Sometimes you don't have a choice about lecturing before winter break. The content requires direct instruction, and there's no time for elaborate activities. So how do you keep students awake when everyone's brain is already checked out?
In this episode, educator Leah Cleary shares two student engagement during lectures strategies she's using exam week: the think pair share strategy with dry erase boards and synopsis expansion, plus the buzzer trick she learned at the Georgia Ed Tech Conference. These aren't revolutionary teaching before winter break techniques—they're practical December classroom management tools for when you have to lecture and nobody wants to be there.
Leah walks through exactly how to use active listening strategies like CrowdBuzzer to gamify attention with freshman, explains why dry erase boards make thinking visible during think-pair-share, and shares formative assessment techniques that work in 5-10 minute chunks. Plus, she connects to quick exam review strategies for getting through this week.
This is survival mode teaching. Pick one strategy, try it Monday, and get to winter break.
Read the blog post: https://leahcleary.com/10-total-participation-techniques/
Get free review resources: https://leahcleary.com/free-resource-library-landing-page/
