Silence is often seen as a
negative in the typical classroom and the silent student viewed as timid,
fearful or disengaged.
According to Ross Olin in “Silent
pedagogy and rethinking classroom practice; structuring teaching through
silence rather than talk”, silence is often seen as a negative in the typical
classroom and the silent student viewed as timid, fearful or disengaged.
The right
use of silence in classroom could lead to
Relaxation, slowing
down at the beginning or end of class
Focus, Discipline and Control
Inner
reflection
Creativity to give
students time to form own thoughts and dreams
Freedom from
intrusion, from classmates, teachers, etc.
Comfort and Security
1.
The Pause
Let us make a question to our
students and then let us give students time to think: If we increase wait time
from one to three seconds, student responses become longer, speculative and
predictive thinking increase and low achievers get better. After student's
initial answer, let us wait before speaking or calling on another student. Then
students would be building on one another's answers instead of waiting for us
to validate the previous response.
2.
The hand rising
When we see a hand go up, we call
on that student immediately. We must increase wait time to include other
students. On the other hand, we have to respect students who do not want us to
call on them. Let us implement a signal for those students (e.g., a smile, looking
out the window, making eye contact with a friend, scratching a head). This will
reduce their own anxiety about being called on.
3.
The Enjoyment
Our enjoyment of teaching is
essential. Students can be an endless source of entertainment for teachers. The
way they understand and apply new concepts is what keeps teaching fresh for us.
We have to remain humble and entertained and never lose our sense of humour.
We must create longer silences
and hear more our students
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