I have a new student who is unaware of many of the class procedures and protocols that are second nature to the rest of the group. In an effort to make up the gap, I took time to explain to her my expectations for biographical selections. 1. The person must be dead. (This ensures that the subject's life story is complete and that there are no unpleasant surprises such as might have been for a student who had chosen OJ Simpson just prior to the time of the murder of his wife.) 2. The person must have made a positive contribution to society. (I don't want to read about someone who was a negative influence on society or was self-destructive.) Simple rules, right? I quipped, "I don't want a story of Beyonce. Without missing a beat, one of my students called out, "Beyonce's dead?" Some giggled and corrected him. After stopping the giggles, my response was, "No, buddy, she is not dead. That's why we can't use a biography about her." Same student listens only to his classmate who stated, "That's not what she said," as they proceed to argue about the mortality of Beyonce. "She is so dead, Mrs. Teacher just said so."
I had to stop the commotion to rectify Beyonce's life status. She is alive and well. Therefore, she is not a candidate for a biographical report in my classroom. "O-o-o-o-h" was his response. You know the "oh" I received. The elongated vowel sing-song syllable where there is a 50-50 chance of actual understanding taking place.
These kids make me laugh. But they also make me aware that listening is not their strength. They, at times, half-hear, half-understand what is being said, or what is being read within the classroom. In a world where everything is fast-paced, we have students who are listening at half-speed and drawing conclusions that are half-baked. Then, we wonder why higher order questions seem to challenge the thinking of students.
How can I improve the listening and comprehension skills of my students within the context of a very busy class agenda, a brisk pace and specific academic data targets? Here are 3 techniques I'll be employing this week:
- Verify all are on point before asking the question. This may seem like a no brainer, but sometimes we are moving along and one or two people drop off their attention. If they are not disturbing others, and if we get accustomed to the fact that so and so always drifts, we may neglect to ensure all are on point before proceeding.
- Verify that listeners are understanding through asking questions more than one way. Sometimes students will predict what I am going to ask when I ask a series of questions and they will call out the answer to the question they think I will ask, rather than the actual question that was asked. I find that by asking questions in varied manners that students are actually listening to the question before answering.
- Place the burden of asking questions in another way (paraphrasing if you will) on the students. How else could I have asked the same question? This will cause students to consider what is being asked as they pose a question to their classmates and will give a second chance for other students to provide an answer.
My apologies to Beyonce. I'm glad she is well. I'm also glad that I get a chance to really push comprehension and thinking in a way that is intentional. I hope that the students will grow from the experience. (Of course, now, every time someone misunderstands something said the words "Beyonce's dead?" flies across the room in my class. Sorry, Beyonce!)
First published March 3, 2018
Comments
Post a Comment