By Jaya Carrier
I hope everyone had a great half term, and that this first week back is going well. For this week’s bitesize research, I was interested in looking at Tom Sherrington’s take on cold calling in the classroom from February 2021. Objectives: To understand why cold calling is so effective as AfL, and how it might be effectively implemented in a classroom setting. Summary:
The key overall themes are:
- Cold calling supports inclusivity in the classroom wherein everyone’s contributions matter
- Cold calling supports accountability in the classroom - there is no opt-out
- Students are made to think routinely by way of cold calling - it causes a cultural shift
- Cold calling should be the default position for questioning in all classrooms but can be used as part of a wider repertoire of questioning techniques too
- Sherrington notes that cold calling is really powerful in remote learning as well as in-person.
- Sherrington also offers a number of strategies in the article to support with cold calling as effectively as possible
How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:
- How much do I use cold calling in my classrooms? Do I use it as the ‘default mode’? What works well in using it?
- How useful are Sherrington’s cold calling strategies in my classroom? What ones can I add or develop in my practice?
Thanks for that summary Jaya - cold calling is useful. Once teachers get to know their students, they'll know which ones are reluctant (for reasons of personality, cultural background, or both) to speak even if the teacher believes it's "a warm invitation to participate". So Sherrington's FAQ #1 is important. Our teachers need a basic level of cultural awareness to ensure their students always feel comfortable in class and have a range of ways to indicate their level of understanding.
ReplyDelete