#66 Check students are listening to each other

If you don't, the chances are they aren't

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💡 A tip to try in class this week 💡

Regular readers will know that I am obsessed with the fact that many students are not listening to us as much as we hope they are. Check out my poor proxies for listening post for more on this.

But if students may not listen to us, they almost certainly do not listen to each other. I see this all the time during my school visits. One child gets called upon to answer a question, and the rest of the class promptly switches their attention elsewhere as the question was not directed to them.

Here is a recent example. Students were asked in turn to indicate which region they belong in on a Venn Diagram with labels: likes cheese, and has a brother.

We can see Mollie here writing her initials in the left-most region. Here is the exchange that followed:

• Teacher: Why are you putting your initials there?

• Mollie: Because I like cheese, but I don’t have a brother

• Teacher: Why has Mollie put her initials there… Tom?

• Tom: What?

Tom had not been listening as this moment was not about him, it was about Mollie.

This happens all the time. One of my favourite things to do after a student has answered a question is to ask three other students at random what that student just said. They almost always cannot.

This is clearly a problem from a learning perspective, especially if we base our next teacher move on the assumption everyone has heard what that student said. It is also not great from a societal perspective as we help breed a cohort of young people who switch off whenever someone else speaks.

The solution is relatively straightforward: regularly check students are listening to each other by asking them to repeat - or build upon - what another student has said, and then hold them to account if they cannot.

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 making invisible steps visible?

2. … read my latest Eedi newsletter about a question to ask mini-whiteboard skeptics?

3. … listened to my latest podcast with Kris Boulton about Atomisation?

4. … read my Tips for Teachers book?

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

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