Top Ten Techniques

I'm trying to do a bit of analysis of these 49 techniques and see what I think are the top ten techniques applicable to my college classroom.  This is going to be a tough exercise, I think.  Here is my first crack.  Results are not in any particular order.

1. Begin with the End: prepare lesson objectives.
2. No Opt Out: a student can't get by by saying "I don't know." 
3. Ratio: increase active participation in class.
4. At Bats: give students practice, practice, practice.
5. Take a Stand: make students commit to an answer.
6. Cold Call: call on students "randomly" around the classroom.
7. Explain Everything: explain your methods and choices to students.
8. Normalize Error: make getting answers wrong normal.
9. SLANT: insist students exhibit positive posture for learning.
10. Positive Framing: encourage your students with positive responses.

Honorable mentions: 

• Circulate
• The Hook
• Check for Understanding

Technique 49: Normalize Error

(Part of chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust")

Normalizing error means expecting wrong answers and then working toward correct answers.  It means normalizing the process of learning -- not understanding something, and then working toward understanding it.  It is important to expect wrong answers as normal.

Regarding wrong answers:

If making mistakes is normal, then the teacher does not have to chasten a student for making a mistake, nor excuse the mistake.

In fact, if wrong answers are truly a normal and healthy part of the learning process, they don't need much narration at all.  It's better, in fact, to avoid spending a lot of time talking about wrongness and get down to the work of fixing it as quickly as possible. (p 221, 222)

One interesting example in the book is when "Noah" gives a wrong answer.  The teacher doesn't identify the answer as wrong at all.  Instead, she says "What's the first thing we have to do in solving this kind of problem, Noah?" (This is an example of Name the Steps.)  When the teacher does this, she introduces a bit of suspense into the situation.  This gets students' attention focused even more, as they wonder if the answer is correct or not.

If you do need to identify an answer as incorrect, do it quickly and move on.  Just say "Not quite right," or "I know what you're thinking", and then move on to helping the class learn how to get the correct answer.

Regarding right answers:

For right answers, just acknowledge that the answer is correct (or praise the student if the answer is exceptional), and then move on.  A teacher should expect both correct and incorrect answers in the classroom, so making too big a deal about either is not good.


My response:

I use a Q and A format in my intro to programming courses: the students are expected to read a section of the textbook, and then when we meet on Monday, I give them a series of questions for which they need to know the answers.  Then, we go through the questions again and I give the answers.  Because of this format, the students often come up with wrong answers.  I find it difficult to find kind ways of saying, "No, that's not correct" without making the student feel dumb -- even though I don't think they are dumb.

I think I could do better by Explaining Everything about how I expect students to make mistakes -- it is normal.  So, making a mistake is nothing to be ashamed of.

Technique 48: Explain Everything

(Part of chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust")

The author says that Explain Everything means explaining to the students why certain decisions are being made and what the implications of students' decisions will be.  The teacher should explain why certain pedagogical activities will help the students learn the lesson better.  When a teacher does this, the students learn that the activities they have been asked to do having importance, and have been thought through.

But, the teacher should explain to students the implications of their decisions.  The author suggests that if a student often asks to go to the nurse, the teacher should explain to the student that missing class will hinder the student's ability to excel.  In this way, the teacher reminds the student that they are responsible for their own education, and that their decisions (going to the nurse) have implications -- perhaps long-term implications.

My response:

Explaining to students why certain activities in the classroom are important is a crucial technique at the college level.  This is especially true if a professor employs techniques (from this book, e.g.) that college students are not used to seeing in the college classroom.  The students are old enough to know that the professor has choices in how to teach, so when they are told the reasons for doing a certain activity, they can know what the professor is thinking, and they (hopefully) can be confident that the professor's methods have merit.

I have made a special effort to do this in my classroom, where I use Formative (or Diagnostic) Assessment techniques, and I don't lecture much.  This is new to students, and some find it very unusual and are very skeptical about it.

