Student Perceptions of Norms and Wait Time
Share with us your reflections on your interactions with students regarding their perceptions of your use of Norms and/or Wait Time. How did you gather this information from your students? What did you learn from them?
9 Comments
- Christen Tulli replied:
I have an odd mix of classes this year. Two of the classes are full of boisterous, rowdy students who love to debate and join in discussions. Needless to say, I don’t have to try very hard to get them to come out of their shells! My biggest issue with these two classes is trying to remind the students to be good listeners as well as speakers. For instance, during our last discussion I had to keep reminding these students to put their hands down when one of their peers was speaking. It was also difficult to have them “piggy back” off one another’s thoughts to have a cohesive discussion because each student was dying to make their own individual comments.
This is not the only type of class I have, though. Two of my other classes are filled with shy, quieter students. While these students are very articulate when writing, they have difficulty jumping into a conversation. It has been a struggle to get them to communicate.
In order to gauge both sets of classes’ perceptions of wait time, equity and fairness (calling on all students an equal amount of times), and type of questioning, I created a Quia survey. The results were very interesting. Most students like that I was fair by using a seating chart to be sure that each student had contributed at least once. (To be fair, some of the noisier students were frustrated by this because they wanted to share more.) There was a general consensus that wait time, while uncomfortable, was important, although some students seemed to not have an opinion on this. The most interesting result of this survey was when I asked the students what type of questions they felt the most comfortable answering. The majority of students liked to answer opinion questions, which actually seemed very developmentally appropriate since teenagers are so “me centered”! Upon reflection, I plan on asking more opinion questions to my quieter classes in order to motivate them to contribute, while I may focus more on analytical with my noisier classes when they become a bit too rowdy in order to focus them!January 26th, 2009 at 10:38 am. Permalink.
- Dawn Sherwood replied:
I think I wrote a number of the comments/complaints/frustrations about Wait Time and Norms in my self-assessment blog. I try to get the students to wait till I call on them, but I have random students who even if I say, “Jane, please answer” will call out an answer. Some of them can’t help it, I think because they aren’t being mean about it, I think they are just focused on the question and answer, not on who I have called to answer. Along with my over acheiver students who blurt out answers, I have the students that I can’t get to respond to anything. My concern is that some of these kids are failing the class and I can’t get them to respond at all and this includes phone call home, talking to student, talking to guidance.
When things are going really well and different students are actually raising their hand to answer questions, I have noticed that I start moving faster. I think this is due to momentum and the desire to keep the motivation going as long as possible. Most of my ranting has been about freshman classes. I have to keep remembering that I have 3 oceanography classes that I have had success with instead of just focusing on my 2 frustrating classes.
I tried a different approach to exam review with my oceanography classes that went quiet well, I think and it was student-directed. I had students draw topics that we had covered throughout the semester first and research it (look over their notes and tests to see what I had questioned them on). They had to give me an outline of vocab words, diagrams, and facts so I could make sure they were on the right track. Then I made them create a review worksheet for their topic. I made suggestions, but I had everything from matching to fill-in-the-blanks to crossword puzzles. They also had to simulataneous create a minimum of 10-slide powerpoint to review their topic with the class. I gave them basic guidelines, but once again them the freedom to teach it the way they wanted to and review their worksheet. As I had fun informing them, I would answer the phone, write passes, and stop fights, but otherwise the presenter was the teacher and in charge of disciplining the class, staying on task, and accomplishing their powerpoint. Along with the review and trying to make it more enjoyable than just a review worksheet (which I did them as well to do on their own), I wanted to put them in my shoes. I wanted them to feel how frustrating it was when people would talk while I was trying to cover material, how hard it is to bite your tongue in regards to how you reply to comments, but also how you had to have patience as well – to write notes, to get an answer out of someone. I think many students came out of it with a little different perspective about how class should be conducted, how much work goes into preparing a presentation (some students realized and were apologetic that they didn’t do their powerpoint correctly), but hopefully a little more respect for me at the same time. I am planning on using that review activity as part of our discussion next week when we come back from exams as a way to review the norms. What did the “teacher” and the students follow and how did “class” go. I am hoping this will turn into a respect discussion and how we all have to do our part in conversations. I don’t think it fit into one specific category of Quality Questioning, but it was the first time I had felt comfortable enough to turn a class loose on an assignment like that (although I still made my own exam review sheet of topics for them as well since I didn’t completely trust the students to get everything covered). I found that I was better able to use Wait Time I by putting questions on the board because I controlled the clickers/activotes they were using to answer. I read the question and answer to them and then waited for a couple of seconds for people to read it on their own or think about it and THEN turned on the application so they could vote. This slowed them down a little as well as gave us a graph that we could discuss why people put different answers to decide as a whole which was the real answer.
I just realized the time and hope that I made sense in my ranting in some cases and going on about my project success above.
