class spend most of their time?
@WahlukeJH @SchlechtyCenter @UWCEL #EdChat #EdAdmin #EdReform #K12 http://t.co/Hchb0lm6rf

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
Where does your class spend most of their time?
@WahlukeJH @SchlechtyCenter @UWCEL #EdChat #EdAdmin #EdReform #K12 http://t.co/Hchb0lm6rf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
Where does your class spend most of their time?@WahlukeJH @SchlechtyCenter @UWCEL #EdChat #EdAdmin #EdReform #K12 pic.twitter.com/Hchb0lm6rf
— Andrew Harlow (@MrHlow) September 28, 2013

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Where does your class spend most of their time?
@WahlukeJH @SchlechtyCenter @UWCEL #EdChat #EdAdmin #EdReform #K12 http://t.co/Hchb0lm6rf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Where does your class spend most of their time?
@WahlukeJH @SchlechtyCenter @UWCEL #EdChat #EdAdmin #EdReform #K12 http://t.co/Hchb0lm6rf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Where does your class spend most of their time?
@WahlukeJH @SchlechtyCenter @UWCEL #EdChat #EdAdmin #EdReform #K12 http://t.co/Hchb0lm6rf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sponsored by Pear Deck and NewseumED

This page contains Amazon Affiliate and Bookshop.org links. When you make a purchase through these links, Cult of Pedagogy gets a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. What's the difference between Amazon and Bookshop.org?

If you were to start singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" right now, I bet you'd have a hard time keeping your hands still. That's because most of us who know the song learned it with gestures, and things we learn with physical movement tend to stick.

We can apply that same principle to classroom learning, using movement to enhance learning from preschool all the way through college. Let's take a look at what the research says about movement-based learning, then explore six different ways you can add more movement to your instruction.

The Research on Movement

The concept of "learning styles" has overwhelmingly been labeled a myth by researchers, so attempting to determine which of your students are kinesthetic learners will not be a good use of your time. What is worth your time is using movement when working with all learners, because plenty of research backs that up.

In general, people learn better when information is presented in more than one way (Sankey, Birch, & Gardiner, 2010). In other words, if we take in information through more than one sense, we're more likely to encode it in long-term memory. This would include visual, verbal, and kinesthetic modes of learning.

Specifically, the use of gestures results in more enduring learning than learning without gestures (Cook, Yip, & Goldin-Meadow, S, 2010). So even the addition of a few small hand gestures can have an impact on how well students remember material.

Study after study shows that physical activity activates the brain, improves cognitive function, and is correlated with improved academic performance (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011). This means any kind of physical activity, not just movement associated with the material we're learning, can benefit students academically.

Six Ways to Add Movement to Instruction

1. Total Physical Response

Developed for use with second-language learners in the 1960's ( Asher, 1966), Total Physical Response simply has students act out physical gestures to represent vocabulary words. Shown to be highly effective with both children (Singh, 2011) and adults ( Carruthers, 2010), TPR can also be used to help learners remember new vocabulary terms in their native language. In other words, it can be used in any content area, with any student.

This video from the Teacher Toolkit shows Texas teacher Michael Rowland using TPR with his third grade students, who are English learners.

And here is Craig Gaslow, another Texas teacher who teaches AP Human Geography, demonstrating how he uses TPR to teach three different models of diffusion:

https://youtu.be/9HtrVh2Dzzs

Finally, here are Scott Causer's high school students demonstrating a few earth science processes using TPR:

What strategies support learning? Here's high school science using TPR to recall processes in Earth Science -thanks Mr. Causer and team for modeling! @ESMSchoolDist @cultofpedagogy pic.twitter.com/njoAaVdBB9
- Naomi Trivison (@NaomiTrivison) March 30, 2019

2. Tableau/Snapshot

In this strategy, students create a physical "snapshot" with their bodies, a still picture that represents an idea.

This example, demonstrated by 4th grade teacher Stefannie Cundiff, comes from Teacher Toolkit:

Another example is explained in this Slides presentation by Tyler Jacobs, an Idaho-based high school ELA and social studies teacher. Click the image below to view the slideshow in a new window:

3. Simulations

In these, students demonstrate a concept with some kind of motion or interactivity. They could represent non-human components, like in the examples below, or they might actually take on the role of humans in a re-enactment of an event.

The first example comes from the University of British Columbia, where electrical engineering professor Matthew Yedlin has students simulate the difference between linear growth and exponential growth:

The second example, a simulation of the circulatory system, comes from Michelle Cliche, who teaches grades 4 and 5 in London, Ontario, Canada.

Ss learned about the complexity of the circulatory system by acting out delivery of blood through red & blue bean bags. S in middle is ❤️ directing blood flow to different organs. Later, we did this on playground climbers because heart has to pump 'up'. pic.twitter.com/dhzTqRTEOp
- Michelle Cliche (@Clicheteach) March 29, 2019

Finally, here's a different kind of simulation demonstrated by Amy Tepperman, where participants show fractions by placing different body parts on the floor, Twister-style:

An important note about simulations: If you are doing simulations about historical periods or events, proceed with caution. Many, many teachers have ended up traumatizing students with these types of simulations. This article from Learning for Justice explores the topic in depth.