As for the second part of Explain Everything -- reminding students of the implications of their decisions -- I think this is important, too.  I don't do this enough in my classrooms.  I do emphasize to students at the beginning of a course that skipping class is a sure-fire recipe for a lower grade.  But, perhaps I could emphasize this kind of thing more during the course.

Technique 47: Emotional Constancy

(Part of chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust")

Two important things about emotions:

Modulate them.  Many students have a lot of baggage from crazy peer interactions, unstable home life, etc.  Constancy and reliability in the classroom makes for a secure place to work.
Tie your emotions to student achievement, not your own moods or the emotions of the students.  


Using your language carefully can make all the difference.  Saying "I expect better of this class" is more positive and less emotional than "I'm disappointed in you."  The latter ties the teacher's emotions to the students' performance.  The former does not (or not as much).

My response:

I have been guilty of making this mistake a few times.  I don't often get angry in class, but when I do, I'm sure I communicate my anger by tying it to students' behavior.

Technique 46: The J-Factor

(Part of chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust")

The J-Factor means Joy -- finding and expressing joy in teaching and learning.  Genuine Joy "is a key driver not just of a happy classroom but of a high-achieving classroom." (p 215)

The author lists five categories of J-Factor activities:

1. Fun and games. Spelling bees, relay races (to solve problems), etc., help students get excited about learning.
2. Us (and them). Building a special "secret" classroom culture helps students feel they are part of something special -- which motivates them to do well and not let down their teacher or their peers in this "club".  One can do this by having secret hand-signs, secret songs, unique names for each student, classroom rituals, etc.
3. Drama, song, and dance. "Music, dramatic play, and movement raise spirits and also establish collective identity." We all remember the words to songs from our childhood -- why not use this to help students memorize details from a lesson?  "To sing is to remember." (p 217)
4. Humor. Laughter helps learning.  'Nuf said.  My motto: don't take yourself too seriously, and be a little silly.  Students enjoy it.
5. Suspense and surprise. If you have a set routine in class, then occasionally mix it up.  Students will enjoy the suspense/surprise of wondering why things are being done differently this time.

Note that to do any of these, the teacher has to be genuine.  Fake joy isn't going to work.

My response:

In general, college professors take themselves too seriously!  Why not relax a little and enjoy.  Be a little crazy.

I used a song in my intro to programming class in Java to help the students learn how to write an entry point for a Java program: public static void main(String[] args).  That's a lot to memorize.  But, when I put it to "Row, row, row your boat", the students memorized it easily.  And, while they thought it was silly, they appreciated it when it came time to write code in lab or on a test.  I found them humming the tune to themselves!

I also teach my students the powers of 2 by putting it to "Bah, bah, black sheep".  "1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 // 64, 128, 256 // "...  The students enjoy it.

Technique 45: Warm/Strict

(Part of chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust")

Warmth and strictness are not mutually exclusive.  A teacher can be warm or cold, strict or lax.  Some are cold and lax.  The best are warm and strict.

[Y]ou must be both: caring, funny, warm, concerned, and nurturing -- and also strict, by the book, relentless, and sometimes, inflexible. [...] It's not, "I care about you, but you still must serve the consequence for being late," but, "Because I care about you, you must serve the consequence for being late." (p 213)

When a teacher is firm and loving, the message is that you care about the student and about their attaining excellence.  You indicate that "having high expectations is part of caring for and respecting someone."

Some quick ideas:

• Explain to students why you're doing what you are.  (See Explain Everything, coming up.)
• Distinguish between behavior and people.  ("You are doing well", not "You are good.")
• Demonstrate that consequences are temporary.  Never hold a grudge.
• Use warm, nonverbal behavior.  E.g., put your arm on someone's shoulder when you deliver bad news (the student having to redo an assignment).

 My response:

I think this may be one of the most important techniques in this book -- surely in the top 10.  As a professor at a smallish Christian college, this is exactly how I want me students to remember my classroom.

