Wait. Let Me Think About That

By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association

June 2003

Would you run that by me again? Sometimes, once is not quite enough, when we are trying to understand. “Wait! Did I hear you say . . .” we interject as we listen to a speaker, rephrasing the message to ensure that it makes sense to us. Or we reach for the replay button on our remote as we view a video, needing to absorb a scene a second time and mull over what we saw. And most especially, as we read, we periodically need to pause, a thumb holding our place in the book, while we ponder and consider, perhaps sneaking another look at a crucial passage to verify what we think.

As learners, we frequently discover that we need opportunities for further deliberation, to double-check our understandings and to clarify our thinking. This essential component of comprehension – synthesizing – involves processing a message so that it has personal meaning. Last month’s column described the strategy of Content/Process note-taking which prompts students to engage in synthesis as they refine their comprehension. Additional synthesizing strategies are outlined in this column.

The Strategy
The ability to summarize what is learned is integral to synthesizing. Sousa (2001) draws a distinction between classroom review, during which the teacher goes over key concepts as a reminder to students, and “closure,” which involves the students themselves summarizing the material. Because “closure” engages students in processing material at a deeper level than listening to a teacher-generated review, students gain necessary practice in rehearsing and refining their new learning.

Step 1: Admit slips and exit slips are a strategy that encourages summarizing and personal reflection. Students jot down thoughts, questions, confusions, or key ideas on index cards or small slips of paper, which are collected as they enter the room at the beginning of class, or as they leave at the end of a period. Students might be provided with a variety of prompts that encourage revisiting their learning:

• Write one significant thing you learned today on the front of the card and one question you have about the material on the back.
  
  
• If you shared one thing you learned in our class today, what would it be and why does it strike you as that important?
  
  
• Write “I didn’t know that . . .” on the card and briefly describe what it is.
  
  
• Write one thing in particular about today’s reading or lesson that you think might be confusing to a lot of people (even yourself) and comment on what might make it confusing.
  
  
• Select a quote from your reading that you feel is worthy of some discussion, and on the back of the card briefly mention why.
  

Admit slips can be assigned as a homework component, which students need to hand the teacher when they arrive to class. Exit slips are perfect for the last couple minutes of class before a bell rings, to ask students to engage in some synthesizing when ideas are still fresh.

Admit and exit slips also provide the teacher with feedback on points needing further clarification or discussion. The teacher can read from selected cards to start a class period and re-focus the previous day’s learning. At times you may wish to have the slips be anonymous, to encourage honest responses to confusions or questions that remain, and at other times you may decide to have the students include their names on their slips.

Step 2: Line-Up Reviews are another strategy that encourage summarizing. Students respond to a particular prompt on an index card, which will then be shared with their peers.

For example, students may be asked to describe something important they have learned or read that many people may not know. On the back of the card, they write why they believe this item is of particular significance.

When they have completed their cards, students form two lines of equal numbers so that each person is facing a partner.

After both students have talked, students are ready to move down the line. The partners swap their cards and everyone in Line B moves down to the next student to their left. Each student now has a new card to share and a new partner.

In this way, students have an opportunity to verbalize a number of concepts and ideas with several of their peers. Line B can keep shifting to the left until students have had perhaps eight to 10 different partners and cards to review.

The Line-Up Review is an especially effective strategy for exam review. Students can be asked to predict one specific piece of information they think might appear on an exam, describe it, and note why it is important to know. To avoid the same material appearing on the cards, you can assign different sections of a unit or chapter to groups of students. The line-up allows them a chance to revisit a number of important concepts and engages students in summing up their understandings.

In addition, Line-Up Reviews promote careful listening because students realize that they will soon be repeating what their partners tell them to another student. Therefore, they are also encouraged to clarify what their partners tell them, to ask questions if they are confused about any details, or to assist a partner who is struggling with understanding a card. The strategy has the additional advantage of coordinated movement, as students get to talk on their feet, which can provide a welcome active transition between class activities.

Step 3: Finally, students can use text codes (see last month’s column) for admit and exit slips, and for Line-Up Reviews.
Opportunities for synthesizing abound in a classroom, and teachers should resist the temptation to “do the review” for the class, instead ceding this responsibility to students whenever feasible.

Posted June 11, 2003