Gaging the understanding that students have of a subject can be one of the most difficult tasks as a teacher. We have
all heard stories about students who feign understanding of a topic just
because they feel anxious that everyone in the classroom, including their
teacher, will see them as unintelligent for not understanding a certain topic,
subject, or concept. I can vividly recall situations where I either did not
mention to the teacher at all that I was confused about something because of a
fear of being looked down upon or that even when I did gain the confidence to
ask for further help, I would still not fully grasp the concept, but I would
tell my teacher that I understood it because I felt like I would make a fool of
myself if I said that I still did not understand. This type of fear that
students feel in a classroom is problematic for various reasons. Not only are
students feeling like their classroom is not a safe enough environment that
asking for help or saying that they do not understand something being taught
will make them seem ridiculous, but this means that teachers are also not being
able to truly know what each individual student is thinking about the topic (Drake et al., 2014).
Even with this resounding fear that
many students have about asking questions in class, strategies are being
created and implemented with their main purpose to reduce this fear and create
a classroom environment where students feel safe to admit when they do not know
something. Overcoming the Fear of Being Wrong is an article that was written about how students have such a
great fear of being wrong that they will often times refuse to raise their hand
in class to answer a question or feel uncomfortable asking questions because that
will let everyone in the class know that they do not understand the topic being
discussed (Briggs, 2014).
“For fear of being wrong, or simply being
judged by their peers, students limit their creativity.” (Briggs, 2014)
Classrooms that create a foundation where
communication is key will allow students to flourish and reduce the fear they
may face when it comes to answering or asking questions. With a foundation of
communication placed, student creativity will be able to flourish, as spoken
about in the quote I posted. Furthermore, teachers will then have a classroom
where they have more of an idea of what their students are thinking and which
ones do not understand the concepts, so that further explaining and discussions
can occur so students fully grasp the topic at hand.
I want to discuss a specific method that I
think can be beneficial at any grade level and can be adjusted depended on the
age and maturity of the students in the classroom, so that its usefulness can
be implemented fully. Traffic cards can be used as an effective resource to engage
students understanding of the content and hopefully is used as a way for
students to admit about the degree in which they understand the class topic. A simple explanation of the usage of the
traffic cards is that each student would be given a set of traffic cards: a red
card showing a lack of understanding, a yellow card meaning they have a partial understanding, and a green card showing a full understanding of the topic
(Drake et al., 2014). Having these cards be used by each student
creates an environment where not understanding something is not looked down
upon, but rather the teacher is creating a space where students are allowed to
not understand a topic. Another aspect of the cards is that students at the end
of a lesson will fill out an “exit card”, which is essentially them showing
what they understood from the topic being taught and also clarify what exactly
they did not understand (Drake et al., 2014). Having a system like
this in place gives the students a chance to show their teacher their understanding (or lack there-of) of the lesson that was taught and allow
for teachers to know what each student in their class is thinking – destroying
the mysticism that surrounds what students did and did not know.
Retrieved from MrsMeganPeterson
The uniqueness involved in this
strategy is that it does not rely on the level of comfort a student has in
raising their hand and asking questions or having to go up to the teacher
personally after class, but rather can be something they fill out by themselves
that is given to the teacher without fear of judgement (Black, Harrison, Lee,
Marshall, & William, 2003). Teachers are then able to react in an
appropriate way since they now have an idea of what their students are grasping
from their lessons and what they are confused about. By being able to directly
address the issues that are coming up in the class in regards to understanding
a topic, the teacher can focus on the confusion being brought to their
attention and even change the way they teach the topic in a way that may be
more beneficial for their students. As I discussed earlier about putting down a
foundation built upon communication, which is exactly the purpose of the
traffic cards, allowing for a conversation to be opened up amongst students and the
teacher about what they do not understand and serve as means of self-assessment
for the students (Black et al., 2003) to gain insight into their knowledge of
the topic.
Addressing and acknowledging that
students have specific fears and anxieties around asking questions and admitting
that they lack understanding is the first step a teacher can take to begin to
create a safer environment. Using traffic cards is a generally effective way to
make students feel comfortable discussing what they understand about class
topics and also what they did not understand. The traffic cards may not be
exactly what your class needs, but it can serve as a good example of a
potential strategy that may be helpful to create communication between you
and your students. Ultimately, creating solid communication between the teacher
and the students is crucial because it allows for a classroom where the teacher
is aware of the students abilities and potential limitations, and where
students feel comfortable to open up about their own limitations, so that proper
help and facilitation can occur.