Technique 44: Precise Praise

(Part of chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust")

We have all heard that positive reinforcement is stronger than negative reinforcement, in the classroom (and in the home).  "Most experts say it should happen three times as often as criticism and correction." (p 210)

Doug Lemov offers four guidelines for using Positive Praise:

• Differentiate acknowledgement and praise.  The best teachers differentiate expected work from exceptional work.  Expected work is acknowledged, while exceptional work is praised.  Describing what the student did or thanking the student are good ways to acknowledge the student's work.  Students who do exceptional work deserve to be praised.  "Praising usually carries a judgment in addition to a mere description: 'Fantastic work, John!'  'Shayna's really done something amazing!'" (p 211)
  
  The author argues that conflating these two circumstances is counterproductive.  When you praise a student for just doing what is expected of everyone, then you lower the standards in your classroom.  You cause students to wonder if one student is less capable than others, so that he gets praised for doing what is expected of everyone.  Finally, you devalue the times you do offer genuine praise.

"Recent research demonstrates that students have come to interpret frequent praise as a sign that they are doing poorly and need encouragement from their teacher.  They see cheap praise as a marker of failure, not success." (p 211)

• Praise (and acknowledge) loud; fix soft.  Correct less-than-exception behavior quietly -- even non-verbally, if possible -- but acknowledge correct behavior openly.
• Acknowledge and praise hard work, not being smart.  Working hard is something everyone can do.  Being smart isn't.  If you acknowledge and praise hard work, you encourage all students to strive for that praise.
• Praise must be genuine.

My response:

This is good stuff.  I need to work more on distinguishing between acknowledgement and praise.  I don't think I have ever praised someone for being smart, but I do something praise students for just doing what is expected of them.

Technique 43: Positive Framing

Doug Lemov says, "People are motivated by the positive far more than the negative." (p 204)  This does not mean that you don't address negative behaviors, but it does mean that you train yourself to find positive, constructive ways to address these negative behaviors.

Positive Framing follows six rules:

1. Live in the now.  In short, don't take time in the middle of your lesson to address what a student or students are doing or have done wrong.  Instead, emphasize how the class can do better.  (This was also talked about in Strong Voice.) Examples:
• "Show me SLANT!", not "You weren't SLANTing." 
• "Keana, I need your eyes forward, " not, "Keana, stop looking back at Tanya." (p 205)
2. Assume the best.  As in What to Do, assume your students aren't being defiant, but incompetent, because they didn't understand the instructions, etc.  By framing the instruction positively, you are no longer judging, but employing a tool for improvement.  One particularly effective way to assume the best is to thank students as you give them a command.  This emphasizes that you assume (positively) that students will do their best.  Some examples of "Assume the best" are:
• "Just a minute, class.  Some people seem to have forgotten to push in their chairs", not, "Some people don't seem to think they have to push in their chairs."
• "Thank you for pushing in your chairs.", or, "Thank you for quickly getting out your textbooks."
3. Allow plausible anonymity. Simply, this means that you prefer to call out the class when one or more individuals are not exhibiting the best behavior.  By doing so, you 1) don't embarrass one person, and 2) you stress that the class has shared responsibility for an excellent learning environment.  Example:
• "Class, I need to hear quiet so everyone can do their best", instead of calling out one or two individuals who are talking.
4. Build momentum, and narrate the positive.  When you give an instruction to the class, and not everyone is complying, you can narrate the positive progress being made toward total compliance.  Another way of thinking of this is that you are narrating positive momentum toward successful completion. Example:
• "I need three more people to look at me.  OK, now I need two.  Now, one.  OK, thank you, let's get started.", not, "I need three people to look at me.  Some people don't appear to be listening.  I'm waiting, class!"
5. Challenge!  Build competition into the lessons.  Challenge teams within the classroom to do better than other teams.  Or, challenge the class to do better than another class.  Or, even, challenge the class to do better than some abstract standard ("I want to see whether you guys have what it takes!") (p 208)
6. Talk expectations and aspirations.  Encourage students to consider where they are going, long-term.  Examples:
• "You are going to be experts at this soon!"  "You will be CEOs one day!"

