If you don’t already know by now, I am quite a fan of collaborative learning.  Maybe fan isn’t quite the right term, obsessed may be more accurate? Either way, I am passionate about implementing collaborative learning into the fiber of my classroom and advocating for and equipping other teachers to use it in their classrooms as well. 

One of the things I love most about collaboration is that it brings the amount of talking students get to do in the classroom to an all time HIGH. Does that proposition chill you to your very core?

Why would I want my students talking all the time when I spend so much time trying to get them QUIET?! 

And that is PRECISELY why this method is so successful, because we all know we are fighting a losing battle trying to keep students quiet all day, but also, research shows that students learn much more when they get to talk about their learning and process it with other people out LOUD.

Now, do not hear me say to just flip the desks over and cry ANARCHY and let all hell break loose (although now that I’m saying it, part of me wants to see what would happen if I did… I’ll keep that in my back pocket for later ;] ), but there is a way to train your students to have PRODUCTIVE collaborative conversations where they learn to LISTEN well to others and have ONE person talking at a time.  This means that at any point during collaborative discussions in your classroom, there will only be about 6-8 students talking at once (depending on how many groups or discussion teams you have set up).

Now doesn’t that sound much more manageable?  

Ok, now that I have your interest, if you haven’t already, be sure to pop over and read my articles on Collaborative Learning and Talking Sticks to get you started on how to facilitate this type of team discussion in your classroom.  

And you’re back!  Wow, that was fast.  What a great reader, shouldn’t surprise me, I mean, you are a teacher of course.  So, let’s get back into it. Now, your students are beginning to have these great conversations in class, but you are struggling to manage it all because you want to listen in and give feedback on everyone’s conversations, but there’s just not enough time!  You end up just talking to one group the whole time and when you’re done, everyone else has finished talking.

To combat this issue, I’ve created these nifty Collaborative Feedback Cards (snag them for FREE in here). 

Here’s how they work:

1. Brief the class. Before you start your team discussions, explain that you are presenting a new tool to help give feedback during discussions, while not interrupting conversation and allowing you (the teacher) to hear at least some of what everyone is talking about.  Show them the Collaborative Feedback Cards (print them in bright, fun colors to make things exciting!) and explain each one briefly.

They will begin to know more of what they truly mean as you use them in action and give feedback to different students.  

2. Check and flip. Explain and model to them how they are to receive a card during discussion.  When they get the card, if they are talking, they should continue and finish their point before stopping to read the card.  This ensures the cards don’t become a distraction or inhibitor to good conversation continuing. If they are the one listening to their teammates when they get a card, they can glance quickly at it and then put it face down on the corner of their desk. 

Model this and have a group of students model examples and non-examples. In the non-example, you can show the consequences of the student stopping to stare at the feedback card and ignoring their teammates the rest of the conversation or everyone stops and asks them what they got, which also derails conversation.  (This will take time in practice for them to get used to.)

3. Start the conversation!  Walk around as students talk and pick maybe 2 or 3 strong students to give feedback cards to.  You don’t want to pick too many because you want it to be a high standard you hold the students to who get the cards, they can’t be easily attained, but you also want to encourage students who are improving.  Check that the students follow the procedure to check and flip the cards during team conversations.

4. Debrief team discussion whole class.  Now is the time to ask teams to share their discussion points and then you can ask the students who you gave the cards, to share what card they got.  Take that time to praise them in front of the class and give specific reasons why they got their card and how you would like to see them improve in the future.  Also comment on their following of the check and flip procedure as well.  

As you continue to use this method more and more, I guarantee your students will feel more motivated to be involved in their team discussions and they will be more mindful of how they converse.  They will want to be a listening learner, or kind corrector, and it will shape healthier communicators in your classroom.