Stop Talking

If I could send one piece of advice to my fellow teachers, it would be this: “Stop talking.” Yes, I’m addressing teachers, not students. In fact, my message to teachers about students would be the exact opposite. Students need to be actively engaged in order to learn, and listening to a teacher talk does not help practice the vital skills of reading, writing, and problem solving.

How then does the idea of students talking impact the learning environment? Alderman (2003) emphasizes the importance of overtly teaching students to value effort. And, this is exactly what cooperative groups can accomplish. Marzano (2003) speaks to the power that cooperative groups can have in enhancing on task behavior and the significant effect that on task time has on student achievement. The bottom line: when student talk, write, and problem solve together, they learn more.

There is, of course, a predictable objection: What about the kids who ride on the backs of other group members? That’s where good teaching comes in. It’s critical to distinguish between “group work” and “cooperative” work. Okay, this is teacher jargon, but here’s the point. Keep each student responsible for some part of the learning. These parts can be built into the structure of the project and individuals can choose. In more informal settings, you can have student RAFT for writing assignments. Each student takes responsibility for the role, audience, format, and time. There are many ways to divide labor, but make sure that the group can move forward even if one member fails. We can not let a few students hold us back from using a structure that supports both student achievement and social equity.

I sometimes complain, “It’s so boring to teach five sections of the same lesson.” A close friend replied, “If you’re bored, how do you think the students feel?” This always reminds me, class is not about me; it’s about them. A lesson is not what I say. Learning is about what they hear, or better yet, what they learn. Slavin (1995, as cited in Alderman, 2003) tells us that cooperative learning benefits all students, from low achievers to the gifted. It especially helps African-American students, and also helps support inter-ethnic relationships (Clark, 1991, as cited in Alderman, 2003).

Stop talking. Start structuring the critical work. Don’t tell students how to do it; model it. Show them. Make them read, write, talk, and problem solve. Have them talk themselves through it (Alderman, 2003). It’s not about noise, quiet or loud: it’s about engagement. If you are talking their not fully engaged, and that’s your fault, not theirs.