Description of Move
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EXPLICIT SKILL AND STRATEGY INSTRUCTION
METACOGNITIVE MODELING (THINK-ALOUD)
Additional Support
Practice moving towards students and using a curious, conversational tone to convey to students that you are seeking to understand them rather than interrogate them.
The opening question in a case is a good opportunity for an extended dialogue, but it also places considerable pressure on one student. Consider following up with other students to spread out airtime amongst the class.
If students struggle to answer your follow-up questions, try to reformulate the question or provide some scaffolding
According to a research review, the instructor’s discourse and facilitation of student discussions play an important role fostering a collaborative learning environment (Webb, 2009).
When instructors’ responses to students are clear, purposeful, and meaningful, students are better able to understand the information intended to be learned and develop metacognitive strategies for future learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007)
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Using student comments to scaffold content, highlight key points, and introduce just-in-time information is central to the effective use of cases (Ramaekers et al., 2011).
Harvard Business School provides a helpful list of sample questions that instructors can use to follow-up with their students.
In another video, Instructional Moves featured faculty member Todd Rakoff describes how he utilizes a variety of follow-up strategies to respond to unclear or incorrect answers in class.
The opening question in a case is often one that generates opportunities to follow-up with students. This Harvard Business Publishing article explains the elements of a “perfect opening question” for case discussion.