View Content #22504

From http://multilingualmania.com/dont-raise-your-hand-reaching-all-students-in-a-cooperative-classroom/

Fourth grade dual immersion teacher Krista Richardson has written a touching article about truly engaging all of her students in a dual immersion classroom. She writes of the practice of calling on raised hands, “Did I really give everyone equal time to share and practice the language and standard orally? Well, when I asked a question and looked for raised hands, this was definitely not equitable. Again, only the extroverts, ‘I know the answer!’ The native language speakers, ‘I know how to say the answer!’ The high achievers, ‘The answer is so easy!’ were participating. This was not equitable. Then I thought about the 10:2 discussions and thought, ‘No, the same student populations are still dominating the conversations.’ What about random cold calling… No, David would freeze up if his name were called.”

Instead, she has moved to structured sharing with partners and small-group activities that build feelings of teamwork. These techniques promote inclusion in any classroom, whether immersion or not.

Read the article at http://multilingualmania.com/dont-raise-your-hand-reaching-all-students-in-a-cooperative-classroom/