Raise Your Hand:
Encouraging Students To Speak Up in Class
Grades 7-12
How many classes in a school day are fun, interactive classes—a place for bouncing ideas off one another in a point/counter-point lively interactive learning forum? Sadly, the answer is not too many, if none at all.
Most classrooms exist in the lecture-listen format, which means that in order to interact within the classroom, students have to raise their hand—it’s the only way to ask questions, to solicit comments, to get feedback, and to become an active participant in the classroom!
But many students are hesitant to put their hand up in class. It’s risky business—attracting attention and running the risk of being wrong, or even ridiculed in front of the class.
Still, putting your hand up in class is a risk worth taking. Here’s why:
- It can signal the teacher that you have something to add, or that you need clarification
- It helps you become an active participant in your education
- It tells the teacher that you are paying attention, and thinking about what is being taught
- It shows that you are relating this new information to other information
Raising your hand—whether you are called on or not, or if you know the answer or not—helps you to gain a better understanding of the subject matter. Understanding the material is better than memorizing it—memorization only gets you through a test. Understanding is for life.
Raise your hand if you want to really learn.
Read related articles: Positive thinking and Confidence and Cheating
we need to start conserving fossil fuels or we will run out!!!!!!!!!! Haley Pauley
Then turn off your computer RIGHT NOW and stay at home. You’re wasting energy with yor liberal drivel!!!!
Although it is true that when you truly understand something rather than memorizing it,this knowledge lasts you a lifetime there are some things that even understood you have to memorize, and thats where the problems underlies. My child is in grade 11 and she understands 99.99 % of what the teachers at her school tell you. The only problem is of course the memorization issue. It takes practice. You need you keep your mind excercised.
Oxford! For shame! How do you think parents visiting this website who may be considering putting their child in one of your programs will be influenced by the huge grammar error in the third point of your “Here’s Why” section (in “Raise Your Hand”)? Have you given them much confidence in you? Could teachers recommend you? You should fix it immediately if you want more business.
The error has been corrected (’you are’ where we had ’your’). Thank you for pointing it out.