Doing things like move around the room, look and listen to all students, keep eye contact switching from student to student, help make the students all feel like they are important and that their contribution equally matters. Encouraging all of the students to participate also helps scaffold students in weaker subjects to match peers. The book calls the period of time after a question asked as “wait time’ and emphasizes the importance of giving enough of it so that the students aren’t overly intimidated. These are some ways to positively correct wrong answers: to state the incorrect response and stop and wait for the kid to correct themselves, never allow for negative comments to be hurdled at the student and allow for extra chances to work the student through the problem until they arrive themselves at the correct response. All of these things will increase a positive relationship between the teacher and the student.
A companion site to EDSC 658/458 course at UAF
