Top 3 Mistakes Teachers Make Utilizing Opportunities to Respond

When teachers utilize opportunities to respond (OTRs) in their classroom students achieve at higher levels, process information deeply and retain knowledge more effectively.   

OTRs is a teaching technique that encourages student participation and engagement for all students.  There are three types of OTRs teachers can use---getting kids to say things, write things and do things.

Despite its potential benefits, however, there are common mistakes that educators might inadvertently make when implementing OTR strategies. Let's explore some of these mistakes, so we can avoid them! 

Mistake 1: Limited Variation in Question Types

Research has consistently emphasized the importance of varying question types to cater to diverse learning styles and abilities. Unfortunately, some teachers might fall into the trap of using a limited set of question types, such as closed-ended questions that require only brief responses. 

To enhance student engagement, educators should diversify their questioning techniques, incorporating open-ended questions, probing queries, and reflective prompts.

Check out some of these video examples from The Classroom Check-Up!

Or, checkout these Blooms Taxonomy Question Cards which have over 8 pages of question prompts to ask your students!

Mistake 2: Unequal Student Participation

In many classrooms, certain students may dominate discussions while others remain silent. This uneven distribution of participation can hinder a collaborative learning environment. Teachers may unintentionally contribute to this dynamic by consistently directing questions to a select group of students.

Check out this article from Edutopia which gives some GREAT ideas on how to get ALL students participating! 

Response cards, Hold Ups and Response Mats are another great tool to get every student engaged.  Check out this robust package for under four dollars!  Or, download the freebie mat by clicking here. 

Mistake 3: Insufficient Wait Time

Wait time, is a critical factor in increasing student achievement. Some educators, however, may inadvertently provide insufficient wait time, hindering students' ability to formulate thoughtful responses.  

In fact, on average, most teachers only provide approximately 1 second of wait time between asking a question and allowing a student to respond.

Decades of research, which can be found here, support that teachers should allow 3-5 seconds of wait time after a question is asked AND after a student has responded.  

Allowing 3-5 seconds of wait time promotes LOTS of positive outcomes for students including:

• increasing the length of student responses
• increasing the number of unsolicited appropriate responses
• increasing responses from students categorized as low performing
• increasing student to student interactions
• increases in student achievement 
• more thoughtful and contemplative answers
• decreases in students not responding or saying, "I don't know." 
• decreases in discipline problems

Opportunities to respond are powerful tools that can enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and overall learning experiences. By being mindful of common mistakes, teachers can harness the full potential of OTR strategies. 

Increasing Opportunities to Respond Using Physical Movement

In today's educational landscape--fostering student engagement is crucial for effective learning. Read about what the research says by clicking here .

One powerful strategy educators can employ is increasing opportunities to respond (OTRs).  OTRs refer to moments when students actively engage with material you are teaching.  Students can engage by writing, saying, or doing.  

Research suggest that increasing OTRs is linked to higher levels of students achievement, as it allows learners to process information deeply and retain knowledge more effectively. 

In previous posts I shared TEN ways students can engage in content in a verbal way and FIVE ways students can respond to taught material in a written way. Find those posts by clicking here or here!  For this post we will focus on ways students can interact with the content by doing--kinesthetic learning!  

Physical movement can be a powerful tool for understanding and retaining information.  Incorporating gestures and whole body movement into the learning experience taps into multiple senses, reinforcing neural connections and making learning more memorable.  Keep reading for FIVE easy strategies that will get your students responding to content in a physical way!

1. Interactive Learning Games:

Introduce games that require physical movement to reinforce learning objectives.  For example use a game of charades to review vocabulary or act out historical events!  

I have been playing the game Quick Draw  with my students for YEARS.  This is a great game to review or introduce vocabulary terms, words on a word wall or even spelling words! 

Quick Draw requires virtually no prep and the materials needed are in almost every classroom.  

Here's how you play:

1. Determine the list of words you want to introduce or review
2. Provide each student with a marker board
3. Provide each student with a dry erase marker 
4. Shout (okay maybe not shout...but say) the word aloud to students
5. Give students 30 seconds to illustrate the word
6. Say, "3.....2.....1....show me!" and every student MUST hold up their illustration (if they are still drawing I give them a warning, and tell them they get paper pencil next time)
7. Select a couple of students to explain their drawing to the class; or have them turn and talk about their drawing with a neighbor

Looking for ideas? Check out this blog post, which is filled with games to implement in your classroom!

