- using colored table markers or some other identifier, like content-specific pictures (especially good to use so you aren't numbering the tables and seats, which could get confusing)
- facilitator referred to time that a student has to speak as "airtime" (I thought this was cute!)
- when a student runs out of things to say in their allotted time tell students they should sit in the silence, feel the silence--so they don't just jump in and rescue each other (this would be good to employ at certain times, other times focus may be on training students to ask productive questions)
- when doing an activity where personal sharing time is not structured, remind students to make sure to involve everyone--if you notice someone that is not participating, ask them questions
- hogs vs logs (those who dominate vs those who don't participate in a group)
- using any of the following as an eraser for dry erase boards: fabric glove that you would use to wash a car, swiffer pads cut up, felt (what I use), an old sock, pom poms glued to markers
- tell students to work on making sure that every voice is being heard and no voice is dominating the conversation
- let students know that these are skills they should be using out in the real world (even if they are in kindergarten and the "real world" is just recess)
- roller coaster high five (make a roller coaster motion with your hands before high fiving)
- make sure that learning is collaborative and not competitive (don't pit one table against another)
- some students need a "personal invitation" to get started on a task (I really liked this phrase)
- in the PIES for cooperative learning (see below), when you are trying to ensure individual accountability, do not give group grades
- a whip around (every students gives an answer) is good when you want to reinforce something important--students will likely hear similar answers multiple times
- when doing a card sort, assign cards to each student so that each student only touches their own cards
- a fellow teacher reminded me about what I used to do for grouping--use card suits (you will end up with four students in each group--one for each suit--and you can pull as many cards as you have groups)
- for fan-n-pick, have a set of generic cards labeled 1-10 (or whatever) so you don't have to make the cards every time--then project the questions on the board, numbered
- when doing inside outside circle, give more specific instructions: first evens make a circle, then odds stand behind an even
- have students high five someone as they go past in inside-outside circle
- say "thank you for the 80% that responded, now we need 100%" (I liked this because a lot of times whatever I say to the class makes some kids feel like I didn't recognize that they participated)
- "if you want to make a gain, it's going to be painful" (we were talking about this a lot in terms of kids who have trouble talking in front of other people)
- we did the final word protocol (first saw this in collaborative problem solving) but in this version, the first person only says a quote from an article we read and does not comment on it until everyone else has and then they get the final word (doesn't influence others' thinking as much)
- we used the following indicators when reading: !=new thinking, ?=something you question or want to ask about, *=agree, x=disagree
- have each student use a different colored pen or highlighter to see their contribution to the work
- we read an article about levels of engagement and this schematic below was the most useful--notice the pie charts at the bottom (in particular, the highly engaged classroom does not have 100% engagement because it is really unrealistic) our facilitators mentioned showing this to the evaluating administrators which is definitely a good idea
- two new silly games!
- baby blob--one person is the baby blob, when they tag someone, they link arms...blob grows as they continue to tag people and add (warning, we knocked a ton of drinks over playing this game!)
- rock paper scissors cheer--rock paper scissors in groups of two, winning person finds another person to play against while losers become cheering squad (will end up with final two people and everyone else cheering!)
- silly games are supported by the Mindsets in the Classroom (by Mary Ricci)--gets blood/oxygen to the brain and promotes mental strength and alertness
- facilitators had us write a goal for the year that they will email to us at the start of the semester (I have seen this in another workshop before and think it is great idea--note to self if I ever facilitate a workshop)
A few ideas that popped into my head during the workshop...
- family feud affirmation--"good answer, good answer"
- have students fill out a "what was my contribution?" questionnaire with a group project and grade just that part for them (for individual accountability)
- create a generic card that has a place to write a role for each group member (for example, when using fan-n-pick). Have students write in the roles so you don't have to print a separate mat every time you want to do an activity where students have rotating roles. We talked about using dry erase or post-its to re-use it.
- my teammates and I came up with the acronym RINGS to represent engagement:
- R=Respect/Risk/Relevance
- I=Involvement/Interdependence
- N=No hiding
- G=Group interaction
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