The biggest problem I am having is that the same 3-5 kids each class period are volunteering their answers/sharing their thoughts while other kids, who I know are fully capable of providing valuable perspectives by evidence in their written responses in assignments, consistently refrain from speaking up/sharing out.

Why is Might This Happening?

I think this problem persists across all my class periods largely due to the shyness of some kids not wanting to speak up and be “recognized”. There have been instances where some of the kids dumb down their understanding of the content/response to a question I have given to make it appear that they are more “on par” with their peers, which can be especially frustrating given my desire for these kiddos to thrive and believe in themselves and not be ashamed to know the answer to a given question. In talks with other teachers on our team, I have discovered that they are having the same issues with the same select students in their classroom environment. Come hell or high water, I will do my best to get these students to share their ideas and perspectives with the rest of their classmates, which would not only benefit them but our learning environment as a whole.

The baseline data suggests that the students who do not engage in oral participation during class are smart and capable students who can and should be sharing their insights and ideas. This is evident from the reading responses these students are producing consistently i.e. from page two of appendix A, a student who rarely participates verbally ponders the question “what kinds of traditions does this region have?”. This is was a great question that could have potentially led to deeper conversation had they only spoke up. My classroom observations reveal that, even when the students do attempt to provide an oral answer or share their thoughts, they are not comfortable with the spotlight being on them. I have noticed that when there is “free time” these same students have no problem engaging with their peers. On page six of Appendix A, one such student ponders “has there ever been something like an apartheid in this region?” and “what are some of the major conflicts this region of the world faced?”. I suspect it has to do with a combination of shyness, stage fright, and the fear of getting the answer wrong or being perceived as not giving a “good enough” answer.

Another article that I read touches on the use of equity sticks but does so in more of a cautionary way. In the article, it is stated that equity sticks “must be used with careful judgment while taking into account the context of the lesson and learner ability” (Curren-Preis, et. al., 2022). It is also argued within the article that using equity sticks could potentially “inflate a problem rather than relieve one” and that a student could feel “boxed in” and pressured to answer a question they may not have an answer to (Curren-Preis, et. al., 2022). Here is an example from the article: Suppose you pull an equity stick to have a student answer a question, and they do answer the question but then, you pull another stick to have another student add on to the answer that was already provided. The second student may potentially have other ideas and thoughts about the overall conversation, but may not have a specific follow-up to the answer given by the first student leaving them feeling “boxed in” and unable to express the thoughts and ideas they initially had. The article is best summed up by one of its’ closing statements; “just because you are providing an opportunity does not necessarily mean the opportunity is equitable” (Curren-Preis, et. al., 2022).

Despite these somewhat conflicting points of view regarding the use of equity sticks, I am going to lean on the advice given by Cornelius Minor when he said, “Status quo leaves too many of our children at the margins” (p. 44). What I have been doing so far has not brought out the best in each of my students and has not provided an opportunity for their voices to be heard. As advised by Minor, I have carefully considered “what the problem is” and thought “about how to shake up the norm” (pp. 36-37). Minor, throughout his book, talks about how some changes may feel scary however, sometimes those “scary” changes are necessary to ensure we are meeting the needs of all of our students. After all, as Minor so eloquently wrote, “a kid can’t be successful in my classroom if I have not created the opportunities for that child to be successful” (p. 36). It is my sincere hope that over the next couple of weeks of data collection, I find that using equity sticks enriches my classroom discussions and provides each of my students an opportunity for their voices, opinions, and ideas to be heard.

Implementation did not come about without several groans from my students. The moment they saw the popsicle sticks, they immediately knew what was about to happen. I am happy to report, though, that no one outright refused to write their name on a popsicle stick, and each class period quickly understood what the process was going to be. I asked the students if they remembered having ever used the equity sticks before, and several recalled using them in elementary school. When asked about why I was doing this, I explained that I was looking to boost engagement from the entire class, and not just a select group of students who were always answering my questions and driving the conversations.