1. 2. Role Playing Exercises:

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Allow students to transform into characters or concepts through role-playing. This approach increases engagement AND provides a deeper understanding of material. Reader's Theater is a great way to incorporate role playing into the classroom!

1. 3. Choreographed Mnemonics:

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3. Create simple choreographed movements or gestures associated with key concepts or facts.  Students can perform these movements as a group, reinforcing the information through physical repetition.  Check out this video from EL Education--lots of great ideas for how to incorporate movement into your classroom!
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4. Hand Signals :

Try using hand signals during instruction to gauge students understanding of the content being taught.  A few examples are: 

• Fist to five: students rate their level of understanding using a 0 to 5 scale 
• Thumbs up and Thumbs down
• Pointing to the correct answer (i.e. point to the right if, point to the left if, point on your paper to the correct answer, etc.)
• Fingers as a number: with your fingers show me the correct number choice....

1. 5. Response Cards:

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Have student engage with the content by holding up response cards.  If response cards are too messy to organize--try using a response mat where students use a a paperclip or some sort of marking device to mark their cards. Response cards and response mats (also called hold ups and student participation cards) are great ways to gauge students understanding and get them interacting with taught concepts. Some examples of cards you could use are:

• true/false

• thumbs up and thumbs down

• red and green

• numbered

• lettered

Click here or the image below to get your hands on this FREEBIE student response mat!

Or, if you are looking for a more robust package of response cards, hold ups and mats check out this product by clicking here, or the image below.  For under four dollars, you will have NINETEEN different ways students can respond to the content you are teaching.  WOW!!

Increasing Opportunities to Respond: Written Responses

Have you ever been at a staff meeting or professional development seminar where you (or some of your colleagues) were not paying attention?  Perhaps they were grading papers, texting, scrolling social media or having private conversations....

As we know all too well, kids are not a whole lot different than adults: if they aren't fully engaged in what is going on, they will find something else to absorb themselves in. 

I know all educators strive for maximum learning for all of their students, so we must avoid student disengagement at all costs!  One of the ways to do this is by increasing opportunities to respond (OTRs).

During a lesson students should have LOTS of opportunities to respond by saying, writing and doing! And by lots, I mean 3-5 OTRs per minute for simple responses (verbal or gestural) and 1 OTR per minute when the OTR is more complex (think solving a multi-step math problem) (MacSuga-Gage & Simonsen, 2015).

In my previous post I shared TEN ways students can engage in content in a verbal way.  You can find those posts by clicking here or here.   For this post, we will focus on ways students can respond to learning in a written way!  Keep reading for FIVE easy strategies that will get your students responding to content in written form. 

1. Quick Writes:

Encourage students to engage in brief, focused writing exercises, known as quick writes. Pose open-ended questions related to the lesson and give students a short time frame (e.g., 5 minutes) to express their thoughts. 

Quick writes serve as a low-pressure way for students to respond individually, promoting reflection and comprehension.

2. Think-Pair-Share with Writing:

Combine the traditional think-pair-share strategy with writing. After pondering a question individually, students pair up to discuss their thoughts and then collaboratively write a concise summary of their discussion. This approach not only enhances critical thinking skills but also encourages peer interaction.

3. Journals and Reflections:

Implement regular journaling or reflection sessions where students can express their thoughts on the material covered in class. Journals provide a personal space for students to connect with the content on a deeper level.

If your students struggle getting pen to paper, perhaps supporting their thoughts with sentence frames will do the trick. 

4. Interactive Note-Taking:

Transform note-taking into an interactive activity. Encourage students to annotate their notes, ask questions, and make connections to their own experiences. This method not only promotes active engagement during the lesson but also serves as a valuable reference for future review.

Interested in some specific note-taking strategies? Check out this easy WICK strategy from Edutopia. Or, take a look at downloadable graphic organizers from HMH or Thinkport.

5. Exit Tickets:

Use exit tickets as a writing tool for students to demonstrate their understanding of the day's lesson. Require them to summarize key concepts, ask questions, or share their opinions. This quick form of assessment helps both students and teachers gauge the effectiveness of the lesson.

Interested in a FREE exit ticket for comprehension?  Download the resource pictured below, by clicking here. 

When you incorporate written opportunities to respond in the classroom, you are enhancing student comprehension while contributing to the development of communication, critical thinking and collaboration.  Embracing the power of written expression truly empowers our students to deepen their educational journey!

If you are interested in deepening your knowledge about student engagement, check out How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class from Edutopia.  This is a great quick read with resources at the end! 

References

MacSuga-Gage, A. & Simonsen, B. (2015). Examining the effects of teacher directed opportunities to respond on student outcomes: A systematic review of the literature. Education and Treatment of Children, 38, 211-240.

Increasing Opportunities to Respond: Say Something Reponses (Part 2)

Learning is not a spectator sport!!



During a lesson students should have LOTS of opportunities to respond by saying, writing and doing! And by lots, I mean 3-5 OTRs per minute for simple responses (verbal or gestural) and 1 OTR per minute when the OTR is more complex (think solving a multi-step math problem) (MacSuga-Gage & Simonsen, 2015).

In my previous post, I shared FIVE ways students could engage with content in a verbal way. And, today I am here to give you FIVE additional ways students can "say something" while they are learning.

1. Partner Response

• Assign partners to students (Tip--pair a low performing student with an on grade level student).
• Give partners a number (1, or 2) and have them sit next to one another
• Teach students how to dialogue with a partner by looking, leaning and whispering. Determine if partner 1 or partner 2 will respond first.
• Use this strategy when answers are long, different or require higher order thinking.
• Example:
• Think: Teacher asks students a question (i.e. what might be an an alternative solution to this problem? )
• Students think about what they know.
• Partner: Each student gets with pre-assigned partner
• Share: Students share their thinking with their partner. Teacher expands the share into a whole class discussion.

2. Think-write-pair-share

• This is VERY similar to think, pair share, but with the addition of a written step. The teacher asks all students the same question, gives wait time to think, gives time for students to write a written response, and then students pair up and share their responses with a partner.
• Example:
• Think: Teacher asks students a question (i.e. would you want to be friends with the main character in the book? )
• Students think about what they know.
• Write: Students write their thoughts on paper.
• Pair: Each student gets with a partner
• Share: Students share their thinking with their partner. Teacher expands the share into a whole class discussion.

If you find yourself saying, "pick a partner," and kids inevitably choose the same person (aka their best friend)....then it is time to find a better way to pair students up!  Check out the Student Pairing pack  which has thirty ways to pair students in a quick and organized fashion! 

Some of the ways include: speed dialers, clock pals, app friends, color buddies, states, regions, famous couples, etc.!  

 

3. Quartet Quiz

• This technique was developed by Carol Ann Tomlinson in order to check the understanding of the whole class while creating small and large group processing
• Example:
• The teacher poses a question about the content being learned.
• Students think about their answer to the question.
• Students meet in quads to share their answer and create
• "We know" statements
• "We wonder" questions
• The teacher records the we know responses on the board and corrects any misconceptions
• The teacher keeps recording until all answers are recorded
• The teacher records the "we wonder" statements next to the "we know" statements that might relate. There may be no relationship, and that is okay.
• The class discusses the "we wonder" statements
• The class develops a closure/clarification/summary statement.

4. Think, Turn & Talk

• This is VERY similar to think, pair share, but instead of randomly finding a partner you turn and talk with peers in close proximity. The teacher asks all students the same question, gives wait time to think, and then students turn and talk about their thoughts with a partner.
• Example:
• Think: Teacher asks students a question (i.e. would you want to be friends with the main character in the book? )
• Students think about what they know
• Turn to a peer close by
• Talk: Students share their thoughts with their partner. Teacher expands the talk into a whole class discussion.

5. Inside, Outside Circle

• Inside-Outside Circle is a great technique to help students develop communication skills as they process or review taught information. It is also a wonderful opportunity for students to interact with a variety of peers.  Checkout the video below from Teacher Toolkit!
• Example:
• Students will form two equal circles.
• Half of the group stands in a circle facing out, and the other half faces in.
• The teacher provides a question with differing answers to the students.
• With a signal from the teacher, the inside circle tells the person directly across from them (in the outside circle) their response.
• The outside circle responds to the inside circle and then shares their response.
• The teacher has one group (inside OR outside) circle rotate a space or two, and a new question is given.

If you are looking for more structures to add to your classroom, check out the Teacher Toolkit!  Their website has tons of structures complete videos and adaptations! 

Increasing Opportunities to Respond: Say Something Reponses

When we have students re-engage with material again and again at spaced intervals, we are helping students cement learning to memory.

One of the best ways to create re-engagement with your learners is by providing ample opportunities to respond (OTRs). 

