One of my inquiry resources, an article by Gettinger and Ball, describes choral responding as a strategy to engage students. I decided to try it during one of my lessons because my class is very energetic and eager to share their ideas. I thought this would be a great way to get quieter students to respond as well. They would feel less anxious or shy because they are responding at the same time as their peers. Some students would also feel more comfortable because if their answer is incorrect, it would be difficult to tell.

I was able to successfully incorporate this technique into my lesson when asking students specific questions about the learned material, such as what a particular acronym stands for. Students enjoyed choral responding immensely because it allowed them to release their energy and shout out what they had just learned. It also made it easier for me because often, when I ask a question, so many hands shoot up in the air! This way, I didn’t have to pick one student to answer the question and was able to let all of the students respond.

I would not overuse this technique because it is somewhat difficult to tell which students are unsure or not responding. In my opinion (and experience), this is a fun and effective strategy to use during the closing of a lesson when a teacher wants to summarize what was taught or learned.