The Case for Texting in the Classroom

Nearly all high school educators have (at some point) had a problem with texting in the classroom.  Due to this, many educators are very hesitant to create an opportunity for students to bring out their phones for class activities.  However, considering the widespread use of this technology, particularly its increased use in business, it may be important for students to be comfortable using this technology in a manner other than personal use. In addition, allowing students to use this technology can also be a great way to increase engagement in the classroom.  The objective of this post is to outline a few ways the technology can be used in the classroom.

The main way I have used texting in the classroom is through www.polleverywhere.com.  PollEverywhere allows teachers to set up poll questions for students to respond to via text message, then posts the results simultaneously on a page which teachers can display via LCD projector or SmartBoard.  Educators can use either multiple choice questions or free-response.  The multiple choice questions are excellent to be used as a Check for Understanding.  The free-response questions can be used well, either as a Warm-Up so students can see the responses of other students, or perhaps post-lecture to gauge students initial responses to the ideas they just heard.  As this is a blog dedicated to discussion, it is important to note that these free response questions as well as the nature of seeing other responses in real-time can do a great thing for increasing student engagement, particularly for those students who need additional wait-time or are shy about participating.  An intro video can also be watched here.



Another way to incorporate texting is for use in a "warm-up" to build engagement or put the topic of the day in perspective.  This can be done by asking students when they enter to text a question to their friends and/or family in order to garner a response.  For instance, in a lesson about the increasing power of the Presidency a teacher could ask students to text someone they know they can get a response from to ask whether they think the President has too much, too little, or just enough power.  The idea being to 1) increase engagement 2) have students get the perspective of "real people" about these issues to frame the discussion.

Bottom Line:  Students love to text, and the importance of the text message continues to grow in areas other than personal use.  Although teachers must set very clear expectations about when texting/cell phones are OK to use in the classroom, limited use of texting for classroom purposes can be an effective tool incorporating technology, increasing engagement, and implementing a new form of discussion in the class.

Pushing to College Level Discussion: A Week-Long Approach

This post will be most relevant for those who teach upper-level grades. One of the most difficult things to do in preparing students for college is getting them ready for the type of discussions which typically take place in a college classroom (largely student-led), and particularly discussions which are based around a complex text assigned to be read outside of class.

This past year, as part of a DC History course I implemented a college-seminar like approach for my Seniors, hoping to prep them for these type of college classes.  Here is the breakdown of how these weeks went:

Monday- A lecture introducing the topic of the week.  Each week I also introduced a new note-taking technique for students to use, particularly as my lecture began to get longer (in order to condition them for college lecture style classes).  I would also introduce the Essential Question we would be exploring that week.  It is important that the question allows students to EVALUATE, reaching the highest level of Bloom's as well as allowing them to have a discussion later in the week.  For instance, during a week on gentrification the question could be:

"Is gentrification beneficial for communities?  Why or why not? What should be done about some of the negative impacts of gentrification?"


Tue/Wed-  To simulate the college atmosphere of only having class a few times a week but high expectations for the use of independent time.  On Tue/Wed students are required to read a source and then write a two-page response about their ideas about the question, using the source.  Tuesday would also involve the introduction of a reading strategy for that source.  Students must then spend the two 55-minute class periods working independently (with a grade assigned for that independent work).

Thurs-  Students participate in a Socratic Seminar (similar to the one described in a previous post).  The Seminar is in response to the Essential Question.

Reflection:

Although there are many details not covered in this post, the format was an effective one for my classroom in getting students ready for the college experience.  One thing to note is that you must set very clear expectations in the beginning about what "Independent Work" days should look like.  In the end, I found this to be a great way to increase rigor and engagement at the same time.

Using Blogs in the Classroom

With the internet, and particularly collaborating over the internet, becomes a vital part of most new jobs being created in the 21st century, it is vital for a Social Studies teacher to facilitate the ability to use the internet in collaborative and interactive way.  The objective of this entry is to outline one way to use blogs in a Social Studies classroom, using a recent entry from New York Times blogger Nate Silver.

In a recent post, Silver makes an argument about the ability of Republicans to compromise due to the nature very conservative nature of the large freshman class in the House of Representatives.  I propose using this post as a homework assignment during a unit on Congress/legislative voting decisions.  Students would be required to respond in the "Comments" section to the argument proposed by Silver.  This post would be analyzed in class during Guided and Independent practice, breaking down the argument and allowing students to gather their thoughts.

For homework the first night, students would be required to develop a paragraph response to post on FiveThirtyEight.com strictly in response to Silver's article.  Then, for a second night of homework students would have to respond to one of their fellow students, or another commenter on the blog.

Using the post in this way has a number of pedagogical advantages.  First, it helps to move towards a "Constructivist" model in the classroom, where students create their own learning by picking the part of the article they want to focus on and develop. In addition, this is consistent with the idea of "collaborative" learning, because students must read the posts of other students and respond to them.  While getting collaboration in the classroom can sometimes be difficult, particularly for shy students, allowing students to engage with each other in an online community can be an excellent alternative.

