Sorry about all the random posts but when group members have questions for the group that directly bears on a situation going on in their classrooms, I try to bump them to the front of the queue, which creates an overload on the postings here. However, it’s necessary bc many questions need immediate responses and it is through the combined wealth of knowledge here that we can get real answers. Here is a question about barometer students from a newer group member:
Do you directly ask the barometer student the meaning? I hesitate doing that because I don’t want to embarrass the student if he/she does not know. I consider my weakest point is focusing on the barometer student, and I’m having to really concentrate on teaching to the eyes. I’m trying to just say the English word to the barometer student. I have found that very often they are the ones least willing to gesture the words. It seems to me that a few years into the method, that Blaine was getting away from gestures. I personally consider gesturing important, and was pleased to see in the video “Allison Steps Up with a Video” that her class began with gestures. Additional pointers on making barometer students comfortable (and not picked upon) would be helpful to me.
My personal response on the barometer kid is that I don’t use one. It’s too much intensity for the kid, as you imply, and, in a very real sense, all of my students are barometer kids. I must do my 50% of reaching out to every kid in each and every moment.
I’m not knocking the concept. It is great and works really well for a lot of people. Just not for me. When I tried to work with that kid, I always forgot anyway. So I just started holding everyone accountable to me and insisting that when I am not clear they signal stop me (hand over head as if to say, “This is over my head, Mr. Slavic.”) then I go to them and clarify. I am in no hurry.
Each kid is a barometer student. The connect with jen’s rubric (search “Great Rubric”) is huge on this topic, although it may not seem so at first glance. If every kid’s grade is tied to their (newly defined in my own classe this year) responsibility to communicate with me as per jen’s rubric (use of stop sign in particular), then I am exploring a type of checking for understanding that is new to me.
And that’s a big yes on your point about gestures. There is a big thread here about that. Yes on gestures. Big time. We got away from them. We shouldn’t have.