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!!