6 Hand Signals That Bring Learning to Life

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/hand-signals-bring-learning-to-life-ellie-cowen

Editor's note: This piece is co-authored by Ellie Cowen and Megan Nee, a second-grade teacher at Brophy Elementary in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Imagine that you're a student. Your class has just learned something new. Your teacher asks for someone to share his or her strategy for the problem that you've just solved. You're beginning to feel as though you understand the new concept, and you have a strategy that you could share, but something is holding you back. You're worried that your ideas aren't good enough to be voiced. You want so badly for your teacher and your classmates to know what you know, but the fear of embarrassment keeps you from raising your hand.

Later, you're working in a group with your friends. Everyone else seems to have come to the same conclusion about a number pattern, but you've noticed a point where their reasoning goes wrong. Is it OK to tell your group what you noticed? You've been told that it's disrespectful to argue. How can you explain your thinking in a respectful way that is helpful and not hurtful to your group?

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