I really like using gestures to get students involved in the class. I have a few shy individuals that didn't want to do the gestures. So I would give them a heads up and ask them to think of something to use. I wasn't sure if it would work but they ended up getting more involved once they had a choice in the matter. Plus they got to make everyone else look silly. They needed that little bit of power.

Having the students help make up gestures is a great idea. I'm teaching EFL in Taiwan and my classes are split. Half of them are a breeze and they love gestures and woos. Half of them look at me like I'm crazy.

An idea would be to start with making gestures to music. Music is one of those universal loves for kids. I often find myself listening to a song with my middle school daughter in the car and we make up gestures to help us remember the lyrics.

Gestures are extremely helpful when teaching vocabulary for any subject. I especially like to use them during math vocabulary, when their brains start to drift away (we have math in the afternoon). I realize they memorize the words so much better, actually have a better understanding of the concepts, and also enjoy themselves at the same time. Before doing this, I realized how so much of the information I was giving was going from one ear out the other. Now I love how I have their attention and can make sure they're all learning. I also love to see them remember the gestures the next day as I review. I know my sister Toni Garcia (also a WBT intern) who teaches 2nd grade, has had much success with her students as well. Hopefully she can expand on what she does with her students on here soon.

Gestures are the gateway to comprehension! Last night I was watching the Saints-Vikings game with my daughter. The official came on after a play and made three gestures without the microphone. My daughter asked what he was doing. I explained there was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Saints, a holding call on the Vikings, and that they were offsetting. She was amazed and thought I was a genius! Especially when the official repeated the gestures, this time using the microphone and announcing the penalties.

I was teaching solving inequalities the other day and I played dumb and asked for help with the gestures. One kid says" make your hands look like grater than and less than, then switch them so your hans make a multiplication sign take one hand off and slice like division and say'you switch the inequality when you multiply or divide by a negative' " Brilliant I could never have thought that one up.

kathvic,

You posted this 5 months ago. Your Taiwan students were split half, in half out. How has that changed over the months?

What have you done to get the shy students to join in with the gestures?

Jason,
It's not only the gestures that are trouble to get students to do, but pairwork. In Taiwanese schools children do almost no pairwork. They repeat after the teacher. Trust me. My daughter is in a Taiwanese school.

Anyway, I think I am getting better at getting the shy students to join in. One thing I realized was that if I did a gesture and said something as well, the students focused on what I was saying and missed the ultra important gesture. So, now I will do a gesture first and make sure that it's an attention getter. Today I was teaching hard and soft. I started with hard. I hit my own hand really hard. Then I said, "OK everybody let's go." and took a glimpse at the scoreboard so the students knew they had to do it. After they did it a few times, I gave them the word for the gesture.

I am also teaching a wide range of students. With the older ones (junior high school) I don't really explicitly teach gestures. But, I tell them that when they are talking to their partners they have to do some gestures so I know they are on task. They feel insulted when I tell them to do gestures.

Something to consider.

As an administrator I fully accept that not all of the teacher at my school are built for WBT. That is not a bad thing...just is what it is. We have a strong team of teaching that are compatible and I do everything I can to support them.

Is it possible that some students just aren't compatible with WBT?

I have found some of my students doing the gestures under their desks, giving them a little nod acknowledges the two of you are on the same wavelength. Is it possible, Kathvic's students are doing the same? Some students take longer than others to get on board. Let's not equate lack of gestures with lack of learning. My understanding of WBT is to get at multiple intellingences and to address many learning styles; therefore, not all learners will necessarily need all facets. Please correct me if I am misguided.

You are right. I have even had parents say that students will come home and gesture as they are discussing a story, doing homework, etc. This was suprising to me because some of those students didn't do much gesturing in my small groups. Apparently it makes a difference no matter how you experience it.

I refuse to believe that every single child or teacher is not compatible with WBT. If you show that you are having fun teaching, then your students are going to join in. I have yet to see any student/teacher who has not enjoyed some part of WBT. Every teacher that I come into contact with or who has observed my class wants a piece of it. They all say the same thing though....I couldn't do that or it's not my personality. You can take WBT and make it fit who you are. The easiest way that I did this was the class/yes (I say Yo-YO and my students say What's up) There is at least one thing in WBT that every teacher could/should use in their classroom....I've said it once and I'll say it again....WBT is proven over and over again, that's why it hard to doubt!

Make it Happen
Jake

Yes, I have the same problem. Some raise their hands not high enough and some only mouth the words but I insist that they must do it. Luckily, they are progressing.

kathvic wrote:


Interesting....I teach 9th graders (here in the US) and I DO explicitly teach gestures (I teach science, and there's a lot of good gestures for our motion vocabulary). BUT...this year, my kids took longer to get used to it (making gestures). Still, it sounds like it's a cultural thing for your kids. I bet if YOU use specific gestures while you teach, they (some) will pick up on it anyway.

- Jen

ColoradoGuy wrote:


ColoradoGuy,

First, I'm glad to see some administrators here on our forums! Second, I am SO glad you are not REQUIRING your teachers to use WBT. BUT...I gotta agree with Jake here. WBT is good for all of us. How could it not be? In our school, our admin is big on Total Response Questionning. Well, think of WBT as Total Physical Response Questionning. AND... from a teacher's perspective, the REALLY cool thing about gestures is I can SEE, in a millisecond, who IS/IS NOT participating. It's WAY easier than figuring out who is/is not talking. (And this is BESIDES the obvious benefit of engaging more of their brains). Also, it has made my classroom managament a piece of CAKE. This, coming from a teacher who had a LOT of difficulty my first year in that area (but, really, who DOESN'T?)

If you believe in WBT, I think the best you can do is to MODEL it for your staff. Do it yourself in your staff meetings. If you can get your TEACHERS to laugh (AND stay awake!), I think they'll begin to see the power of it.

Power to the administrators!
- Jen

I have found that my students are more inclined to join in with the gestures once they know WHY they should do gestures. Even kindergarteners responded when I had them make the brain with their hands and wiggle the motor part to show just how much of the brain gestures use. I put up a Use Your Whole Brain bulletin board in the front of the room this year. I use the analogy of learning to ride a bicycle...how it is hard and we wobble and need training wheels for awhile, but once it is in our "motor learning", it is there to stay. You can get on that bicycle twenty years later and still know how to ride it. I tell the children the same thing when we are struggling to learn guitar chords. Keep trying because once you can play it, you will always be able to play it!

When making gestures makes sense to them, most of them will join in. I also use the scoreboard to reward everyone making the gestures and give myself a point when they aren't and then the peer pressure kicks in.

When I call the roll, which as a music teacher, I do every 40 minutes or so, my students have a choice of responding "here", "present" or give me a rule. They have expanded that on their own. Now they will respond with things like, "Use gestures!", "Use your whole brain!", "Oh,Yeah!", etc. Thursday I had a WBT button on and when I called out a child's name, the response was "WBT!" Of course, the favorite is Rule # 5!