This is a tough one and I’ve had two or three this year who will call out - in a disruptive way. Sometimes it is when I’m speaking. I have one great class that causes me to struggle because of several who have a bit of a problem with knowing the appropriate time to engage (not in the middle of a question or when someone else is talking.) I encourage kids to have a pencil and paper or a tablet in  hand to jot down notes of what they want to say - sometimes they are afraid they’ll forget.

Other times, when it is class discussion, I use poker chips. Each student gets two. When they want to interject, they spend their chip. Every student must participate twice before anyone can have a third input. It is a daily grade and so easy to assess b/c everyone must give up their chips. 

This article takes it much further and is a good one if you’re struggling with this.

“Namely, how do you deal with a student who, despite receiving consequence after consequence, continues to call out in class?

Before we get to the solution, it’s important to note that there are times during a normal school day when you may want to allow your students to respond to you or their fellow classmates without raising their hand”

Can you design a school to promote healthy eating? There are things every cafeteria can do (read to the end.) This is a big problem and something we need to address. Every school should have a fruit basket near the checkout. It is a no brainer, but do we?

“Just walk into the cafeteria and you can see this is no ordinary elementary school.

“One of the most striking differences is the openness of the eating space,” said pediatrician Dr. Matthew Trowbridge, who also consulted on the project.

Students can look into the area where the food is prepared, and they can look outside to a planned school garden, where vegetables will soon be planted.”

This is a discussion to have with all IT integrators. Many adopt the attitude of leaving the hibernating bear alone. After all, eventually, the resistant teacher will come out of the den ready to enjoy the springtime of learning? No. Not necessarily.

But technological change is as much emotional and psychological as it is instruction. If you don’t first have the teacher in the mood to learn, you’ll be struggling. So, be careful of labeling the teacher as resistant in the first place and be willing to teach and encourage the teacher wherever he/she is. This is a nice article from Elena Aguilar. Check out part 2 after reading this one.