Avoid two things:

1. Rhetorical questions: It is better to be clear and direct than obtuse.  Example:
• "Thank you for joining us, David", not, "Would you like to join us, David?"
2. Contingencies: Don't say "I'll wait", unless you really are ready to wait.  Just as in parenting, don't make "threats" unless you are really willing to follow up on them.

My response:

I think these are great ideas for the college classroom.  Doing them correctly is going to take practice, practice, practice.  

I am considering creating teams in my introductory programming classes next time, and then, possibly using those team to create some competition in the classroom.  I don't know if that will really work in the college classroom or not.  I'll let you know...

Introduction to Chapter 7, "Building Character and Trust"

The techniques in this chapter focus on getting your message across in the most effective way possible.  The words you choose and the tone of your voice make all difference.

Technique 42: No Warnings

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

Give no warnings in your classroom.  Set out the rules and then enforce them, quickly, calmly, reliably, and proportionately.  Giving a warning about unacceptable behavior just says "some amount of non-compliance is expected."  This is not what you want to communicate.

It is important not to confuse incompetence with defiance, as discussed in What to Do.  A student who doesn't understand what is expected of them should be guided.  A student who is defiant should receive a consequence.  It is also important to remember that not all students have the same amount of stamina.  "Stamina issues are not defiance issues." (p 200).  In this case, a gentle reminder to the whole classroom may be appropriate.

Delivering consequences in the best way possible is important.

1. Be calm, posed, and impersonal.
2. Be incremental.  Let the "punishment fit the crime."
3. Be private when you can and public when you must.

My response:

This is a hard technique for me.  I do see non-compliance in my classroom, and often it is due to students not caring one whit about the material (in a required core course) or students being very tired (from staying up most of the night studying or more likely, goofing around).  The consequences available to me in the college classroom are quite limited: I can't give a student "a red card" or give them a demerit.  I do try to use peer pressure to make students stop whispering or talking out of turn.  But, I find it difficult to keep students awake and participatory.  (And, I'm not sure it really is my job to do this with college students, who are, at least legally, adults.)

I could probably use some good ideas about what are appropriate consequences.

Technique 41: Threshold

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

This (perhaps radical) idea is that you stand at the threshold of the classroom and greet the students coming in to the classroom.  This is an opportunity to remind them of the excellence expected in your classroom.  Ideally, you shake each student's hand, look them in the eye, and greet them.  It offers a chance for one-on-one encouragement: "Nice job on your project", "Good job on the test", "Nice play in the game last night", "You look nice today", etc.

You should also use this time to correct less-than-acceptable behavior: "Let's try that handshake again", or "Please look me in the eye."  If a students tries to sneak past, you simply don't allow it -- you hold onto their hand, or block the doorway.

However it is done, the goals are two-fold: 1) establish a rapport with each and every student, and 2) set high expectations for your classroom.

The author offers this suggestion for the times when you cannot be at the door before students enter (which is often the case in college):

When a greeting at the door is impossible, invent another ritual to signify that something formal has begun: students rise, and you and they greet one another at the beginning of each class.  The is not so much the doorway as the power of ritual to help kids see that your classroom is different from the other places they go.

My response:

I love this!  I tried using this a bit during my January-term class -- meeting students at the door and welcoming them to the classroom.  However, I did it in an attempt to learn their names.  And, I didn't make each student shake my hand, greet me directly, etc.

For the Computer Science and Information Systems students I teach, I think this technique is crucial.  Many of these students are introverted and don't have great social abilities.  So, forcing each one to look me in the eye, shake my hand, and greet me formally is great practice for them.

For my larger classes where there are 2 doorways into the classroom, this technique is not going to work so well.  But, I think I will try to have students stand up and greet each me and each other.