4. Songs with Movement

Songs are another powerful way to teach concepts to students, and if the songs also incorporate movement, even better.

Dan Adler, a 6th grade science teacher in Lawrence, MA, regularly uses songs with physical movements to help his students remember challenging concepts. In this video, students demonstrate "Bodak Particles," a song about phase change sung to an instrumental version of Cardi B's song "Bodak Yellow." (Get a copy of the lyrics here.)

Check out our science scholars rapping about phase changes! pic.twitter.com/uO3sJQubgw
- UP Academy Leonard (@up_leonard) November 8, 2018

5. Virtual and Augmented Reality

The experiences offered by virtual and augmented reality allow students to move around in and interact with virtual objects and spaces in ways that would be difficult if not impossible to pull off in the real world.

Augmented Reality layers digital enhancements on top of objects in the real, physical world. Using a device, like a smartphone, loaded with AR software, users point it at a picture or physical object, and the software brings up some kind of digital element like a 3D animation, text, or a video. ( Pokémon Go is an example of an AR game.)

One set of AR tools that have tremendous learning potential comes from a company called Merge. Their Merge Cube is a handheld cube that can "become" a variety of objects when paired with the Merge Goggles, as shown below:

Virtual Reality immerses the user in a 360-degree environment, a computer-generated simulation, viewable through a VR headset, and allows them to move through and interact with that environment.

One outstanding source for VR experiences is Google Expeditions, which offers tours to over 500 different locations: historical landmarks, national and state parks, underwater sites, and up-close studies of scientific phenomena.

And if you don't find the exact tour you want, you and your students can even create your own expeditions with Google Tour Creator.

6. Brain Breaks

I left this one for the end because it's the easiest to implement. This brain breaks guide from the University of Texas summarizes the research on the connection between movement and academic achievement and offers dozens of ideas for brain breaks that can be put into action immediately.

Brain break videos are super easy to find on YouTube, especially for younger kids. My daughter came home from first grade years ago excited to demonstrate this one for me:

But what about older kids? High school math teacher David Sladkey has written a a book, Energizing Brain Breaks ( Amazon | Bookshop.org), that has ideas for all ages, even middle and high school kids who may not be as comfortable with the Tooty Ta. in this video, students demonstrate a simple toe-tapping brain break:

Tips for Getting Started

Don't overdo it. Attempting to add a movement component to every concept students learn would not only be too time-consuming, it could also get old, shifting from a fun novelty to something that causes students to slump over in their seats and say, Not THAT again!!

Get input from students. When coming up with gestures or movements, you don't have to rely solely on your own brain. Ask students to help you come up with ideas. Involving students in the process will help them remember concepts better and will increase the likelihood that you'll end up with really effective movements.

Know what works for your students. Some of your students may not be comfortable with or physically able to do certain movements, so keep that in mind and make modifications based on ability and need.

Use movement for retrieval practice. Rather than using movement in a single lesson, apply the principles of retrieval practice by repeating the movements in short practice sessions, spacing them out over time, and interleaving concepts with one another.

For younger students, meaningful gestures matter more. While adults learn from both iconic gestures (those that have some meaning in relation to the concept they are connected to) and beat gestures (those that have no inherent meaning but are just tied to particular "beats" in a sentence or phrase), younger children learned more from iconic gestures (So, Sim Chen-Hui, & Low Wei-Shan, 2012). So when working with younger students, try to make the gestures match the concepts in some way.

References

Asher, J. J. (1969). The total physical response approach to second language learning. The modern language journal, 53(1), 3-17.

Carruthers, S. W. (2010). The total physical response method and its compatibility to adult ESL-learners. Retrieved from http://tesolteachers.net/t.pdf

Cook, S. W., Yip, T. K., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2010). Gesturing makes memories that last. Journal of memory and language, 63(4), 465-475.

Donnelly, J. E., & Lambourne, K. (2011). Classroom-based physical activity, cognition, and academic achievement. Preventive medicine, 52, S36-S42.

Sankey, M., Birch, D., & Gardiner, M. (2010). Engaging students through multimodal learning environments: The journey continues. In Proceedings ASCILITE 2010: 27th annual conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education: Curriculum, technology and transformation for an unknown future (pp. 852-863). University of Queensland.

Singh, J. P. (2011). Effectiveness of total physical response. Academic Voices: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1, 20-22.

So, W. C., Sim Chen-Hui, C., & Low Wei-Shan, J. (2012). Mnemonic effect of iconic gesture and beat gesture in adults and children: Is meaning in gesture important for memory recall?. Language and Cognitive Processes, 27(5), 665-681.

