Shake-Up Call by Nash Ron;Bluestein Jane Ph.D;Bluestein Ph D;

Author:Nash, Ron;Bluestein, Jane, Ph.D;Bluestein, Ph D;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: R&L Education
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

“Is this about working in groups?”

“Does this have something to do with body language?”

Rather than answering their questions directly by saying yes or no, the teacher asks her own questions:

“What makes you say that?”

“What evidence do you have to support that?”

“Were there a couple of particular cards that led you to your conclusion?”

“Did anyone else conclude this?”

The willingness of a teacher to keep asking questions of her own increases the curiosity of the students who want to know if they are on the right track with their ideas or conclusions. Prediction is a powerful tool, but some students need more time to process the data they are receiving during an activity like this. There is no pressure, by the way, because those who need time to deal with all the information bouncing around the room get time to do so. The longer the teacher can keep the ball in the air and moving, the more time students have to process the incoming data.

The purpose of this highly collaborative activity is to bring students to the conclusion that every card they held and discussed had something to do with oral language, and in particular listening skills. Rather than simply listing for them a dozen or so important listening skills up front, the teacher facilitates the paired conversations that allow the students to arrive at their own conclusions as to what the cards have in common. They are the ones making the comparisons. It is they who, working in quartets, try to determine what all the cards have in common—the group’s hypothesis. They ask questions of the teacher, who in turn asks her own questions in order to keep the ball in the air. My experience is that by the time participants are done with this activity, they have a pretty good grasp of several components of active listening.

Finally, teachers can work with students to develop a checklist of critical listening skills that will serve as a guide as they work in pairs or groups during the school year. After students work collaboratively for a few minutes, the teacher can instruct them to look at the checklist, think about how they did, and discuss how they might improve in those areas next time. Developing the checklist and then relying on the students to self-evaluate on their own are not going to work, in all probability; teachers need to set aside three or four minutes to allow students to evaluate their performance as a group while circulating around the room, listening to the various conversations. Items might include the following:

Did we use positive body language?

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