Are they all engaged?
This training session is meant to build on the previous session by looking at getting larger-scale engagement.
The downside of Cold Call / Targeted Questioning is that it only gets answers from a single student at a given time. Whilst other students may be listening, it is also possible that their attention drops off.
Call and Response is a way of generating much larger participation from the class.
It has to be adapted for online, but here's how it might work in person:
Teacher: "So, what's a.
a CSS selector for?" Class (in unison): "A class!"
It's unorthodox, and might not work the first time you try - but if you persevere (and even make them re-do it if it didn't work the first time), classes can quickly get the hang of it.
You can adapt this for online through things like:
- Visual feedback on cameras (e.g. "what's the CSS id selector? Make a fist for
.
, spread your palm for#
) - Use of Slack / Zoom chat (e.g. "Write a CSS selector for this
<div class='container' />
and get ready to send it... now")
Slack / Zoom chat can be a powerful way of getting detailed insights from larger portions of your class, e.g.:
"Now, I want you to try writing some CSS to style thisdiv
in a distinctive way - when you're done, please stick it in this Slack thread / the Zoom chat."
If you're doing Call and Response or Everybody Writes, it's important to acknowledge the contributions from students - to communicate that their participation matters.
I would typically ask them to spend 1-2 minutes thinking about this, and then invite a couple of trainees to share.