No Opt Out

Replacing 'I don't know' with a correct answer.

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Why

No Opt Out is a strategy for transforming classroom engagement and atmosphere. By making students aware that they can be called on to answer a question at any time, expectations are raised for all students. This encourages them to lean in and engage with the work, as well as giving teachers a powerful tool to assess student learning and comprehension.

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What

Removing 'I don't know' as an option from the classroom is the heart of No Opt Out. At its core is the belief that a sequence beginning with a student unable (or unwilling) to answer a question should end with that student giving the right answer as often as possible, even if it is only to repeat the correct answer. Only then is the sequence complete.

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How

This strategy takes different forms depending on the student and the context, however, requires the student asked to be the one who gives the answer. This can be through;

- knowing the response. This can lead on to other strategies such as stretch it or right is right.

- teacher prompts. Giving the student leading questions or clues allows them to be more confident in their answer.

- Deferring to another student. Having them repeat another student's answer still requires the student to have understood the response.

- Repeating teacher's answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Links

http://teachlikeachampion.com/wp-content/uploads/Field-Guide-sample-chapter.pdf

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Stretch It

Expanding and elaborating student answers

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Why

A key strategy to extend students and link learning to prior topics, Stretch It can let students know how to answer questions well in a variety of formats.  The ultimate reward here is that students learn that the benefit of answering correctly is more knowledge.

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What

The sequence of learning does not end with a right answer but leads students on to developing their response further. This means adding information, and scaffolding further questions so that students understand they know more than they originally thought.

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How

Ask how or why

The best test of whether students can get answers right consistently is whether they can explain how they got the answer. If students can narrate their thinking process they can gain a mastery of learning.

 

Ask for another way to answer

When a student solves it one way, it’s a great opportunity to make sure they can use all available methods.

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Ask for a better word.

Students often frame concepts in the simplest possible language, offering them a chance to use more specific words or ones with which they are gaining familiarity reinforces the critical literacy goal of developing vocabulary.

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Ask for evidence

As students mature they are increasingly asked to build and defend their conclusions and support opinions from among multiple possible answers. Encouraging them to practice this skill in class conversations develops it and allows them to model it for peers.

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Links

http://teachlikeachampion.com/tag/stretch-it/

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Right is Right

Set and defend a high standard of correctness in your classroom.

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Why

This technique is the heart of high expectations, as it demands students get all the way to the correct response. It is about us, as teachers, setting a high standard for correctness, and letting students know that they are capable enough to get there.

 

​What

Common practice is to respond to a student's answer by rounding it up, that is to affirm their response and repeat it by bringing it up to a 100% right level. Right is Right asks the student to do that, and helps students get to the fully correct response through scaffolding questions.

 

​How

1. Hold out for all the way

This involves praising students for their effort but never confusing effort with mastery. Simple, positive language to express your appreciation for what a student has done AND your expectation that they will now march the last few yards is often the best way;

 

• “I like what you’ve done. Can you get us the rest of the way?”

• “We’re almost there, can you find the last piece?”

• “Can you develop that further?”

 

2. Answer the question

Students learn quickly in schools that when you don’t know the right answer to a question, you can usually get by if you answer a different one that is related. Having high expectations, however, means you will insist the student answers the question you asked, not the one she wished you asked or confused it for. A student may answer an example when asked for a definition, or a concept when asked for a formula. It is easy to miss that these are the right answers but to the wrong question and, as you begin to listen for them, you’ll find these kinds of exchanges far more common that you might expect.

 

3. Right answer, Right time

Students can want to show you how smart they are by getting ahead of your questions but it’s risky to accept answers out of sequence. It’s tempting to think the class is moving ahead, but it’s not, one student is.

“My question wasn’t about the solution to the problem, it was about what we do next. What do we do next?”

This protects the integrity of your lesson by not jumping ahead.

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Links:

http://teachlikeachampion.com/tag/right-is-right/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYZjfEOg-lI

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Without Apology

Valuing all that we do, and all who we teach

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Why

There is no reason for either students or content to be undervalued. The privilege of education is that it links together, and between, skills and content. Learning is always taking place. By valuing all that we do, we send a message to students to value all that they do and carry it into all parts of their life.

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What

Apologies for Content:
Many people have had experiences in ending up involved in something that they didn’t really want to do and being pleasantly surprised. It can be the case that something that seemed uninteresting became life-changing in the hands of a gifted teacher. The lesson – there is no such thing as boring content. In the hands of a gifted teacher who can find the way in, material can become inspiring, exciting and interesting. 
 

Apologies for Students

Assuming something is too hard or technical for students is a dangerous trap. Kids respond to challenges; they require pandering only if people pander to them. The skill of not apologising for students is critical not just in the introduction and framing of material but in reacting to responses to it. Sticking with kids, telling them you’re sticking with them and constantly delivering the messages “but I know you can” raises a student’s self-perception.

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How

What not to do:

• Assume something will be boring.

By saying something like “guys, I know this is kind of dull, let’s just try and get through it,” is apologising. A belief that content is boring is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

• Blame it:

A teacher who assigns the responsibility for the appearance of content in her class to some outside entity – the admin, officials, the curriculum – is blaming it. Don't say "the material is on the test so we have to learn it.”

 

What you can do instead is;

• Make it accessible

Making it accessible is Ok when it finds a way to connect kids in without diluting the content or standards.

• Here are some alternatives to apology;

“This material is great because it’s really challenging.”

“This gets more exciting as you come to understand it better.”

"I love this stuff, and as you learn it I reckon you will too.”

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Links

https://tlacintheclassroom.weebly.com/without-apology.html

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Format Matters

Letting students know the right way, all the time.

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Why

It’s not just what students say that matters but how they communicate it. To succeed, students must take their knowledge and express it clearly and well. By learning the language and style of each subject, they are mastering a discipline, a vital and transferable skill that also allows creativity to flourish.

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What

Demanding students complete answers, both orally and written, with correct syntax and grammar is the heart of format matters. It is letting students know that not only does the subject have a standard, but we have the same standard for them, and expect them to rise to it.

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How

Grammatical Format

Yes, you should correct slang, syntax, usage and grammar that diverts from standard and acceptable. You do this by;

• Identifying the error – when a student makes an error, merely repeat the error in an interrogative tone: “We was walking down the street?” If they fail to self-correct then;

• Begin the correction – begin to rephrase the answer as it would sound if grammatically correct and then allow student to complete it: “We were ….”

 

Complete Sentence Format

Strive to give students the maximum amount of practice building complete sentences on the spur of the moment.

• Provide the first words;

Teacher: James, how many tickets are there?

James: Six.

Teacher: There are …..

James: There are six tickets in the basket.

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• Remind before they start;

Teacher: Who can tell me in a complete sentence which formula we need to use and why.

James: We need to use Pythagoras’ formula because it’s a right angled triangle.

 

• Afterwards with the simplest prompt

Teacher: What is the chemical symbol for Calcium?

James: Ca

Teacher: Full sentence

James: The chemical symbol for Calcium is Ca

 

Audible Format

If something matters enough for you, or a student, to say it, make sure they whole class can hear it, otherwise it appears as afterthoughts or banter. Underscore that students should be listening to their peers by insisting that their peers make themselves audible. Accepting an inaudible answer suggests that what a student said didn’t matter that much.

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Links

https://teachlikeachampion.com/wp-content/uploads/fmAug-3.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6AgzwH9iDc