Opportunities to respond is a teaching strategy that elicits students responses by posing questions or comments that provide students multiple occasions to answer (Cuticelli, Collier-Meek, & Coyne, 2016)

When you provide students with OTRs it makes learning:

• Micro.  You are chunking and chewing content that has been delivered.  Students get time to digest and process taught information.
• Interactive.  Students are involved in their learning
• Reinforced.  Students are asked to answer, comment or complete an activity about what they are learning. 

  

Research tells us that teachers should provide 3-5 OTRs per minute for simple responses (verbal or gestural) and 1 OTR per minute when the OTR is more complex (think solving a multi-step math problem). For very complex tasks, like answering a prompt in writing, 1 OTR per 20 to 30 minutes is sufficient. (MacSuga-Gage & Simonsen, 2015).

Learning is not a spectator sport, so during a class period students should have plenty of opportunities to:

1. say things
2. write things
3. do things 

For this post, lets take a deep dive into saying things. Take a look at these FIVE say something strategies below: 

1. Choral Response: 

• The teacher asks all students the same question, gives wait time, and then gives a signal that cues students provide a response in unison. 
• Example: 
• Teacher: What is the capital of Kansas? 
• Give wait time 
• Students: Topeka

2. Jigsaw

• The teacher introduces a subject to be studied.  The teacher then assigns students to a "home group" of 3-5 students.  Each student in the "home group" is tasked to become an expert for a particular portion of the subject they are studying by getting into an "expert group" with other classmates.
•  The teacher provides each "expert group" with a resources (text selections, videos, websites, etc.) in order to become an expert. 
• After appropriate time studying, reading and dialoging with expert groups, students return to their "home groups" to teach the other members what they learned. 
• Resource:  Check out this video from Reading Rockets to watch a jigsaw strategy in action. 

3. Numbered Heads Together

• Numbered heads together is a great strategy that is helpful in reviewing taught concepts.  Teachers will create groups and give each group a number 1-6.  Within each group, members are also given a number 1-6.  
• The teacher asks a question and members of the group put their "heads together" to discuss the answer.  
• The teacher rolls two dice.  The first dice is the group that gets to answer.  The second dice is the person that gets to answer.  Only the student within the group whose number is rolled may speak.
• The student will stand and say, "WE decided the answer is...."  
• If the student is right, that group gets a point. If the students is wrong, the student does not get a point.  
• Example: 
• Teacher: Which character traits are stated directly, and which are implied by the author? 
• Numbered heads get together to discuss
• Teacher: Rolls 2 dice (ex: 1, 6--group 1, member 6 answers)
• Student answers--if correct the group earns a point. 
• Resource:  Check out this video to see numbered heads together in action!

4. Whip Around

• This strategy actively engages all students and encourages participation by all. Students will write down answers to a prompt and quickly share their responses with their class. 
• Example: 
• Question
• Pose a prompt that has multiple answers. Have students write down as many responses as possible.
• Whip Around
• “Whip” around the room, calling on one student at a time. Have students share one of their responses. When called on, students should not repeat a response; they must add something new.
•  Discuss
• After completing the whip around, have students discuss which ideas and themes showed up most in their responses.
• If you are looking for some great question stems, check out Blooms Taxonomy Question Cards! The cards included are flexible and can be used with any text---and over 8 pages of questions!!

• Resource: check out the whip around strategy in action by clicking here.  On the Teacher Toolkit website, there are also variations to the whip around strategy. 

 5. Think-Pair-Share

• The teacher asks all students the same question, gives wait time, and then students pair up and share their responses with a partner.

• Example: 

• Think: Teacher asks students a question (i.e. what do you know about the civil war?) Students think about what they know.

• Pair: Each student gets with a partner

• Share: Students share their thinking with their partner. Teacher expands the share into a whole class discussion

• Resource: Check out this video from Reading Rockets for further examples of think, pair, share. There are even suggestions for using think, pair, share in various subject areas.

• If you are struggling to find different ways to partner students, check out the Student Pairing Pack! It has THIRTY ways to pair students!

All of the above strategies are GREAT ways to get kids saying something during your instruction.  I have no doubt you will see student success increase as you maximize students' chances to interact with taught material and increase engagement.  

References

Cuticelli, M., Collier‐Meek, M.A., & Coyne, M.D. (2016). Increasing the Quality Of Tier 1 Reading Instruction: Using Performance Feedback To Increase Opportunities To Respond During Implementation Of A Core Reading Program. Psychology in the Schools, 53, 89-105.

MacSuga-Gage, A. & Simonsen, B. (2015). Examining the effects of teacherdirected opportunities to respond on student outcomes: A systematic review of the literature. Education and Treatment of Children, 38, 211-240.