Give students the opportunity to articulate their thinking before answering:
- 30 seconds silent thinking before any answering
- Brainstorm in pairs first for 2-3 minutes
- Write some thoughts down before answering
- Discuss with your neighbour first
Why use it (students and staff)
- To build confidence;
- To encourage reflection;
- To foster a sense of community;
- To share different perspectives on the same topic;
- To recall knowledge
Possibly more feasible in smaller groups or with a seminar type setting
When to use it
Depending on purpose:
- at the beginning as a way to recall existing knowledge
- in the middle to clarify points or formulate questions
- at the end of the question to check understanding and outstanding points
- as a reflective tool
Digital tools that might be used
Synchronous and asynchronous:
- break-out rooms (with some preparation)
- Moodle chat
- Teams meeting
- share document (for the entire group)
- whiteboard
- Mentimeter (open questions)
- annotation software
Speed of set up time
10-30 minutess depending on tools being used
Workload
Depending on resources involved and planning the structure:
- To define the activity
- To prepare questions
- To establish an etiquette with the students
This activity may become easier and more spontaneous if repeated throughout the modules/the sessions
Other resources
Shared whiteboards (Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate)