Increasing learning rates by increasing student response rates: A summary of research.

Abstract

Summary of Teacher-Led Procedures Wait-times, choral responding, and response cards increase the number of studentsresponding to task stimuli following teacher questions. Consequently, these proce-dures can increase the number and the rate of complete learning trials duringrecitation. However , each of thes e procedure s has uniqu e strength s and shortcomings .Increasing wait times may increase the number of students responding; but, becausethese cognitive responses are unobservable, teachers can not monitor or evaluateresponses. Respons e cards occasio n observable written responses which teachers canmonitor. After asking a question, the teacher can determine who is responding andevaluate the accuracy of those responses. This can allow teachers to encourageresponding from all students and provide corrective feedback to students who aremaking errors . However, writin g response s take s time . Therefore, response card s maybe less efficient (lower learning trial rates) than longer wait times and calling on onestudent to respond aloud when questions require long responses .Choral responding is overt and efficient. However, teachers have difficultydetermining which students are responding and evaluating response accuracy(Narayan et al., 1990). Therefore, when students have obtained some degree ofaccuracy, choral responding may prove to be useful for increasing fluency becauseit allow s for a larg e numbe r of response s in a brie f perio d of time . Chora l respondingmay also be useful when the goal response is verbal. For example, you could notuse response cards for sight-word responding. When teachers are presenting taskstimuli and providing feedback they can control the pace of instruction. ReducingITIs and increasing wait times may improve the quality and possibly the quantityof learning trials in a fixed period of time. Teachers can also control the form andtiming of responses . Choral responding and response card research reviewed showhow altering the form (written as opposed to subvocal) or timing (unison or one ata time) of responses can increase rates of responding and learning rates in groupsof students.