January 29th, 2009 at 1:03 am. Permalink.
- Anne Williams replied:
We went over them as a class and I asked them if they ever think about these. 3 out of 22 said yes and 5-10 said they had not thought about them in awhile. Then I asked if they thought the norms were true, and they all agreed. I asked them which one(s) they thought we used in class everyday. Their response was “We all need time to think out loud and complete our thoughts. This surprised me but they felt that it was about not interrupting and that they do not do that. Then I asked them which one(s) do we need to work on. Their answers were “They need time to reflect on the past to gain new understanding” and They need time to think before speaking”. This lead right in to our discussion of wait time. They new what it meant and felt at times I was doing it but at other times I needed to give them more wait time. We talked about which norm we thought we needed to work on, remind ourselves of, etc. Each student wrote that norm on a sticky note and put it on their desk to see how they were doing after a week. My sticky note said “More wait time”. After the week, we had a class meeting and discussed who had really tried to think of and do theirs, and about half of the class said they had. I asked about my giving them more wait time. They said I gave them more except for one day when asking story related questions. I still have my reminder and am trying to be more aware of it.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:32 pm. Permalink.
- Linda Hubard replied:
I have not done any “formal” assessment as the time slipped by. (I plan to do that next week.) But from my observations, it is difficult for them to wait. Perhaps that is my fault because I jump in too quickly at times. It also seems like agony for some students who are thinking and have been called on for an answer. And they are not used to having to come up with a response to every question. I need to gather my students into the idea of waiting AND thinking. This is a real weakness on my part. I know that I still don’t “trust” it – the process.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:45 pm. Permalink.
- Cindy Peake replied:
My response is similar to Christen’s – probably because we teach at the same school! I definitely have 2 types of classes – those that continue to blurt and those who think before speaking. Also, I teach 2 levels of math – Math 8 & Algebra – and I notice huge differences between the two levels.
At the beginning of the year, I posted the norms and we went over them as part of class procedures and rules. As I have become more comfortable using wait time, I have noticed that the class has also. I still have many who raise their hands but they know that doesn’t mean I’ll call on them. I do see many more people thinking about my questions and contemplating their response because they know they can’t get away with saying “I don’t know”!
I have not formally assessed their perceptions of wait time and norms but I have seen a vast improvement in the number of students who are willing to respond and in the level of their answers.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:18 pm. Permalink.
- Todd Rigler replied:
After discussing the norms and wait time with my students I felt better about the whole thing. The students for the most part feel that the norms and wait time are valuable. I was surprised to hear this; I really thought that the kids would not understand it. After this, my own reflection made me realize that that may be part of the problem, I had made up my mind in advance without understanding that the students are ok with it and see its benefits.
In order to gather information I held an open forum with the class and we discussed it. It actually was a good discussion and I feel that I received honest feedback from the majority of the students.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:53 am. Permalink.
- Mary Mahoney replied:
Wait time is something students appreciate once they understand it. Students don’t like to do something just because. When they know they are being heard, they understand it much more. Now the training piece is hard for my students this year. Six graders have a tendency to be impatient and blurt out (which most students do), and wait time seems to be hard for them to grasp. The norms, once taught, are just an extension of the respect I expect from them already.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:29 pm. Permalink.
- Emily Pierce replied:
I totally understand about “not trusting” the process. I still do not like or trust wait time two so that is a focus of mine this year. I feel so awkward looking at them and them looking at me and then wanting to change their answer. You are not alone with feeling like you are the weak link with this questioning technique. I blogged earlier in the success link about how I really focused on wait time one last year and basically you have to teach yourself AND the kids to wait. I know its hard to have the patience but once it happens you will get really good quality answers–thought out answers. Here is what I am doing this year–I am sending home a letter explaining to the parents and the students what wait time one and two are AND their purposes. I think by starting it off right away, you will have success.
September 2nd, 2009 at 5:04 pm. Permalink.
- Amanda Lilley replied:
At the beginning of the school year, I told my students about Quality Questioning and introduced them to the norms that we would be using in our classroom. We talked about Wait times I & II, and I explained to them that I would be calling on students who raise their hands, as well as students whose hands are not up. So far, I have done well with Wait Time I; however, Wait Time II is awkward for us. The students like to have my immediate feedback, and they become uncomfortable when I wait after they respond. They feel like I’m waiting because they didn’t get the answer correct or complete it fully. I’ve already fallen out of the habit of Wait Time II.
Also, today, we were having a discussion; it was Friday, the students were excited, and they began talking over top of one another, wanting to respond with their thoughts and comments. Since I have posted the norms on the wall, I redirected by reading the norm about listening to one another with respect. This immediately got us back on track. I have also noticed that the students are more eager to respond to class questions since I have given more consideration to questioning.
September 19th, 2009 at 12:08 am. Permalink.