Technique 40: Sweat the Details

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

Sweat the Details means setting a high standard for everything in your classroom.  The idea is that if you don't accept mediocrity in things like dress and deportment, classroom cleanliness, etc., then you communicate to the students that you don't accept mediocrity in their learning.

My response:

Again, this is not a big issue in my college classroom.  I cannot dictate to them how they dress, and I don't always have control of the state of my classroom.

However, I do try to make sure the classroom is clean.  I try to arrive early and pick up loose papers and trash, put chairs and tables in order, etc.

I think this idea applies more in the details of computer programming that I teach.  If I have the students sweat the details in variable naming, function naming, commenting, and indentation, they get the idea that not only do those details matter, but even more the correctness of the program matters.

Technique 39: Do It Again

(Part of chapter 6: Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

This technique is simple to describe: have students repeat a task until they master it.  The author is talking about getting K-12 students to "line up, come in quiet", etc. -- i.e., behavioral responses in the classroom.  More examples include

• transitioning from one classroom to another
• tracking the speaker
• giving a Call and Response
• moving from one activity to another in the classroom.

Seven reasons repeating a less-than-perfect behavior works are: it shortens the feedback loop; it sets a standard of excellence, not just compliance; there is no administrative follow-up; there is group accountability; it ends with success; there are logical consequences; it is reusable.h -- i.e., you can Do It Again and Again until the behavior is perfect.

It is important to be positive: "Let's do better!"  A result of Do It Again is that it can change attitudes.  

Asking a low-energy class to repeat something with enthusiasm (especially, and critically, while modeling those attributes yourself) can start to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. (p 193, 194)

My response:

In my college classroom I don't have problems with students having to make transitions between classrooms, activities, etc.  But, I do have problems with students not doing, with enthusiasm, the activity that I ask them to do.  I think Do It Again could help.  If it is true that repeating a Call and Response until it is done enthusiastically actually gets students enthused, then I must try it!

Technique 38: Strong Voice

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

Some teachers have "it" -- a commanding presence in the classroom that students respect.  Others don't have "it" and students know it and take advantage of the teacher at every opportunity.  One thing that helps a teacher move toward having "it" is Strong Voice.  Having Strong Voice includes:

• Economy of Language: "Fewer words are stronger than more."  If you use fewer words, students learn that you have chosen them carefully, and they are not to be ignored. "When you need to be all business, be clear and crisp.  And then stop talking." (p 183)
• Do Not Talk Over: If what you are saying is really important (and it should be), then don't tolerate others talking at the same time.  Instead, stop talking -- perhaps mid-sentence -- and wait for everyone's attention.
• Do Not Engage: Don't allow distractions to let you wander from the topic at hand.  The author gives an example where a student is bothering another student.  Instead of stopping to try to figure out "who started it", give the student specific instructions on what to do himself, and then get back to business.  In this way, you don't allow a student's complaint about another student to hijack the classroom.
  
  Another good example of this is when students shout out an answer to a question directed to another student.  Instead of acknowledging whether the answer that was shouted was correct or not, remind the student that you are asking the question of another student.  Then, get back to business.
• Square Up/Stand Still: "When you want to express the seriousness of your directions, turn, with two feet and two shoulders, to face the object of your words directly." (p 187)  Do not do other stuff while giving important directions.  E.g., do not hand back papers, while describing the next assignment.  If you do, you indicate through your body language that the instructions for the next assignment are not that important.
• Quiet Power: If you sense that you are losing control of a classroom, instead of (naturally) raising your voice, lower it and speak more quietly.  Then, students will have to strain to listen.  If you raise your voice, you are yielding control of the classroom to the students.

The author has a few pages (p 188 - 190) about using a "formal register" when delivering important instructions/content to the students.  The formal register involves:

• standing up straight
• holding your body symmetrical
• looking directly at the classroom
• chin up
• hands behind back
• standing still

When you are in your "formal register", you mean business.