Come back for more.
Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined-come on in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Physical movement makes learning stick better, and today we're exploring six ways you can add more movement to your classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Over the last few years my teaching has been heavily ingrained with inquiry based learning, problem/project based learning and open ended questioning. This has totally changed how I use bulletin boards in my classroom for making thinking visible.

I used to have my bulletin boards covered in teacher created beautiful anchor charts but I realized that this isn't fostering the learning environment that I wanted for my students. When their thinking is displayed on the walls it becomes more meaningful to them. All the time I spent making those beautiful anchor charts and students would barely refer back to them.

Once I loosened up and handed over the chart paper and markers to them, their engagement level sky-rocketed and they constantly refer to the charts, thinking and sticky notes all over our walls.

This is an example of how I have made my bulletin boards more interactive:

It's called the Tug of War Strategy. You can read about it in an earlier post herewhen I was teaching second grade (I'm in 3rd and 4th now). I did not invent this strategy. I learned about it from the book Making Thinking Visible (affiliate link) which has tons of great strategies just like this. I highly recommend this book.

Basically, you present a fairness dilemma to your students and they choose a side to support by adding "tugs" to their side. I have done this two ways. Sometimes I tell them they have to pick a side and that is the only side they can add their responses to. Other times I have told them they can add their thinking to both sides and in the end we will see which side wins.

Not only is this a great strategy for inquiry but it's also a great activity for split grade teaching.

How to Set Up the Tug of War Strategy:

In this case I set up 2 bulletin boards with a rope through the middle (you can use string or yarn or even tape to represent the rope). On either side I posted the two sides of the dilemma. I taught a split grade, so my third graders were learning about plants and my fourth graders were learning about animals. I made our dilemmas very similar and we were able to make connections among the two bulletin boards.

For the third graders, I asked them to add their thinking to either "People help plants" or "People Hurt Plants". Fourth grade did "People help animals" or "People Hurt Animals".

What do they write on their sticky notes? Anything related to the dilemma. They might have wonderings, "what ifs", thoughts, prior learning etc. Once we have a decent amount of sticky notes up we go through the thoughts and see if any need to be moved.

We almost always have some "In the middle" thoughts that can go on either side of the dilemma. These make great conversations and often spark the beginning of a new inquiry.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making Thinking Visible with Interactive Bulletin Boards

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over the last few years my teaching has been heavily ingrained with inquiry based learning, problem/project based learning and open ended questioning. This has totally changed how I use bulletin boards in my classroom for making thinking visible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I am so excited to launch my first "series" of blog posts! It's making me feel all grown-up and blogger-like 🙂

My first series is going to be on increasing student engagement in the classroom. Over the next several weeks, I'll share with you some strategies that I've found really increase student focus and motivation. At this point in my career, I feel like these are pretty sure-fire. When I see kids zoning out - or even ( gasp!) dozing off, when I have a lesson that I need every kid to really understand, or when an administrator walks into the room and I want to "WOW!" them, these are the activities that I use!
The Graffiti Wall
The first strategy is something that I call the "Graffiti Wall," but I've seen it called all sorts of other things on the Internets.

Basically, you put large pieces of paper around the room with questions or prompts, and have the students travel in small groups and respond to them. (On this day, I was getting ready to introduce a new unit in our anthology, so all the questions/prompts reflected the big themes of the unit.)

As the kids travel, and the paper starts to fill up, they can begin responding not only to the question/prompt, but also to the comments written by their peers.

After every group has had a chance to write on each paper, bring students back to their seats and use their responses to generate a class discussion.

I love Graffiti Wall because it gives kids time to think-out and talk-through their ideas. In teacher-lingo: it gives them processing time. Don't we all function better with adequate processing time? Isn't our thinking better/clearer/"smarter" after we've had time to talk it out? Of course it is!

Have you ever tried Graffiti Wall? Would you ever? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this strategy!!

Happy Teaching!!

For each strategy, I plan on making a reminder card for teachers to print out and keep handy. After this series is over, you'll have a stash of strategies on hand to bust out whenever you need them!

Check out all five of the posts in this series:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Strategy #1 - The Graffiti Wall (Engagement Strategies Series)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I am so excited to launch my first "series" of blog posts! It's making me feel all grown-up and blogger-like :)My first series is going to be on increasing student engagement in the classroom. Over

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
20 Brain Compatible Strategies for Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you are a teacher delivering instructions to students or a student attempting to retain information for a class, there are 20 cross-curricular strategies that take advantage of the way all brains learn best. They are as follows: Brainstorming and Discussion: We remember what we talk about with others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 12 Active Engagement Strategies – Astute Hoot

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students Sitting Around Too Much? Try Chat Stations. | Cult of Pedagogy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Your new favorite teaching strategy: This pared-down version of learning stations keeps the movement, interactivity and variety while minimizing the prep work.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
8 ways teachers can talk less and get kids talking more

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
8 ways teachers can talk less and get kids talking more · 1. Don't steal the struggle. · 2. Move from the front of the classroom