Ask students with raised hands if they’ve discussed their question with their partner before helping them because this encourages students to teach each other and helps make sure more of the students’ questions get answered.
The goal is to only answer questions after students have discussed them and tried working on them with their partner.
This technique is important because it also allows students to develop meaningful relationships with one another by working together to solve tough problems.
It’s important to check with students before answering questions because some students will alienate their partner by asking a teacher for help rather than asking their partner.
When students do this, they can implicitly signal to a their partner that their partner isn’t capable of helping which can be very harmful to a students self-concept.
This can happen even when the student does not dismiss their partner intentionally.
Answering a student’s question when they haven’t discussed it with their partner reinforces this undesired behavior.
Make all students say “I don’t understand” out loud, in front of the class to show them that nothing bad will happen to help them feel more comfortable saying something when they don’t understand something in the future.
Emphasize that group work is inherent in STEM, learning to work in teams is pivotal skill.
Encourage students to justify their answers and ideas during conversations in group work to improve group dynamics.