My response:

I do some of this pretty well, and other parts not so well.  There are times when I assume a formal stance to deliver important content.  I'm sure there are other times where I'm flying all over the classroom.  (I do tend to get excited!)  

I know that I tend to talk loudly -- almost all the time.  I've been trying to vary the volume a bit.

I don't have many problems with students distracting me.  These are college students.  They tend to just try to go to sleep if they don't care...

Technique 37: What To Do

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

The technique means "Give directions clearly."  Doug Lemov claims

Some portion of student noncompliance -- a larger portion than many teachers ever suppose -- is caused not by defiance but by incompetence: by students' misunderstanding a direction, not knowing how to follow it, or tuning out in a moment of benign distraction.

To overcome this, the instructor must give clear, useful guidance.

The first good point is that we need to give positive instructions -- not negative ones.  Tell a student what behavior is correct, not what behavior is wrong.  E.g., saying "Don't get distracted" doesn't tell the student what to do.  A second good point is that we need to be specific.  Saying "Pay attention" is vague.  It is better to tell the student exactly what to do.

Directions need to be specific, concrete, sequential, and observable:

• Specific: Tell the student exactly what to do.  Instead of "Pay attention", say, "Put your pencil down, and keep your eyes on me."
• Concrete: "Put your pencil down and keep your eyes on me" involves very concrete instructions.
• Sequential: tell the student exactly what steps to do, in what order.
• Observable: given instructions for which you can observe compliance or non-compliance.

An important point is the What To Do allows a teacher to distinguish between incompetence and defiance. If your commands are clear, then failure to do them can only be attributed to defiance.  If your commands are not clear, then perhaps the student just doesn't know how to carry them out.  In that case, you, the teacher, is at fault.

If you decide that the student is defiant, then you need to deal with it swiftly -- with consequences.  It is important to distinguish between these two situations and deal with each appropriately, so that the students doesn't feel like your reactions to noncompliance are unpredictable.

If students don't understand your specific, concrete instructions, then the teacher can break the instructions down into even smaller steps.

My response:

I don't generally have problems with defiance in my classroom, but I do have problems with incompetence.  And, I am sure I have mistaken the two in the past.  I am sure that I've told students to work on solving a programming problem, or answering a hard question, and then I've interpreted their lack of activity to defiance, when in actuality it was incompetence.  That's my fault.

Technique 36: 100 Percent

(Part of chapter 6, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations)

This technique can be summed up very easily: 100 percent of the students must comply with directions given in your classroom.  Your authority in the classroom must be not subject to interpretation, situation, student, etc.

You can enforce this without being a bully.  The best teachers find ways to

finesse their way to the standard with a warm and positive tone.  They are crisp and orderly; students do as they're asked without ever seeming to think about it.  Yet the culture of compliance is both positive and, most important, invisible.  (p 168)

It is important for everyone to comply with a teacher's instructions so that 1) compliance is the norm, and non-compliance is not; 2) compliance does not make some student feel like he/she is trying to act like the teacher's pet; 3) the students all do the activity that is going to help them learn the material and excel.

There are three important principles:

1. Use the Least Invasive Form of Intervention: if a student is non-compliant, then an intervention is necessary, and should be done quickly.  Using the least invasive form works best.  The author lists these interventions from best (least invasive and most efficient) to worst:
• Nonverbal intervention: make eye contact with the student, or teach from the students side. (this way you don't interrupt your own teaching)
• Positive group correction: a quick verbal reminder to all students of what is expected of them right then: "We're following along in our books." or "We're tracking the speaker."
• Anonymous individual correction: again, a quick verbal reminder to all students, but being more explicit about the non-compliance.  E.g., "Two people are not tracking the speaker."
• Private individual correction: go to the students desk and quietly ask them to comply.
• Lightning-quick public correction: when absolutely necessary, use this technique, but make it quick and try to make it positive. "Back row, I need to see your eyes.  Thank you."
• Consequence: when all else fails, you have to apply a consequence for non-compliance.  When you do this, be unemotional, quick, and decisive.
2. Rely on Firm, Calm Finesse: be firm, calm, and unemotional.  Stress the universality of expectations.  Use language that emphasizes the expectations are not personal.  E.g., "That's not how we do it here".
3. Emphasize Compliance You Can See: don't just ask for students' attention.  Instead, ask to see their eyes.  Or better, ask to see their pencils down and their eyes.  If you do this, then a student has to "go farther" to not comply.  Also, don't allow students to comply marginally.

