Look for This in Your Classrooms
Sit in at least six classrooms for approximately five minutes each. Choose different grade levels and times of day. Use a single index card for each room you visit. Now, listen to the teacher’s instruction and write down all of the question words you hear (who, what, when, where, why, how). Also write down all of the directives you hear (describe, define, elaborate, synthesize, etc.).
Here is an example of what each of these information sources sounds like.
Notice that the first set are all questions. The second set are directives.
When you are done collecting classroom data, complete the following analyses.
1. Add up all of the question words you tallied? You will have totals for questions that started with who, what, when, where, why and how. Now add up all of the directives you heard.
2. Calculate the percentage of questions versus directives. You can do this by summing both of your totals from #1. Use the simple equations below to determine percentages.
Questions divided by (Directives + Questions) = % of questions
Questions divided by (Directives + Questions) = % of directives
3. Did you notice any differences in the quality of the student responses based on whether the teacher asked a question or issued a directive?
Click below for information to help you analyze and interpret what you discovered from your classroom visits and to see how you can help your teachers to implement two critical behaviors to get students prepared for responding to test directives.