References:
Black,
P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & William, D. (2003). Assessment for Learning:
Putting
It Into Practice. New
York, NY: Open University Press.
Briggs,
S. (2014). Overcoming the fear of being
wrong: 20 ways to help your students.
of-being-wrong/
Drake,
S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum
and Classroom
Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century
Learner. Don
Mills, ON: Oxford University
Press.
Hi Christina, thank you for sharing your blog with us, I really enjoyed reading it. I found it highly relatable and relevant in the classroom today; I appreciate that you demonstrated vulnerability and shared your own personal experiences in order to strengthen your position. The traffic card method, in which a student indicates their understanding of the material by holding up either a red, yellow or green card is an approach that I have not heard of before, but based on the information you have presented in your blog it seems like a creative and effective resource. I can also recall a time where I did not understand the material that was presented by a teacher but was too afraid or embarrassed to ask for clarification; particularly in math and science. The great thing about this exercise is that it offers a certain amount of anonymity to the students, so that they do not feel centered out for asking questions. I feel like this would be a developmentally appropriate tool amongst younger grades because the concept is quite easy to understand. The children would already be familiar with the red, yellow, and green colours of a stoplight, and can liken this approach to that object; in other words, green means go, yellow means slow down, and red means stop. This activity helps form a safe and inviting environment and improves communication between the teachers and the students. I also appreciate that you ask teachers to consider the maturity of each student before implementing this exercise, knowing that it may not work in all contexts. One consideration I have, is would this approach be more successful in certain subject areas over others and how can we use this technique so it can be utilized most effectively; after every lesson, or perhaps at the end of each day? Also, if 2 students hold up red cards, should we be repeating the lesson for those 2 students, or speaking to them individually; if we choose the latter of those options then would we be violating the anonymity of this exercise? Some questions to consider! Overall congratulations on an excellent blog!
ReplyDelete-Megan Burrows
Hello Christina,
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing blog! I believe that many children today in schools suffer academically because they are afraid of asking questions out loud. I know that for myself it was not until the end of high school that I began to work up the courage to simply raise my hand and ask a question. I struggled in all of my school years to understand math concepts, and even to this day there is many mathematics things I cannot do. I would have rather failed the class, then be laughed out by my peers. Children unfortunately are becoming more and more afraid of looking dumb or what others will think of them once they have asked a question. Social anxiety that you talk about in your blog has such a large effect on many children, especially within school. Having secret strategies such as the green, red, and yellow cards are great ways to have students show their concern about a topic or context being covered in class while not having all eye on them! But with this type of strategy, how will teacher find the time to answer the students questions before it loses the students interests? It would be too difficult for a teacher to stop a lesson being taught to address student's question in a private manner. My other concern would be, if the teacher is answering individual questions at a students desk, the same question may be being answered multiple time because many students did not understand. This would take up a lot of the little time teachers are given to cover subjects. I believe that dealing with students social anxiety about asking questions within the classroom is a big issue, and needs to be resolved for students to excel academically.
Great blog!
- Sarah
Christina,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog post! I think the traffic card method is such a good idea for reducing student anxiety and stress about asking questions. There were many situations when I was in elementary school when I would not ask questions because I did not want to be called out as stupid for not understanding the lesson. I think it’s important to let students know that the classroom is a safe environment and that no question is a stupid question. There is a difference between a student asking for help because they did not understand and a student asking for help because they were off-task and not listening. Traffic cards are a great way for teachers to generally know how many students need further clarification on a topic and which students are ready to move on. I used this approach in my grade eleven biology class and it was very effective. My teacher handed out red, yellow and green cards and we would hold them up so she knew if she had to explain a concept further or if our class was ready to move on. I have also done the modified version of this using the thumbs up, thumbs sideways and thumbs down approach. This approach would work particularly well with younger students since the concept is very simple, but can also be used in a high school setting. With children`s mental health problems on the rise this strategy is a way for students with social anxiety become more comfortable speaking and asking questions in front of the class. My question for you is, how would the teacher continue the lesson if a handful of students were putting up red and yellow cards and the majority of the class was putting up green cards? Additionally, how would teachers engage the students that already understand the lesson if you have repeat the lesson for the students that do not understand? Overall, excellent blog!
- Michelle