Good afternoon, friends and colleagues! Today we will be discussing a popular cooperative learning strategy supported by Kagan known as Quiz-Quiz-Trade. However, I would first like to share a brief thought on personal learning networks (PLNs) and the importance of educators' digital footprints, one of our focuses this week in my "The Digital Educator" course via the American College of Education. This week we discussed the role of teachers as models of lifelong learning and online professionalism. In order for us to continually grow and learn, we must expand beyond traditional networking into digital venues that promote dialogue and resource sharing. An efficient means of participating in these virtual dialogues is through networking platforms like blogs. Engaging in forums such as these enable us to serve as ideal digital citizens for our students. Winn (2011) contends that teachers need to use sites on the Internet, including social media outlets, in order to demonstrate appropriate online behavior and "personal accountability" (p. 11) for 21st century learners. In doing so, we can act as educational leaders to help our students understand the value that technology can--and will--affect their future careers in the ever-changing workforce. Provided below are two resources that offer some insight into developing your own PLN as well as five useful examples of PLNs for educators to consider.
Defining the PLN via Teacher Challenge Education Blog
Five Beginning PLN Sites via MindShift at KQED News
On to Quiz-Quiz-Trade, a cooperative learning strategy that allows students to actively participate in the learning process and have fun while they are at it! I have often found Quiz-Quiz-Trade to be a very helpful activity to review before a major test or break up a long class period if students begin to stir restlessly in their seats.
Indeed, one of the great benefits of this strategy is that it asks students to leave their seats and move around the classroom. I was struck with a stark reminder just last week when I had a student ask if they could stand while we were reading as a whole class. It was during my 8th period class at the end of the day, and I was clearly aware that many of the students were beginning to lose focus. When I asked this student why, he informed me that he had been sitting all day, and he felt as though he was going to fall asleep. I proceeded to let him stand and read, and I realized that many of our students have scarce opportunities to move about throughout the school day, save for traveling from class to class. Toppel (2015) indicates in the research that this sense of movement helps stimulate students to authentically participate, and reminds them that the onus of learning falls on them actively, not passively. This is an often underrated, but nonetheless important, idea to consider.
In the context of Quiz-Quiz-Trade, students review important facts, concepts, dates, or definitions with one another in an almost "speed dating" like manner. Students will use cards with a clear, concrete question on the front and the answer either on the back or in the corner of the card (in small print). The teacher may choose to have these cards with pre-selected questions already available for students to use; this can prove particularly helpful when a teacher wishes to ensure specific content is being reviewed. However, I usually find my students enjoy writing their own questions, and more often than not, will write challenging and effective questions with answers in the hopes to stump their classmates. It is necessary to remind students that questions should be explicit and offer either a multiple choice or short response to facilitate a smooth and enjoyable round of Quiz-Quiz-Trade. Modeling a sample question on a card beforehand can prove useful in this regard. Each student should ultimately have their own task card, and once all cards are complete, students will stand and find a partner for this cooperative learning activity ("Quiz-Quiz-Trade," 2017).
The activity begins with Student 1 asking Student 2 in their partner pairs the question on their card. Student 1 should provide at least 3-5 seconds of think time for his or her partner. If the partner cannot provide an answer, or answers incorrectly, Student 1 can offer a hint before sharing the answer to the given question. It is then Student 2's turn; the student will ask the question on his or her card and wait for a response from Student 1. Again, a practice encounter can be modeled by the teacher bringing up a student volunteer in front of the class as an example before beginning the activity for the first time. Once both students have asked their questions and the correct answers have been shared, students will raise their hands and wait until they find a new partner to begin the process again. ("Quiz-Quiz-Trade," 2017). Because there should be dozens of pairs in most classrooms moving at a rapid pace, there is very rarely more than several seconds before a student with his or her hand raised is without a partner. This process continues for a set amount of time or until the teacher feels that nearly all students have found different partners and asked multiple questions. Ten minutes or so is often a golden standard to follow, though this can be adjusted as needed.
