#69 Don't let students copy the questions in the Do Now
If you do, they might just busy trick!
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💡 A tip to try in class this week 💡
I recently shared a tip about not having the date and title visible during the Do Now as it gives students an opportunity to busy trick. Well, a follow-on from that tip is to tell students not to copy down the questions from the Do Now. Why? Well, if you don’t, things like this happen:
Or this:
Students love nothing more than copying things down. It is a cognitively passive activity that, from the teacher’s view at the front of the class - or even from a quick glance during circulation - gives the impression that they are busy beavering away. Better still, students are primed to copy the answers down when the teacher goes through them, even adding the flourish of a few ticks and crosses, resulting in a beautiful exercise book that will no doubt be lavished with praise when it is checked.
The argument teachers often give when I suggest stopping students from copying down the question is that the answers to the Do Now will make no sense to students when they come to revise. My response: show me one student who has ever used the Do Now to revise.
No, along with copying down the title and date, copying the questions to the Do Now has to go. We want to remove as many barriers as possible to students thinking and learning from the very first minute of each of our lessons.
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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