亚洲色吧

The Ferris Bueller Trap
There is an where the monotone teacher asks, "Anyone? Anyone?" to a classroom of glazed-over students (only to immediately answer his own question). This scene was shown to us at the start of my Bachelor of Education and acts as a helpful cautionary tale.聽 I鈥檒l refer to this example to explain how I avoid some teaching pitfalls.

Sam鈥檚 Teaching Mantra 1: 鈥淪it with the Silence鈥�
When you ask a question and are met with blank stares it is natural to feel uncomfortable and want to fill the void with the answer - this is the Ferris Bueller trap. I've learned that the pause after asking a question is not empty space. The silence is 鈥榯hinking space鈥�. Interrupting it robs students of the chance to do the cognitive work that leads to learning.

SoTL research has taught me that for information to move from short-term to long-term memory, students need to actively engage with it (this is known as 鈥渁ctive learning鈥�; ).聽 Active learning involves making connections and wrestling with ideas. By providing quick answers, I am eliminating the productive struggle and preventing deep learning. When teachers increase their wait time after asking questions from 1 second (which is surprisingly common) to >3 seconds, more students choose to break that silence and participate ().

Here are some tips for learning to 鈥渟it with the silence鈥�:

1. Counting to seven in your head after asking a question (and before speaking again). For me, knowing that I am adding a bit of discomfort for the right reasons helps to overcome that fear of silence.

2. Providing a cue before asking a question, such as 鈥�you will be given 30 seconds of thinking time before we engage in class discussion. With that in mind, here is the question I鈥檇 like you to consider鈥︹��. This approach flags the silence as intentional (and not a sign that the question has fallen flat).

3. You can ask students to write down their initial thoughts before any discussion. This approach ensures that all engage (not just the students who think quickly out loud). It also gives quieter students confidence as they have time to organise their thoughts.聽

4. I move around the room during wait time (instead of standing at the front looking expectant). This movement reduces the pressure on students (and me!) and signals that I am comfortable with the thinking process.

I've discovered that my comfort with silence models that thinking is valued, and that it takes time and effort.

Sam鈥檚 Teaching Mantra 2: 鈥淪tart with Small Groups鈥�
Even when you give thinking time and learn to 鈥渟it with the silence鈥�, it is often the same 3-4 students that want to break the tension. When these students dominate discussion time, others sit passively; this passivity creates another version of the Ferris Bueller trap.聽 I realised that whole-class discussions favour certain types of learners and disadvantage others: introverted or neurodivergent students need processing time, and international students might feel anxious about their English in large groups (or come from cultural backgrounds where speaking up in big groups feels inappropriate).

When you are one of thirty students then invisibility becomes easy; in psychology, we refer to this as the 鈥榙iffusion of responsibility鈥� (). A diffusion of responsibility can then manifest as . My solution is a tongue-in-cheek approach I call 鈥榙ivide and conquer鈥�. The smaller the group, the harder it is to hide (and the more each person is encouraged to participate in active learning). When you're one of three people in a group, it is more uncomfortable to sit back and let others do the thinking. So, now I 鈥渟tart with small groups鈥�.

Knowing the following teaching strategies is a game-changer. They can be applied in a range of settings, and are scalable:

Round Robin. My 鈥榞o-to鈥� for equal participation. I put students in groups of 3-5 and establish one key rule: each person must contribute one idea before anyone can share a second idea. This rule prevents one enthusiastic student monopolising the discussion while others check out. The structure demands that each student engages in small group discussion, thus promoting active learning.

Think/Pair/Share. This strategy聽helps students who need processing time. The three-step process involves individual thinking (2-3 minutes), partner discussion (3-4 minutes), then whole-group sharing. This scaffolds participation beautifully: the pair discussion gives students a chance to test/refine their thoughts before any public sharing.

Gallery Walk. This strategy聽facilitates engagement with complex topics that have multiple dimensions/stakeholders. Groups work on different aspects of a question and post their findings on large sheets of paper in the centre of each table or pinned up around the room. Students, armed with textas or post-it notes then walk around like visitors in an art gallery and add comments or questions. I love this strategy because it creates physical movement and engages them with multiple approaches to a problem. It also allows for formative peer feedback.

Jigsaw Method. I divide the class into home groups and assign each member a different aspect of the overall topic. Students then meet with "expert groups" (others assigned the same aspect) to develop expertise. The experts then return to their home group and share what they have learned. This strategy scaffolds accountability as the group cannot succeed unless all members participate.

Ambassadors Strategy. One person from each group becomes an ambassador who rotates to visit other tables, sharing their group's progress and gathering insights from other teams. The ambassador returns to report what they learned.

When I circulate among small groups, I hear the insights and possible misconceptions that students rarely voice in front of the entire class. This casual 鈥榝ormative assessment鈥� allows me to address misconceptions before they become entrenched.Samantha Newell

Sam鈥檚 Teaching Mantra 3: 鈥淒emonstrate Intellectual Candour鈥�
This strategy was the most transformative for my teaching, but also the last to develop as a standard practice. Like many early career academics, I felt intense pressure to appear knowledgeable and authoritative. I was concerned that saying 'I don't know' would make me appear less credible.

I was introduced to 鈥業ntellectual Candour鈥� by the amazing Elizabeth Molloy (a guest speaker at the University, several years ago). Intellectual Candour is when an educator verbalises by 鈥渢hinking [through] a complex problem or situation鈥hat learning is lifelong, and that experts and novices both grapple with things they do not understand鈥� ().

By modelling thoughtful approaches to difficult questions, I help students develop a tolerance for the discomfort that comes with intellectual inquiry. When students see me comfortable with not knowing something, they become more comfortable with their own uncertainty. They also build confidence as they see that the gap between student and expert thinking can be overcome (鈥榠f you can see it, you can be it鈥�). This approach challenges students鈥� need for instant-gratification as it offers something they cannot get from Google or ChatGPT: insights into how experts think and approach complex problems.

Molloy and Bearman (2018) offer some sentence starters to engage in intellectual candour:

鈥淚鈥檓 in two minds鈥︹��

鈥淚 don鈥檛 quite understand this yet, but what I鈥檓 thinking is鈥︹��

鈥淲hen I look at this problem. . .鈥�

鈥淲hat I still struggle with in my own practice is鈥︹��

聽鈥淏ear with me, while I talk this through鈥︹��

In the SoTL literature, we would say that intellectual candour facilitates 鈥榗ognitive apprenticeship鈥� ().聽 This is because students need more than a walking wiki 鈥� they need acculturation into disciplinary thinking. They need to see how experts weigh evidence. One of my best ways to engage in intellectual candour is to start by saying 鈥�I don't have the answer off the top of my head, but let me show you how I'd go about finding out鈥�. Talking through how you locate peer-reviewed/credible sources is helpful, as many students struggle with information literacy.

These mantras have taken years to solidify and are the result of a lot of personal reflection. One day, I hope to hear the teaching mantras that you have developed through your own reflexivity and engagement with SoTL literature.