During a recent student-led discussion, I noticed that three students were dominating the conversation. I saw other students fiddling around, looking down, or whispering to each other–classic signs of disengagement in my classroom. While I wanted to honor student agency and keep the discussion student-led, I also knew I needed to do something to increase engagement and incorporate new voices into the conversation.
I recalled that during the prewriting portion of the lesson. a shy student, Lucy, had a very strong written response to the question we were discussing. However, I worried I would be putting her on the spot if I asked her to read her answer aloud. In the past, when I called on individual students in this group, it seemed to make them uncomfortable and disengage further from the discussion. I did not want to make Lucy or any of the other quieter students uncomfortable, so I was not sure how to prompt their engagement.
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Áine
10th Grade
African American History
First Year Teaching
- What is the teacher's dilemma? Consider the teacher's goals, possible actions, beliefs about the situation and the students, and their own self-perceptions.
- Complete or modify the following sentence in a way that captures the teacher's central tension in the situation: "While on the one hand, the teacher believed/wanted/felt/did __________, on the other hand, they believed/wanted/felt/did __________."
- Thinking about your own classroom, how do you decide to bring quieter students into the discussion without putting individual students on the spot?