Raise Your Hand:

Encouraging Students To Speak Up in Class

Grades 7-12

How many classes in a school day are fun, interactive classes—a place for bouncing ideas off one another in a point/counter-point lively interactive learning forum? Sadly, the answer is not too many, if none at all.

Most classrooms exist in the lecture-listen format, which means that in order to interact within the classroom, students have to raise their hand—it’s the only way to ask questions, to solicit comments, to get feedback, and to become an active participant in the classroom!

But many students are hesitant to put their hand up in class. It’s risky business—attracting attention and running the risk of being wrong, or even ridiculed in front of the class.

Still, putting your hand up in class is a risk worth taking. Here’s why:

• It can signal the teacher that you have something to add, or that you need clarification
• It helps you become an active participant in your education
• It tells the teacher that you are paying attention, and thinking about what is being taught
• It shows that you are relating this new information to other information

Raising your hand—whether you are called on or not, or if you know the answer or not—helps you to gain a better understanding of the subject matter. Understanding the material is better than memorizing it—memorization only gets you through a test. Understanding is for life.

Raise your hand if you want to really learn.

Read related articles: Positive thinking and Confidence and Cheating

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