Four Steps When Using “No Opting Out” in Your Classroom

My first introduction to Marzano’s strategies was in the fall of 2017 at my new high school.  I had transferred from a low performing school to the best performing school within my district.  My first year, I taught tenth grade and had nineteen gifted reading students.  It was intimidating.  I quickly noticed that my school did not have a typical Teacher Based Team meetings (TBT) nor faculty meetings.  The meetings were focused on Marzano’s strategies and how to implement them in your classroom.  You can imagine my surprise when my first meeting did not include a student’s poor behavior and two short announcements from the nurse and our local union representative.  We sat in a classroom, read passages, and talked to our elbow partners about the passage.  I was once again a student.  However, it became a positive experience because the meetings highlighted strategies that we were required to perform within the class and return for a discussion.  One of those strategies, “wait time,” was under the title of “Asking In-Depth Questions of Reluctant Learners.”

Setting the Stage

During my fifth period class, which was a split class with lunch, I had a student that was a reluctant learner.  She was in Special Education and very self-conscious about her reading skills.  She refused to do any work during the school year, and as time progressed, she would walk into class with a fleece blanket and nap.  I used all my known teachers’ strategies. I walked around her desk, purposely called on her, woke her up, and talked to her about her interests.  She was the perfect student to use for my TBT meeting strategy.  During our meeting, we were to call on a student to answer a question and not take “I don’t know” as an answer.  I was a little apprehensive about the strategy of working with the student, but I was willing to try anything to keep the student alert and engaged.

No Opting Out

After my TBT meeting, I returned to my class and used the strategy with the student.

1.  I drew her name out of a cup of craft sticks and asked her a question related to the assignment. She immediately said I don’t know and put her head down.
2.  I would not let up, I said, “You have to look up to see the answer.” I waited on her response while other students wanted to state the answer, but I quietly told them to wait.
3.  I guided her to the answer, and she announced that she did not know and asked that I go to someone else, but I did not let up. 
4. Finally, she gave an answer, but it was not correct.  However, other students had their hands in the air offering help.  I called on another student and proceeded with class.

Lesson Learned

I like this strategy, but it takes patience and a little determination.  Prior to following the strategy, I would call on the reluctant learner, give a wait time, and move on. I would not hold the student to give an answer like I did this time.  The student continued to put her head down and disengage, but I continued to call on her using the strategy.  Her attitude never changed and neither did her motivation.  She continuously earned less than 10% in my class.  I believe the strategy would work with a student who was reluctant but motivated by grades or praise. 

You try it and give me your thoughts on the strategy in the comment area below.