Those tricky Class Cards
(Seminar interaction)

Once again I was using a set of 3 X 5 index cards with teachers' names on them as my deck of Class Cards. During my interactions with the group, I posed this question: "What do you think might be another student need?"

They had already written Power and Fun in two of the rectangles on page 2 of the seminar guide we were using.

I didn't really expect anyone to know the other needs yet. That would have been a pleasant surprise. All I was looking for was an opinion, not an answer.

After calling upon several teachers, I called upon someone who didn't have a response ready. She actually seemed a bit surprised to hear her name.

It's the same thing I experienced every year with a new class as I introduced them to the reality of being called upon randomly to respond. It usually took about four weeks before they switched from somewhat-checked-out mode to fully-engaged-and-ready-to-respond mode. That's okay with me. We've got all year.

Anyway, I waited for a response and then asked, "Would you like some more time to think?"

The teacher nodded her head and so I set her card aside as a reminder to me to get back to her in a moment.

Setting the card aside is a strategy I used constantly in my own room. And modeling what I did in my own room is critical, I think, to a teacher's understanding of the strategies I'm trying to impart.

I called upon a few more teachers and then picked up her card and called her name. Again, no response. Also, no eye contact which, in certain situations, can be an indication of discomfort.

After going back to her three or four times, she finally offered a response. I then thanked her for her response and followed it up by making a comment about how students in the classroom will have to experience the same interaction in order for them to realize that they can't just sit and watch what's going on.

Well, I could tell by the look on her face that I had embarrassed her in front of her peers. Although it certainly wasn't my intent, my comment about a student's initial inattentiveness could have been misconstrued as an indictment of her unreadiness to respond.

What I should have done, I now realize, was to just let it go.

It's what I would have done in my own classroom. I would have set aside the card as a reminder to speak with the student about needing to be a part of our lessons and discussions. This is always a more effective technique with students who are hesitant to speak than it is to keep calling upon them repeatedly. At a certain point, I've got to cut the loss and move on. Then, later on when I have the time, I could call over the student and privately share my concerns. And while we spoke I would be thinking about the fact that I've got this student all year. We don't have to conquer every problem immediately. It's this kind of crock-pot approach that can work really well with many students.

Good intentions notwithstanding, I kept going back to this one teacher. And although she did eventually respond, I shouldn't have persisted the way I did. My bad.

As a form of apology--and if you are that person and are reading this post, please accept my most sincere apology--I'll make sure to apply this lesson to the next teacher who shows a repeated reluctance to respond.

A sound for returning items to the teacher
(Question asked during seminar)

I was demonstrating the use of a hotel call bell as a sound cue to initiate our procedure for passing out materials to the students. As I taught the procedure, a middle school math teacher shared that she has her room set up so that she can walk down the aisles between the student desks and pass out materials herself. She went on to say that she thought this new strategy would be better since it got the students actively involved in the process.

Middle School Teacher: But what if I want the materials to be returned to me at the end of the lesson? I sometimes pass out manipulatives that I need back.

Good question, lady. What do we do?

Well, since we were discussing the effectiveness of sounds as signals, I suggested that she use a different sound to indicate the materials needed to be returned. I then pulled a cow bell out of my suitcase of toys and gave it a shake. The sound is distinct and would be effective in sending a "please return the materials you were given" message to the students.

The downside is that you would need two different signals for materials. Now then, having many sound makers is not that big of a deal--I used five or six of them on a regular basis with my own students--if you've got the room on top of your desk for each of them. (I did keep some of the lesser-used sound makers in a desk drawer so that they were out of the way but still convenient when needed.) Nonetheless, we do want to maintain a certain level of efficiency in the classroom as much as possible.

I'm now wondering if the hotel bell could act as both a "pass 'em out" and "bring 'em back" sound cue. One ring would signal that each team needs to send a team rep to request materials. Two rings would signal that a team rep needs to return the materials.

Honestly, though, I don't know. I never used the hotel bell that way in my own room and I'm always a bit reluctant to suggest ideas I never had a chance to use myself. It would actually take a bit of experimenting to find out if it would be effective to use the same sound maker to send two different messages. But, hey, that's okay. Experimenting is one of the ways we can discover how to improve our teaching.

Suggestion: If it wasn't too difficult to create, it might make sense to create a large laminated seating chart and place it on a table somewhere in the room. Then, when the team reps were returning the materials, they could place them on their spot on the seating chart. This would help to ensure that each team actually returned the stuff and didn't just leave it for you to pick up later.

Student numbers and the overlapping class
(Question asked during seminar break)

Teacher: I have kind of a funny schedule with my students. I only have half of them for the first two hours of school. Then the other half joins us and I have all of them for two hours. After that, the first group leaves and I have the second group for two hours. How do I apply student numbers in this situation?

My first thought was: student numbers almost always work regardless of the situation. It's just going to take a bit of tweaking to fit this teacher's particular need. However, before I had a chance to offer my suggestion, the teacher who had asked the question answered it.

Teacher: Maybe I should use odd numbers for the first group and even numbers for the second group.

Sounds good to me.

By doing it this way, students would be able to use all of the number tools and toys that can be created to take advantage of the power of student numbers. And the teacher would know, for example, that for the first two hours of her day she would only need to see odd numbers marked off on a Check Off List or check to see that the odd-numbered clothespins had been removed from the box lid and placed in the coffee can. Conversely, for the last two hours of the day, she'd be checking to see that the even numbers were being processed.

Nice idea.

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