Monday, March 19, 2012
I need some tips in an area where I am definitely not teaching like a champion. What do you do to solve the problem of the "class blurt"? We'll be talking about something as a class and I'll say something that connects with the class and suddenly 12 kids are blurting out their response simultaneously. I want them to respond to the ideas, but after this happens more than once, it's just annoying and disruptive. I have a hard time harnessing them after this massive blurt has started; I don't want to teach class like a drill sergeant, but the status quo needs some help. I would love to hear how you handle these situations. Thanks!
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Elementary may be different from high school; however, I only listen to the one that raised his hand and I called on--when I have a blurt I ignore that student and only listen to the one that has the floor and thank the students that are listening and remembering to raise their hands. Blurters want to be heard so they tend to come around. I have found I have to be very consistent and not falter or blurters take over.
ReplyDeleteI've started using hand signals for when I don't mind them shouting out the answer and when I expect them to raise their hands. This has helped because the kids now pause just a moment to see what I want and then they either give an answer or raise their hands. Also, cold calling, where they can't raise their hand or shout out works really well because everyone has to pay attention but no one knows who you will call on. It takes some practice for cold call but it works well. Keeps the kids that always have the answer from waving their hands in your face and it gets the kids that won't try to be accountable. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have to be really patient with blurter outers, because I also think they can be really annoying and get the kids off track and wastes our learning time. However, I have noticed that some of my blurters actually come up with ideas that are very relevant to what we are doing, or they shout out a great idea that I didn't even think of. So even though I encourage kids to raise their hands, I feel bad, because even with that I can't call on everyone and I will miss some great comments from kids. So I've tried a few different things. I have tried telling kids when it is okay to blurt out and when it isn't. I have had class discussion time, when I want the kids to blurt out and then others blurt out their responses, so that the kids are leading the discussion or debate. But the rules have to be that only one person talks at a time, so if two people started blurting out, then you just wait until it is silent to speak up. I have had to have a student moderator who announces that a kids comment is off topic and we need to stay on topic. Another thing I have done, is I have pulled my annoying blurter over to the side and talked to them before we start our lesson. I tell them that when they blurt out it stops the learning of the classroom, because other kids don't have to think anymore since they shouted out the answer for them. But I also tell them that they have great ideas and I would love to hear them, but they need to raise their hand or find the appropriate time. I have also given them three pencils for three shout outs. Whenever the student blurts out, I keep on teaching but give the child a signal that they need to remove a pencil. Then they have two pencils (2 shout outs left). If they shout out and there are no more pencils left, then they owe some recess time. The kids that are blurters like this because I still value their thoughts and opinions by letting them say something without shutting them down completely, and because it is really hard for some to stop shouting out. It seems more fair to them.
ReplyDeleteLisa I LOVE your hand signals for allowing students the chance to "blurt" out at times. I'm going to try that!
ReplyDeleteOften if someone in my class blurts out, I do not accept or even give attention to their answer and look to someone who is raising their hand, call on them and say, "thank you .... for raising your hand so quietly" and let the student answer then. Many times the student is giving the same answer that the student did who blurted but usually that blurter raises his/her hand the next time because they realized that I didn't accept their answer, even if it were correct because they did not raise their hand.