Protocol: the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions the classroom
Protocols in the classroom are extremely important as they not only make your life as a teacher easier, they save valuable time and help facilitate teaching and learning. Each year I try to implement and/or try a few new protocols in my classroom in hopes of having a system in place that kids are accustom to and can easily do. This year I am trying a new protocol for checking homework. I got the idea from the Project Zero's Summer Institute that I attended this summer. Here is how it works:
Students are in groups of 3 (we can call them student A, B, C).
Student A reads their answer for question 1 while B and C listen.
Student B reads their answer for question 1 while A and C listen.
Student C reads their answer for question 1 while A and B listen.
If everyone agrees on the answer then the group goes on to the next question.
If there is a disagreement a member in the group writes the problem number down on the whiteboard in the middle of their group for them to revisit once all of the problems have been checked.
This process continues until all questions have been corrected.
The group now goes back to the questions that they disagreed on and see if they can find a way to agree on an answer.
Any question that the group can't come to a consensus on should be circled on the whiteboard.
Circled questions are questions that we will discuss as a full class.
I tried this with my grade 7 students today and gave them 10 minutes to check and discuss their homework and then spent another 2-3 minutes going over one question that a group couldn't agree on. I loved that the protocol allowed all students in the group to participate and that group members couldn't say "you're wrong" as they shared their answers. And when they came back to answers they didn't agree on they were all open to and focused on coming up with an answer they all could agree upon.
Note: Students that have not completed their homework are not able to participate. Instead have them use the 10 minutes to work on the assignment. I keep track of who does and doesn't do homework and contact home when I notice homework completion being a problem.