Doug Lemov's field notes

Raising Your Hand in Class Shouldn’t Work Like This

Just watching some video this morning a recent lesson of Spencer Davis’ at University Prep in the Bronx. I’ve posted about Spencer’s teaching recently (and will post about again soon). He’s a master of subtly and lovingly building academic culture with his sixth graders. You can see plenty of that in this recent post of his retrieval practice.

But today I want to share perhaps the shortest clip I have ever shared on the blog. Short but perfect.

Background: One of the things that is necessary to a classroom with high Ratio–kids doing the cognitive work–is slowing down students who have internalized the idea that participation is a race. If you believe the goal is to get your hand up first–or even to call out your answer right away to get heard–then the maximum amount of thought you or anyone else in the room can put into an answer…even to a very good one…is limited. Rigor collapses when answers are arrived at in a fraction of a second.

So it’s important for teachers to be attentive to ensuring Wait Time and not immediately calling on the first hand–and more critically, not allowing students to call out. You’ll notice that Spencer has done that here. Super eager students but no calling out.

But the next step is to socialize students to take their time and think about their answers, to use the think time you give them.

And that is why I love this clip so much. Here Spencer refers back the the passage they’ve just read–they’re reading Wonder–and starts to ask about it.  Five or six students’ hands shoot into the air. They are eager to answer. Hooray!

Or is it hooray? Because, as Spencer lovingly points out (in perfect nonjudgmental tone and with a smile) they don’t actually know the question yet!

A sin of enthusiasm? Surely, yes. But as we attend to our own teaching craft it’s also critical to help students become more mindful of their own behaviors as students. And so, rather than just allowing students to throw their hands up regardless of question, Spencer mindfully reminds them to be mindful.  “We don’t know the question yet.” [Smile]. A beautiful signal to students to take their time and think about their answers.