My response:

This can be a real problem in the college classroom (a fact that still surprises me)!  In one case, I needed to have everyone's attention to emphasize a really important point.  I could not get everyone to stop what they were doing so that they were paying attention to me.  It took me 5 minutes to get everyone's eyes on me!  (I should have had everyone put their hand (or hands) up in the air -- there is less ambiguity then about compliance.)

Also, I've had classrooms in which I ask the students to pair up to discuss something, or write some code, and while most students did it, others just simply ignored me.  I've had to stop the class and chew them out!

So, I think I do this pretty well, but not as well as I could.

Introduction to Chapter 6: Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations

This chapter deals with techniques on how to get students to behave correctly in the classroom, thus allowing them to do their best.  As the author says, "all of the techniques in the first chapters of this book won't serve you very well if you can't establish high behavioral expectations." (p 167)

Technique 35: Props

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

A Prop is a class-wide "shout-out" -- acknowledgement of a student giving a great answer (or, even, asking a great question).  A Prop has to be given crisply, quickly, and enthusiastically.  The instructor says something like, "Two claps for David" and the response is two claps, quickly, and then it is done.

The Prop has to be enthusiastic, with the whole class participating.  It must be fun and lively to be effective.  The author also suggests that it can evolve -- if students develop a Prop into something else, that's fine, as long as it remains fun, quick, and effective.

The author suggests a bunch of ideas, most of which are pretty silly: A hitter -- the class pretends to hit a baseball out of the park; A hot pepper: students hold up an imaginary hot pepper, dangling it above their mouths, then pretend to bite it, and then make a sizzling sound.

My response:

I like being a bit silly in class, and I think my class enjoys it, too.  But, the author's suggestions are a bit much.  I've tried doing something where the class puts its arm up in the air and then lowers them quickly, saying "Whoosh!", like these same students do at a basketball game, but it didn't work.  Probably takes too long to setup.

I'm going to try this instead: "He/she shoots, he/she scores!  And the crowd goes wild!" and then the class makes a crowd cheering noise.  We'll see how that works...

Technique 34: Seat Signals

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

"The bathroom is the last bastion of the unconverted." (p 161)  In this technique, the author suggests having certain signals defined so students can ask to go to the bathroom, sharpen their pencil, etc.

Not applicable to college.

Technique 33: On Your Mark

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

This technique emphasizes that students have to be ready to learn when the lesson starts.  They have to have paper and pencils ready, etc.  I don't have this problem, in general, in college, so I'm not going to write on this.

Technique 32: SLANT

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

"No matter how great the lesson, if students aren't alert, sitting up, and actively listening, teaching them is like pouring water into a leaky bucket." (p 158)

The author has an acronym to describe the 5 basic behaviors that maximize students' ability to learn:

• Sit up
• Listen
• Ask and answer questions
• Nod your head
• Track the speaker

(Some schools also add Smile to the beginning -- S-SLANT.  I like that, too.)

A champion teacher tells the students that these behaviors are best and are expected.  Then, the instructor can quickly and easily remind students about it: "Make sure you are SLANTing."  

My response:

I LOVE THIS!  I have so many students who slouch, don't watch me, don't listen, don't nod, and don't track the speaker.  I teach some classes in computer lab classrooms, and the students log in, and go straight to facebook.  For some reason, they think I can't tell -- but I can because they aren't tracking me, nodding, etc.  So, I ask them questions to bring them back into the classroom, but that just interrupts the flow of the class, and uses questions as a sort of disciplinary action -- not what I want to do.  (Others log in and take notes on-line.  I can tell the difference because they are tracking me, nodding, etc.)