Prior to implementing this cooperative learning strategy, and depending on the class, teachers may wish to institute some ground rules first. Reminding students that no running is allowed, that no one may refuse a partner, and that all partners should be treated with friendliness and courtesy helps promote positive exchanges throughout the activity ("Quiz-Quiz-Trade," 2017). Failing to do so may result in a chaotic classroom, which no teacher wants. Despite this potential for classroom havoc, in my experience establishing clear guidelines beforehand and cultivating a positive, respectful environment among students often deters any issues. One of the many boons of this technique is how efficiently it supports student collaboration and interaction. Students are encouraged to share questions and ideas with other students in class with whom they may never have spoken otherwise. According to Toppel (2015), “teachers… can enhance instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students by mindfully using cooperative learning and engagement strategies,” (p. 552), and Quiz-Quiz-Trade is no exception. Promoting genuine conversation on the subject matter and a chance for students to think and speak with one another can yield highly rewarding results. For further review, the teacher may collect the cards after the activity and call on students to respond to them as part of a whole-class discussion with follow-up as necessary.
Kagan Online Research & Rationale Article: The results behind quiz-quiz-trade
I frequently use Quiz-Quiz-Trade in my English Language Arts (ELA) classroom with new vocabulary words we are learning or essential literary terms. I may ask that students write down the definition or an example of the vocabulary word, and then proceed to have their partner pairs try to determine which term best describes the prompt. Having students write their own sentences with a blank following the Cloze procedure can also be an excellent way to modify this activity for higher-level learning. Most recently, I used this strategy during our reading of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Students were asked to write questions describing a character with adjectives or a specific question using detail that could be answered quickly and clearly with evidence from the text. Students seemed to very much enjoy the activity, and I feel it was a much more productive review that simply giving students "five minutes to study" before their quiz. This cooperative learning technique could easily be applied in other subject areas like Science and History when learning important concepts or key people/events.
I hope that you will contemplate integrating the Quiz-Quiz-Trade strategy into your own classrooms! Students can truly benefit from the opportunity to move about, compose questions, work with their peers, and actively engage in their learning. Equally significantly, students are motivated to partner with students they may normally fail to have any contact with, all the while learning a variety of important points about the content at hand. I have attached below a link to The Teacher Toolkit website that breaks down the process of planning for and implementing Quiz-Quiz-Trade into your own classrooms. I am confident that you will find this activity just as enjoyable and rewarding as I have, as will your students! As always, please feel welcome to leave a question, comment, or bit of feedback on my blog if you desire. Thank you for reading! I hope the quickly approaching end of the school year is smooth sailing for you and your kids.
Quiz-Quiz-Trade Link via the Teacher Toolkit
Sincerely,
Ryan
[email protected]
References
Quiz-Quiz Trade. (2017). The Teacher Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/quiz-quiz-trade.
Toppel, K. (2015). Enhancing core reading programs with culturally responsive practices. Reading Teacher, 68(7), 552-559.
Winn, M. (2011). Promote digital citizenship through school-based social networking. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(4), 10-13.
Defining the PLN via Teacher Challenge Education Blog
Five Beginning PLN Sites via MindShift at KQED News
On to Quiz-Quiz-Trade, a cooperative learning strategy that allows students to actively participate in the learning process and have fun while they are at it! I have often found Quiz-Quiz-Trade to be a very helpful activity to review before a major test or break up a long class period if students begin to stir restlessly in their seats.
Indeed, one of the great benefits of this strategy is that it asks students to leave their seats and move around the classroom. I was struck with a stark reminder just last week when I had a student ask if they could stand while we were reading as a whole class. It was during my 8th period class at the end of the day, and I was clearly aware that many of the students were beginning to lose focus. When I asked this student why, he informed me that he had been sitting all day, and he felt as though he was going to fall asleep. I proceeded to let him stand and read, and I realized that many of our students have scarce opportunities to move about throughout the school day, save for traveling from class to class. Toppel (2015) indicates in the research that this sense of movement helps stimulate students to authentically participate, and reminds them that the onus of learning falls on them actively, not passively. This is an often underrated, but nonetheless important, idea to consider.
In the context of Quiz-Quiz-Trade, students review important facts, concepts, dates, or definitions with one another in an almost "speed dating" like manner. Students will use cards with a clear, concrete question on the front and the answer either on the back or in the corner of the card (in small print). The teacher may choose to have these cards with pre-selected questions already available for students to use; this can prove particularly helpful when a teacher wishes to ensure specific content is being reviewed. However, I usually find my students enjoy writing their own questions, and more often than not, will write challenging and effective questions with answers in the hopes to stump their classmates. It is necessary to remind students that questions should be explicit and offer either a multiple choice or short response to facilitate a smooth and enjoyable round of Quiz-Quiz-Trade. Modeling a sample question on a card beforehand can prove useful in this regard. Each student should ultimately have their own task card, and once all cards are complete, students will stand and find a partner for this cooperative learning activity ("Quiz-Quiz-Trade," 2017).
