If you do, what do you do with them?
If not, how do you deal with that?

We never covered this subject when I took my teaching degree in the 1970's. The nearest we came to it was discussions regarding cigarettes. In that case the solution was simple, the teacher took the cigarettes away from the student (and smoked them?). Confiscation of ciggies was expected by the students, and a perk of the job for some teachers, at least the teachers who smoked.

I believe that all schools now have written policies regarding cigarettes, but teachers are not police, and the very act of taking cigarettes away from a student, even today, can result in a more physical interaction than is desirable. And the police won't come to a school to take away a students cigarettes. So what can we learn from that?

Nowadays, mobile phones are a huge distraction to a lot of students, even the most academically motivated may well feel comfortable checking on their FB messages several times during a lesson. Those students who find ordinary lessons tedious will be even more tempted to watch a video or listen to some music to fill the gap.

• Some teachers gather all mobiles at the start of the lesson, as they check on attendance. Of course they are given back at the end of the lesson. The process takes valuable time from lessons.
  
• Some teachers ignore the fact that some students are using their mobiles, acknowledging that the disturbance factor of taking the mobile away is greater than the benefit to all.
• Some teachers issue warnings to individual students when they feel that the use of the mobile is distracting the learning too much.
• Some teachers explode in a ball of flames at the sight of a single mobile in their classroom, stopping the ordinary lesson to teach a Life Lesson to all.
• I have used the fact that students have mobiles to increase student interaction (with me) and check on knowledge before and after a lesson. I use the Socrative website www.socrative.com to ask questions at the start of the lesson (prior knowledge), during the lesson (interactivity) and at the end of the lesson (exit slips). Of course I have had days when "Mobile Prohibition" was in force, but we all know how it goes for prohibition, don't we.

How do you deal with this?

I'd love to know how this plays out in different schools, if there are local or national policies, suggestions, tips and techniques...

Were your students too talkative today?
What's your best tip on getting the best out of that?

Hands up - did you interpret 'talkative' in a negative way? Or in a positive way? Because it's both isn't it?

The day you want to say/ tell / teach the students something, and they talk... their talkativeness could be getting in your way. On another day students' talkativeness could be the best response ever. It depends on what you want to achieve. Some days the students talk about things other than those you want to focus on. If only they would shut up! And there may be days when you experience a challenging lack of talkativeness. If only they would open up!

So what makes the difference?

If you walk into the classroom with a fixed idea, such as "I will speak and they will listen", or "I will speak and they will engage in meaningful conversation", you may be locking yourself out of what is ACTUALLY happening in the room, and lose contact with the students and... well that's when you don't get the repsonse you want, need and deserve.

Some teachers start their lessons with a short negotiation regarding what they want to teach (today), and balance that with what the students are prepared to learn (today), then they divide up the lesson time in a creative and meaningful way. Often the division of time is unequal, because some of the students are more prepared to learn than others. In this way the teacher is able to deliver lessons at the students individual level. Oh did I say negotiation? I would like to remind you that a teacher has the role of benevolent dictator and has 51% of the votes. The students share the other 49%. Fair? Oh yes! Why? Because the teacher is responsible for the student's progress. That 2% may not seem much, but it's enough.

If you walk into the classroom with a too open and accepting attitude, like "Let's see what mood they are in and what they are prepared to do today", you may well find that you have lost your 2% advantage and the students start taking over the lesson and you end up having a long argument about what the lesson is supposed to be about and what school is for... been there done that, NEVER again!
It's only 2%, but you need never give it away!




What's your best tip on getting the best out of talkativeness?

Some teachers record themselves on video or audio, or a slide show with audio (my favourite). That's a resource they can show, share, reuse over and again, releasing them to be fully present in the classroom and engage with whatever the students are offering them on that day.

Some teachers inform the students in advance what kind of lesson is coming up next time. If it is to be a talkative lesson, a debate, discussion etc, the students are given resources to use for homework preparation.

Once I gave my students the Monty Hall problem to consider (http://youtu.be/mhlc7peGlGg), they were to choose the winning strategy and present their mathematical argument in the next lesson. I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and energy the students came with the next day. They spent the whole lesson giving and disputing arguments. The whole class came together in a deep desire to know the winning strategy, AND the reason for it.

First of all, why bother?
And when we know why, let's talk about how.
Then you can write and tell me what you do to surprise your students.


Why bother? Your students live in a highly stimulating world. They are connected to stimulating audio-visual media almost 24-7, and their attention is repeatedly pulled this way and that by the latest and craziest distraction. So when they come into your classroom their heads are spinning, their focus elsewhere; and in order to teach them something, you will need to grab their attention and refocus it on the lesson.

How do other teachers do this?

• Some teachers greet their students in the classroom doorway and make eye contact, shake hands, say a few well-chosen words.
• Some teachers dress up in unusual clothes, play music, show slides, tell stories, tell jokes, issue a collaborative pre-lesson survey (test), or command silence.
• Some teachers rearrange the chairs and tables, dim the lights, lay out workbooks or set up a round robin of related activities.
• Once, I started a morning lesson wearing a dressing gown, with a towel over my shoulder and a toothbrush in my pocket. The students, baffled by my unexpected choice of clothes, shifted their focus to the 'here and now', and I was more able to catch and hold their attention. By the way, I'm a maths teacher!

Tell me. I would love to hear what you do to surprise your students. Share your experiences and suggestions here and let's see how many students we can surprise on a global scale.