Multiple Choice Voting Sparks Classroom Discussion and Debate
This best practice uses ABCDEF voting cards as a method of increasing student participation among all students in the classroom. Students are presented with multiple choice questions based on material discussed earlier in class. Students work individually to start, then vote for what they conclude is the correct answer. Following the vote, students break into small groups to discuss and debate their choices with each other before coming back to do one final class vote.
Issues this Best Practice Addresses:
This practice was developed to address the issue of poor student participation. Asking questions to the class results in just a few students responding. Usually it is the same few students who are willing to respond. All other students remain quiet. This practice requires all students to participate at an equal level.
Major Challenges to Implementation:
This practice creates a classroom environment that is usually much different from the typical classroom. Due to this difference, students are unsure of how to proceed in the beginning and may balk at the change. Steps can be taken on the first day of class to minimize these problems.
Benefits Derived from Implementing this Best Practice:
All students are required to participate, but in a non-threatening way. Very introverted students are terrified of being wrong in front of the class. Voting allows them to see that other students often provide incorrect responses. It encourages students to conclude that providing an incorrect response is not a bad thing. Breaking students into groups allows more introverted students the opportunity to participate in some form in every class.
Evidence Illustrating Success:
Increased student discussion in the classroom. A larger number of students discussing and asking questions in the classroom. Improved test scores from one year to the next.
Submitted by: Dain Kavars, The Indiana Academy of Science, Mathematics, and Humanities