Spicing Up Socratic Seminar

Most Social Studies educators have heard, and maybe even attempted, a Socratic Seminar as a way to encourage class discussion.  While these methods are often useful, using the same format for these seminars can often lead to an unengaging classroom.  However, making slight adjustments to the format of these seminars can greatly increase the engagement and utility of the class period.  This entry will allow you to implement at least one new strategy for Socratic seminars in your classroom.

Typically, Socratic seminars involve students arranged in the following diagram:

Certainly this arrangement is useful.  Usually this method involves students reading some sort of selection or reacting to a proposed question.  The teacher acts as the facilitator to the discussion, asking questions of students. Eventually, more advanced seminars involve students asking each other questions and are asked to provide their thoughts about the selection or question.

However, there are also downfalls to this formation.  First, it  makes it easier for students to "hide" in the discussion and not participate.  While this will obviously have adverse affects on their grade, this often is not enough incentive to get students to participate and develop the discussion skill set.   This also reduced the chance to administer "checks for understanding".

An easy way to fix this is by implementing a new classroom arrangement:

In this arrangement, a small number of students move to the center of the circle at a time.  The students in the middle of the circle are the main ones having the conversation.  The teacher can ask those students in the middle in the question, but those in the middle generally lead the discussion themselves.  This arrangement also has the added benefit of allowing those in the outer circle to ask questions of those in the inner circle, adding an extra skill, questioning, that students can begin to master through this lesson.

Downfalls of this arrangement:
- you must find a way to ensure those not in the inner circle remain engaged in the class.  I recommend, providing a rubric for those on the outside to grade those on the inside, or tie questioning to the students grade in the Seminar

Reflection:
- While both methods have downsides/upsides, the real key is making sure to change between arrangements enough to maintain engagement in Seminars
- Obviously there is far more planning involved in executing a successful Seminar (having a strong rubric, teaching discussion skills etc.)  The objective of this entry is only to offer a new perspective on Seminars for those looking to spice up the Seminars already happening in their own classes.

Resource of Note: Deliberation in Democracy

Many times Social Studies teachers (and teachers of all disciplines), tend to focus their ideas around classroom discussion around the idea of a debate.  Two sides are assigned a position and they support their position using facts taught in the class.  However, this type of discussion can often leave students feeling like they cannot fully express their creativity, as well as with an understanding of only one side of the argument.

However, a new website, http://www.deliberating.org/, offers educators a chance to break that mold by getting students to deliberate. Deliberating.org outlines a format of a class where students are challenged to understand both sides of the argument, backed up by supporting evidence, before being allowed to drop their roles and argue for the side they prefer.  Unlike a traditional debate, the lessons provided at Deliberating.org focus on the idea of seeking truth rather than winning the argument.  The website offers resources for a variety of topics, from Cyberbullying/First Amendment rights to Global Climate Change and Juvenile Justice.

While full instructions on using this resource can be found here, I will provide a brief synopsis below:
1) Explain to the class that today you will be Deliberating.  Emphasize the difference between a discussion (no clear end goal), a debate (trying to win), and a deliberation (trying to understand).
2) Have students go through the assigned reading about the appropriate topic.  Deliberating.org provides readings for each of their topics, but you could also choose your own topic and reading.  Also, I recommend assigning this for homework rather than having students read the whole thing during a class period.
3) Divide the class into groups (ideally 4 per group) and two teams (A and B) within each group
4) Introduce the "deliberation question" (you can use the ones provided or come up with your own)
4)  Instruct Team A to write down the most compelling reasons to SUPPORT the question, while Team B will write down the most compelling reason to OPPOSE (10 mins)
5)  Each team will explain their reasons to the other, remind the students that they are only EXPLAINING not  DEFENDING (6 mins)
6)  The teams will then REVERSE ROLES and Team A will have to explain the reasons for OPPOSING to TEAM B and vice versa (4 mins)
7)  Finally, group members are allowed to drop their roles and deliberate the question, attempting to arrive at a conclusion.  This can be done still within the groups or in a whole class format.
8)  There is also a useful reflection provided in PDF form on the website

While containing more steps than a traditional debate, this format can really lead to more fruitful discussions within the classroom.  In addition, it hits on multiple levels of Bloom's, requiring students to ANALYZE text as well as EVALUATE arguments from multiple perspectives.

Reflection/Tips:

-Be sure to explain/discuss with students the differences between a deliberation, discussion, and debate before the class begins
- Based on experience trying it both ways, I would STRONGLY recommend requiring the reading for homework so that the class period is not the first time they see it.  If you are concerned that students will not read it, warn them that there may be a reading quiz over the material, and follow through with that promise
- Do not shy away from choosing your own topics.  All you really need to do is find a useful article (newspaper or magazine) and develop a deliberation statement and you are good to go.