I've just finished looking over my lesson plan and I'm giving a quiz today. I hate quizzes. I barely even grade them. "Why are you giving a quiz then?" Well, that's an excellent question, Mr. Blogosphere! I'll tell you why. I have a really quiet class right now. I've given them group work discussions, classroom-wide discussions, etc, and they still don't seem to be willing to talk about the reading assignments I've been giving. This leads me to think that one of two things are true.
1.) This is a rare collection of quiet students. It's like finding a Red Wolf in the wild. It's an unusual occurrence. Normally you simply make the students feel comfortable, that their ideas matter and the corks fly out of their mouths and they begin talking.
2.) They aren't doing the reading.
I am fine if number 1 is true, but I have to eliminate the possibility of 2 first. By giving a quiz I will see if the students are doing the reading. If not, then I issue more reading quizzes until I get a majority of the class on board. This is the easiest thing to test for and it is the easiest thing to fix. If they aren't doing the reading, attach points to it. Simple as that.
The other option, the Red Wolf scenario, is a tougher nut to crack. It may go so far as to ask me to fundamentally change the way I run my class. It's fine if there are many students who learn quietly and independently. I simply need to find exercises that match my material that will enable them to learn in the way they are most successful. This requires research, conversations with Master Teachers, etc. I'm still new at this and I'm willing to entertain other suggestions, Mr. Blogosphere, so pony up and let's get these kids working. They need to master this material.
***It was immediately apparent when I gave the quiz that it was a lack of reading that was leading to the lack of classroom conversation. Quiz scores have verified those results. No Red Wolf here.***
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