Resources

Make sure you understand what the student is asking.
When students ask a question, it’s important to confirm what they’re really asking before you give a response. You can do this by asking a question, such as “Do you mean…?” or “You’re wondering…, right?” and waiting for the student to respond. Without this step, it’s easy to answer a question that the student didn’t ask, leaving them dissatisfied. Also, when students asks questions that are overly general, see if you can help narrow the question down to something specific that you can answer.

Use a visual if it will help clarify your explanation.
Sometimes no amount of words will clarify a tricky concept. Don’t be afraid to make a quick sketch or diagram to express your meaning. Check for signs of understanding or confusion in students’ faces. Looking at students’ faces as you provide your explanation may give you a clue about their level of understanding. You can also confirm understanding by asking questions such as, “Does that make sense?” or “Does that make it clearer or more confusing?”

Let students know when they’re on the right track.
Encouragement can have a big impact on your students, and noting their successes can go a long way to building an effective working relationship with them. Another good tip is to acknowledge that a concept may be difficult to grasp so that students feel that their question was warranted.

Don’t be afraid to take a moment to consider your answer.
Sometimes you’ll give what you think is a straightforward and clear answer to a student’s question only to find that the explanation wasn’t as clear as you thought it was. It’s easy to get flustered in this situation, so take a moment to reconsider the concept and reword your explanation.

Student engagement is a complex and multilayered topic. Below are a few basic steps you can take to prompt your students’ involvement.

Ask students to provide next steps.
This requires that students consider the problem and decide how they would approach it. It causes students to engage more deeply with the material than they would if they were simply listening to you solve the problem, and it can also provide insight into the students’ level of understanding

Consider all suggestions provided.
It’s important to recognize that speaking out in class is a source of anxiety for some students. Be compassionate and don’t dismiss a student’s response or suggestion without first giving it some consideration.

Embrace unanswered questions as an opportunity to reinforce a concept.
It can be hard to wait for a response and receive none. One common reaction to this situation is to provide the answer, but this teaches students not to participate. A better solution is to be patient and let the awkward silence stand. When it becomes clear that no response is coming, reframe the question or provide some additional details to help students come up with the answer.

Use open-ended questions to encourage thoughtful responses.
Open-ended questions (those beginning with “wh-” words) require thought and consideration to answer, as the response is never a simple “yes” or “no.”

Let students know when they’re on the right track.
Encouragement can have a big impact on your students, and noting their successes can go a long way to building an effective working relationship with them. Another good tip is to acknowledge that a concept may be difficult to grasp so that students feel that their question was warranted.

Outline a problem and give students time to work together to solve it.
Students are sometimes happy to play a passive role in the classroom, but active engagement with the material has been shown in a number of studies to yield deeper learning.

Check for understanding
It’s important to check frequently for student understanding. Asking students “Do you have any questions?” and scanning their faces for signs of confusion or hesitation is one approach. You can also use open-ended questions, such as “What step do you want to know more about?” or questions that require a response, such as “Who would feel confident if they saw this kind of question on an exam?”

Working through problems with the class can provide students with a valuable learning experience. Below are a few pointers to help students get the most from this common tutorial activity.

Display the original problem if possible.
It’s important to model the entire problem-solving process, which begins with interpreting the text and supporting visual elements of the original problem. Displaying the original problem helps you to authentically reproduce the student experience of solving that problem.

Drawing a line on the board helps make sure you don’t write behind the overhead screen.
In some classrooms, when the projector screen is down, it covers part of the board. It’s important to know what parts of the board aren’t visible to students and to make sure you don’t write things there. It’s easy to inadvertently write in a blind spot, so making a reference line to keep yourself from writing where students won’t be able to see it is a good practice. It’s also a good idea to be on the lookout for other visual barriers in the classroom so that you can make sure all students have a good view of what you’re doing.

Identify the problem by writing the problem or page number on the board.
This seemingly simple step helps ensure that students who come in late or otherwise miss the introduction can still figure out what you’re working on.

Give a summary of the problem and what the question is asking.
As part of modelling problem solving, talk through the general and specific details of the problem and what the solution will involve.

Check for student understanding of the problem.
Once you’ve described the problem, ask a question that will reveal to you whether students understand the nature of the problem. For example, instead of asking students whether they understand the problem, ask them something specific about the problem such as “What will happen in this system when the weight is released?” The answer given will help you gauge whether the students have understood your summary and will also allow other students to compare their own thinking against that of their classmates.

Ask students for next steps.
Asking students to provide next steps can help foster student engagement with the activity. It can also help reveal gaps in student understanding.

Make neat diagrams with clear labels.
Your diagrams need to model the expectations for student work. As with all board work, your free body diagrams should be clear and legible; think of your board work as a visible representation of the effort and care you put into leading tutorials! If you aren’t naturally artistic or neat, take some steps to improve your board work. This could include practising drawing the diagram on the board before the tutorial and viewing your sketch from different seats in the room to make sure everyone will be able to see it.

Ask for student input.
As you work through the problem, continue asking students for input. This helps you gauge how well students are following along and can also increase student engagement. Keep asking at different points in the problem-solving activity. To encourage different students to reply, try standing in different areas of the room and looking toward different students.

Include related formulas.
This is a good practice for students when solving problems, so it’s good to model this behaviour when modelling problem solving.

Restate responses so everyone can hear.
When a student responds to a prompt, make sure you repeat what they’ve said. This helps you confirm your understanding of what the student meant and also ensures that the other students hear all their classmates’ responses, even the quiet ones.

Don’t worry about missteps; just correct and move on.
Everybody makes mistakes.  When you realize, in front of the whole class, that you’ve made a mistake, simply correct it and move on. We ask students to accept their own mistakes as part of the learning process, so show yourself some kindness while modelling that acceptance for your students.