The activity begins with Student 1 asking Student 2 in their partner pairs the question on their card. Student 1 should provide at least 3-5 seconds of think time for his or her partner. If the partner cannot provide an answer, or answers incorrectly, Student 1 can offer a hint before sharing the answer to the given question. It is then Student 2's turn; the student will ask the question on his or her card and wait for a response from Student 1. Again, a practice encounter can be modeled by the teacher bringing up a student volunteer in front of the class as an example before beginning the activity for the first time. Once both students have asked their questions and the correct answers have been shared, students will raise their hands and wait until they find a new partner to begin the process again. ("Quiz-Quiz-Trade," 2017). Because there should be dozens of pairs in most classrooms moving at a rapid pace, there is very rarely more than several seconds before a student with his or her hand raised is without a partner. This process continues for a set amount of time or until the teacher feels that nearly all students have found different partners and asked multiple questions. Ten minutes or so is often a golden standard to follow, though this can be adjusted as needed.
Prior to implementing this cooperative learning strategy, and depending on the class, teachers may wish to institute some ground rules first. Reminding students that no running is allowed, that no one may refuse a partner, and that all partners should be treated with friendliness and courtesy helps promote positive exchanges throughout the activity ("Quiz-Quiz-Trade," 2017). Failing to do so may result in a chaotic classroom, which no teacher wants. Despite this potential for classroom havoc, in my experience establishing clear guidelines beforehand and cultivating a positive, respectful environment among students often deters any issues. One of the many boons of this technique is how efficiently it supports student collaboration and interaction. Students are encouraged to share questions and ideas with other students in class with whom they may never have spoken otherwise. According to Toppel (2015), “teachers… can enhance instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students by mindfully using cooperative learning and engagement strategies,” (p. 552), and Quiz-Quiz-Trade is no exception. Promoting genuine conversation on the subject matter and a chance for students to think and speak with one another can yield highly rewarding results. For further review, the teacher may collect the cards after the activity and call on students to respond to them as part of a whole-class discussion with follow-up as necessary.
Kagan Online Research & Rationale Article: The results behind quiz-quiz-trade
I frequently use Quiz-Quiz-Trade in my English Language Arts (ELA) classroom with new vocabulary words we are learning or essential literary terms. I may ask that students write down the definition or an example of the vocabulary word, and then proceed to have their partner pairs try to determine which term best describes the prompt. Having students write their own sentences with a blank following the Cloze procedure can also be an excellent way to modify this activity for higher-level learning. Most recently, I used this strategy during our reading of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Students were asked to write questions describing a character with adjectives or a specific question using detail that could be answered quickly and clearly with evidence from the text. Students seemed to very much enjoy the activity, and I feel it was a much more productive review that simply giving students "five minutes to study" before their quiz. This cooperative learning technique could easily be applied in other subject areas like Science and History when learning important concepts or key people/events.
I hope that you will contemplate integrating the Quiz-Quiz-Trade strategy into your own classrooms! Students can truly benefit from the opportunity to move about, compose questions, work with their peers, and actively engage in their learning. Equally significantly, students are motivated to partner with students they may normally fail to have any contact with, all the while learning a variety of important points about the content at hand. I have attached below a link to The Teacher Toolkit website that breaks down the process of planning for and implementing Quiz-Quiz-Trade into your own classrooms. I am confident that you will find this activity just as enjoyable and rewarding as I have, as will your students! As always, please feel welcome to leave a question, comment, or bit of feedback on my blog if you desire. Thank you for reading! I hope the quickly approaching end of the school year is smooth sailing for you and your kids.
Quiz-Quiz-Trade Link via the Teacher Toolkit
Sincerely,
Ryan
[email protected]
References
Quiz-Quiz Trade. (2017). The Teacher Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/quiz-quiz-trade.
Toppel, K. (2015). Enhancing core reading programs with culturally responsive practices. Reading Teacher, 68(7), 552-559.
Winn, M. (2011). Promote digital citizenship through school-based social networking. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(4), 10-13.