I plan to put this acronym on my syllabi and on a PowerPoint slide to remind students what I expect of them.

Technique 31: Binder Control

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

This is a technique about getting students to organize their notes, assignments, etc.  This is not a college-level problem, in general.

Technique 30: Tight Transitions

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

This is a technique for getting students to move through hallways quickly, etc.  We don't do this in college.

Technique 29: Do Now

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

Do Now is a technique for getting students engaged in learning as soon as they enter the classroom and find their seats.  They will start the activity even before the instructor is in the room, perhaps.  The Do Now activity also helps eliminate some of the poor behavior that comes from idle time before "class" starts.

A good Do Now activity has 4 elements:

1. Self-explanatory and self-contained: the students should be able to do the activity without needing extra directions or help.
2. Short: 3 to 5 minutes long.
3. Written: the students should have to write something down.  This allows you to see if they are doing, or have done, the activity.
4. Preview: the activity should preview the lesson of the day.

The author suggests that the best Do Now activities require a bit of preparation from the instructor.  Instead of taking time to write the activity on the board, have it written out on a slide and put that up quickly on the overhead screen.

My response:

I love this idea.  I think it would work well in intro programming classes, and maybe also in my 300-level networking courses.  For intro programming, I can see having a few very short coding problems available as soon as they enter.  This way they will get a bit of practice doing what they are learning -- exactly what we need.

Technique 28: Entry Routine

(Part of chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture)

This technique is about students getting in the habit of getting into the classroom quickly and getting started quickly on the lesson for the day.  The author talks about getting worksheets/packets to the students quickly, getting the students to their seats quickly, turning in homework quickly, etc.

One interesting idea is for the teacher to have a Do Now activity ready for the students, in the same place every time.  See the next posting.

My response:

I don't have much of a problem with this in college.  Students generally sit down and get ready to go.

Introduction to Chapter 5: Creating a Strong Classroom Culture

The techniques in chapter 5 help make your classroom a place where students come to work, collaborate, behave, and do their best.  But, before getting to the techniques, theThe author lays out 5 Principles of Classroom Culture.  These are five aspects of your relationships with students.  They are:

• Discipline
• Management
• Control
• Influence
• Engagement

Discipline: this is a noun -- a practice of doing something correctly and completely.  In the classroom, the teacher needs to model this, by having self-discipline in his teaching, demonstrating good work habits.  "Teaching with discipline implies a front-end investment in teaching your charges how to be students." (p 147)

Management: is the process of reinforcing behavior by consequences and rewards.  This is what people call "discplining" -- a verb.  I am not going to cover this, as at the college level, it doesn't apply -- and especially for me, I think.

Control: "Control is your capacity to cause someone to choose to do what you ask, regardless of consequences."  (p 148)  Notice that the student still has a choice, but the student chooses to do the activity or comply with the culture of the classroom, etc.  Another quote:

Teachers how have strong control succeed because they understand the power of language and relationships: they ask respectfully, firmly, and confidently but also with civility, and often kindly. They express their faith in students.  They replace vague and judgmental commands like "calm down" with specific and useful ones like, "Please return to your seat and begin writing in your journal."  They actions evince clarity, purposefulness, resolve, and caring.  if you can get students to do what you are delegated with help them to achieve, you are doing your job, and you've also saved your consequences for when you need them most. (p 149)

Influence: this is the next step beyond control.  Influence gets students to want to do well.

Engagement: this is keeping your students busy with productive activities.  The busier they are in learning, the less time they have to misbehave.  And, if they are busy with positive activities, they change from the inside-out.  They see positive activities and behavior as the norm.

Most of the techniques in this chapter focus almost exclusively on Discipline and "on the Systems and routines that are the hidden foundation of any classroom culture." (However, many of the techniques incorporate parts of the other principles.)