Cold Calling

One idea that I'm experimenting with is the idea of cold calling. You give a problem and have everyone solve it in silence. Then, you "cold call" a student's name by drawing it out of a hat. I don't love the idea for my low level students because they may be very fearful of saying the wrong answer. I like it better after Think-Pair-Share. This way they have an opportunity to rehearse their answer with a partner before sharing with the group. Cold calling does keep students on their toes and gets students that don't normally share, to talk. It also raises the level of excitement in my class because some students want to be called upon, and it treats responses more like a game than just calling on those who raise their hands.