Thinking about the research I did on this particular approach; I am pleased to report that I had more successes than failures while implementing my strategy (I had very few students outright refuse to answer or participate, others simply were not feeling well). It did take a few days for the students to get used to the idea that they might be called upon at any given moment to provide an answer to a question or to just offer their insights, thoughts, and ideas about the topic of the day. However, I did notice a gradual uptick not only in active participation but in active listening. I noticed that the students were more attentive than they had been in the previous weeks. My assumption here is that they feared not knowing the answer to a question that was asked of them and they did not want to look foolish in front of their peers. I think that it was mainly this fear of looking foolish that pushed them to remain engaged and actively listening. I also noticed that students would tell one another to stop talking, which began to significantly reduce the amount of time I was spending on directly addressing students having off-topic side conversations. It was awesome to see the students policing their behavior and the behavior of their peers. I was also able to tangibly measure the success that students were having because of this increase in engagement and participation. The last test that the students took before my leaving the field yielded results I am quite proud of; each class period averaged over 88 percent which was by and far the best class averages I had seen during my entire time at McConnell Middle School.

Analyze This...

My findings tell me that implementing equity sticks in the classroom can boost overall engagement, as well as the level of active listening that is taking place among the students. While some of the research suggests that equity sticks may place undue pressure on students, my experience has been far from those findings. My findings fall more in line with other research that suggests that equity sticks increase the level of classroom participation and allow for more student voices to be heard. The straightforward, matter-of-fact way in which I implemented the equity sticks allowed for me to set my expectations at the outset, leaving no confusion with the students as to how the process would go, and why I was implementing the process in the first place.

The results from this little experiment will carry over into my future classroom. Given the level of engagement I was able to create, especially with students who had previously held back from speaking up during discussions or questioning, I feel like this is a practice I will want to carry over into the future. I only made minor adjustments, like occasionally allowing a student to be a “helper” and having one of them pick the equity stick. I did not face any pushback from the students during the implementation of my strategy. The few students who may have outright refused participation on one day would end up participating the next day, and I did not encounter any unanticipated difficulties or challenges. This exercise was an overall success, and I look forward to putting what I have learned to good use in my own classroom next fall.

This entire process was eye-opening and very informative for my future practice when I take the reigns of my classroom this fall. The implementation of the equity sticks, while initially met with groans and eye-rolls, went rather smoothly and I did not receive much pushback from any of my students across the four class periods. I was able to successfully boost overall engagement from all of my students, and I noticed that they became much more attentive when they understood they may be called on randomly to offer their insights and ideas. The results of this assignment/experiment are encouraging to me, and I plan on implementing equity sticks at the outset of the 2024-2025 school year.

I have already begun implementing my strategy, and the scope of my study will conclude on 3/21/24. In total, I will have nine days (thirty-six class periods) worth of data to reflect on. I purchased popsicle sticks and had each student in every class period decorate them while listing their name and class period. I have four separate sandwich bags that I have labeled 1^st-4^th period to keep track of which sticks belong to the appropriate class. Between class periods, I put the sticks into a little metal container from which I pull the sticks.

How Did the Students Take to This Change?

I was immediately met with groans as I passed out the sticks and asked that the students decorate them and put their names and class periods on them. I got the sense that they were familiar with what was going on but refrained from my full explanation for using this method until I had collected all the sticks. I explained to the students that in each class period, I was only having the same four to five students actively participating and answering questions in class and that I really wanted to hear more voices in our discussions. I explained that, after having read some of their written responses, there were a lot of people who had valuable insights that could potentially help their peers better understand the concepts we were learning. I told the students that I hoped that, by using the equity sticks, we could create more robust conversations and create better understandings. I told the students that if their name was called, I would give them ample time (6-8 seconds) to share their thoughts or provide an answer to a question. I also explained that if they could not come up with an answer, they could get help from the people at their table, but that the person whose name was called needed to be the one to speak.