Is silence Golden?
After reading through the first module, I thought to myself that I would have no problem implementing the strategies presented. Well, all of them but one! I have always felt that if I wasn't talking, the students weren't learning. I plan on practicing this technique in class on Monday and see how it goes. I am always up for anything that will be beneficial to the student's learning.
Has anyone else implemented this pause for effect technique, and what were the results? I look forward to hearing from you.
Anne
It is when in lab, when they need to focus on the task at hand.
When students are talkative during lecture it is a time for the "silence is golden" rule. It might take a few minutes, but when I stop talking & wait for others to stop talking, it is much more effective than me actually asking for quiet. I do want to incorporate my moments of silence after delivery of statements--I like that idea alot.
Initially I had trouble pausing in class, but I have found that it is a very effective tehnique. I also advise others to do so. When I ask the class for questions, students often need several seconds to sumarize in their own heads what they just heard, and it takes time for them to phrase a question so that I can answer it effectively. I finds that once students realize that I will give them a few seconds to think things over, I get better quesions from the students.
I definitely have a hard time giving my students a moment of silence. I feel like they are watching me, with their breaths held...waiting for the next thing so I rush on to the next thing.
Remembering back to when I was in college, I was a slow note taker and found myself having to ask the teacher to repeat what they just said or ask a classmate...maybe I should pause through the lecture, give my students a moment to catch up to what I am teaching them.
Be specific, yes, I agree wholeheartedly. We should take the time to give the specifics of the assignment and make sure that there is understanding. The only way that we can ensure understanding is through questioning. In the online environment, we do not have the luxury of body language. It is difficult to pick up on the subtleties that are normally seen in a brick-and-mortar setting. Between phone calls and emails, I utilize these tools most when outside of office hours and live chats to make sure my students understand the assignment. In the last month, between locating MIA students, discussing asssignment specifics and one-on-one assistance, I have sent and received over a thousand emails. This constant communication is part of the reason for my success with the class. To bring this back to the original discuss question, silence is only golden when it is yours and you are listening to their questions and concerns. Otherwise, you have wasted the opportunity to listen.
Thanks for th reply.
Jason, that is a good point. It is probably a que for me to that maybe I have to re-do my explanations to jump-start the process. Gary
Dominate instructors have a hard time succeeding in the online classroom. I feel we should say what needs to be said - on assignments, on replies, on gradebooks, on emails, on group work - any positive learning experience with our interaction is good. Any time we provide more involvement than than what we need to provide excellent class involvement and participation, is more dominate than we bargin. Gary
I have always been told "keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open". This doesn't work well with teaching; however, the lesson being taught can be applied to some degree. In the online environment, it is much better for the students as they have the ability to go back to recordings, pause, rewind, take notes, etc. It is much easier to cover the information and prompt for questions, probe for understanding. One of my techniques that work well in this environment is asking questions relating to the topics being covered that day as well as previous classes. During grading, I take notes of common issues that the students seem to struggle with and ask questions regarding these topics. I find that the students learn from their mistakes, so presenting "anonymous" real-life examples.
Overall, I think the silence of the instructor is best used as a guage for understanding. Since I am in an online environment, this is not a necessary element to regain control over the classroom. There are many different aspects of teaching that provide much more support for the instructor that they first appear.
When my class starts running on and on, I will stop talking and just look at them. Waiting for the class to stop talking, it takes about one minute for them to stop.
I make it a point to have a question or response from every student in every class. You will have some over zealous folks who want to answer every question all the time and this over shadows the wall flowers and makes them a little self concious. If they don't have an answer or response, I have someone help them. It allows me to make several points reference the business world in general and I always give a correlation to the "why and what for" in being able to properly respond and use an answer in their working world or future experiences. After a few weeks they expect to be asked and have an answer ready for what ever subject is at hand. Then I can't get them to stop talking!
Anne, thanks for discussing this topic.
I do implement the silence technique. I love to ask questions and solicit student’s answers. In fact I start my lessons from asking questions about the previous material and main guidelines of the covered chapter. I usually randomly call on students to answer, first they felt shocked but with time they realized that I am not kidding when I state that my lectures are interactive! So before they come up with answers there is a silence in the room.
Tatiana
This was one of the concepts that I do not believe that I use effectively in the live chats either. I have a hard time with "dead air". I am going to strive to utilize this to see if I can get more participation in my chats.
Silence is golden, comes from the movie preview. It makes me think that you want to focus on the content instead of talking and interrupt other classmates.
In Chinese culture, silence is golden refer to wise man only speak when his idea is valuable and contributed to the rest of the group.
Silence can communicate many things. One student may be listening, another student may be confused or tuned out, yet another student may pondering the content or concepts. Through the online environment it can be difficult to pick up these nonverbal communication signals from students. For that reason, I do not make assumptions about students' knowledge. I try to reach all knowledge levels and cover each topic thoroughly.
I can't get my class to stop..........talking. LOL!! They are a pleasant group thought.
Yes, Annie--silence can be golden! You might be amazed by what people say when they become uncomfortable from the silence that you allow to settle after you ask a question. Sometimes they even amaze themselves! They often will not answer you when they think you yourself won't be able to stand the silence. But if you hang in there, believe me, they will talk! It's actually a very powerful tool.
Dr. Kendra Gaines
