Get Your Students Hired
I like the idea of the cards allowing students a limited amount of comments/questions. Some of the discussions in my classes go on much longer than I plan because every student wants to share their opinion or example of a situation. This will not only help w/the center stage students in limiting their reponses, but also with staing on track and schedule.
Hi Alexandra,
This is a great way to get inovlvement from all students. You do have one or two aggressive students that will pick the ball up and run with it at all times, this activity will keep this from happening. Everyone will be able to participate.
Patricia
As a new instructor I found this method interesting as well. I have a student who is always very well prepared, but tends to dominate the class discussion. After I ask the other student's their views/input etc. they comonnly say "I agree with everything he/she said," or "That's what I was going to say." By implementing this card technique I hope to encourage my more timid students to speak up and express their own unique input.
I understand the need for "Use-it-Wisely" cards because I once was a student who had difficulty speaking up in class, and now I've transformed into a teacher. This goes to show that if you allow the quieter students the time to talk, they may gain more confidence just as I did and may even become teachers themselves. I find that quieter students often have the most interesting perspective and input. Never assume that because they don't normally talk in class that they have nothing useful to add to discussion.
I, also, like the idea of the cards.Sometimes I use the idea of 5 questions per class. I think the cards would work better.
Excellent idea! Certain students tend to take up more time than most and need some need of impersonal control. I will try this and assess its efficacy.