#55 Hide your tell when calling upon students to explain their thinking

Always asking for the correct answer first or last can shut down thinking

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💡 A tip to try in class this week 💡

Imagine you have asked your students this question:

You can see from your students’ responses that some have got it correct and some have got it wrong. You want to give your students an opportunity to explain their reasoning. So, who do you ask first: a student with the right answer, or one with the wrong answer?

Or let’s consider an open-response question like this:

You have noted on your board the two answers visible on your students’ mini-whiteboards. Again, you want to hear your students’ reasons. Who do you pick first: a student with the correct answer of 69, or a student with the incorrect answer of 111?

Most teachers I watch either consistently ask a student who has the correct answer first, or consistently save calling upon a student with the correct answer until last.

The problem with this is that your students pick up on it.

So, if you are a teacher who always goes to a student with the correct answer first, then anyone with a different answer immediately knows they are wrong and may not be willing to share their thinking when called upon. Likewise, if you are a teacher who always saves the correct answer to last, anyone called upon first will know they are wrong and may also be reluctant to share their thoughts. In both scenarios, there is also the issue of any student who has the correct answer immediately knowing they are correct and so tuning out of the explanations of students who have a different answer to them.

The solution to this problem is to hide your tell.

• So, with a multiple-choice diagnostic question, I always pick a student who has chosen option A first, regardless if it is right or wrong, followed by B, then C, then D.

• And if the question is open-response, then I always sweep across the room, either left to right, right to left, front to back, or back to front, again regardless of whether the first student in my sweep has the right or wrong answer.

This simple technique means my students do not know whether they are right or wrong simply based on the order I choose them, so are more willing to share their reasoning, and have an extra incentive to keep listening.

What do you think of this idea?

What would you need to change to make this tip work for you?

When could you try it for the first time?

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🏃🏻‍♂️Before you go, have you… 🏃🏻‍♂️

1. … tried last week’s tip about asking students not to say or write anything for 30 seconds?

2. … read my latest Eedi newsletter about supercharging SSDD Problems?

3. … listened to my latest podcast about feedback cycles, lesson observations and Exit Tickets?

4. … read my Tips for Teachers book?

5. … considered booking some CPD, coaching or maths department support?

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