I had nine students who were disengaged in group discussions. They had not actively participated in our class discussions by: being active, speaking up, volunteering for activities, or asking or answering questions.
To help, I used nine small candy bars, and taped them to the bottom of these student's desk. Students discussed nine key points in small groups. This way every student was actively involved in the learning of the material. After, students had to reach under their desk, and if they had a chocolate bar they were the chosen ones to share.
I discovered:
I need to find additional ways to encourage the students to participate in whole group discussions.
For the remaining class periods, I will continue to:
Track student’s participation in class. With students who don't participate, I will use this technique to get them to participate the first time.
In conclusion, I believe these strategies will benefit my students by helping they participate more in class. This will result in more participation points, and an overall better grade in my class.
Comments
Excellent job Dori! This is a very innovative way to get students to participate the first time in class! Chocolate never hurts either :) I love your creativity!
Dori, Creativity is an amazing asset for teaching. I enjoyed reading your CATS and seeing how you used chocolate. Smiles, Olga
Well done Dori! I like how you identified a problem, tried an intervention, and came up with a solution that encouraged you to keep looking for ways to engage your students! Full cycle indeed.
I had the same problem in two of my classes last semester and recalled a strategy named "Talking Tokens." I tried it, and it was successful enough for me to do a CATS on it. Here it is: https://cats.estrellamountain.edu/assessment/talking-tokens-engage
This is very creative. My students would find this as a game and look for the chocolate under their desk. Hmmmmmmm.....I may try this. Thank you!
Ah, ha! I knew there had to be a way to tie food into learning when dealing with students! And especially chocolate! Clever, Dori, now start budgeting in those bags of mini-Hersheys! I've tossed candy out to responders, but never taped the goodies to the bottom of the chair...maybe this will work even better! :>)
Great idea! Sweets are always welcome!! I appreciate your innovative approach to teaching and always looking for ways to engage students!
Great idea! Sweets are always welcome!! I appreciate your innovative approach to teaching and always looking for ways to engage students!
Love the idea of using food as a motivator. Never thought to use this process. Thanks Dori.
Food is always a great motivator for students. Creating a blind selection process compels students to prepare JIC they are chosen to present. Effective and easy to implement.