Technique 34: Cold call - Building ratio through questioning

Teach like a champion 3.0: 63 techniques that put students on the path to college - Lemov Doug 2021

Technique 34: Cold call
Building ratio through questioning

Cold Call, the practice of calling on students regardless of whether they have raised their hand, is a profoundly important technique that can elicit a chain of surprising and positive effects in the classroom. There are few techniques that can transform a learning environment for the better as quickly. That said, because it is such a powerful technique, it's important that it be used correctly. Fortunately, getting a few simple things right makes Cold Call highly likely to help you build an inclusive, rigorous, and, frankly, happy classroom.

I'm going to start by sharing two videos that I think help demonstrate with clarity how to make Cold Call effective. The first is of Denarius Frazier in his tenth-grade geometry class. The second is of Na’Jee Carter in his second-grade reading group. Because I love these videos and think they have so much to teach us I'm first going to narrate each of them chronologically; then I'll go back and explain the key principles of effective Cold Calling.

Let's start with Denarius Frazier: Parts of a Circle. It's the beginning of class and Denarius has planned some Retrieval Practice to encode key concepts in long-term memory before pushing on to new content. “Take a second to look at this diagram,” he says, “And get ready for some questions… .” As he does this, a warm and welcoming smile lights up his face. Though he hasn't asked a single question yet, several important things have already happened.

First, Denarius has indicated to his students that he is preparing to Cold Call (he uses the technique frequently, especially at the beginning of class, and his statement “I'm going to ask you some questions” cues them to expect it here).

With the Cold Call coming, all students know they might be responsible for answering, so their attention and focus increase. This is so universally important it's easy to overlook: We can only learn what we attend to. Students are far more likely to think attentively about each question and answer it in their head because they may be asked to answer out loud. Denarius's questions are likely to elicit maximum thinking for all students and verbal answers from some of them.

Denarius's smile is also important. It says I care about you or I want you to be successful or This is a good thing. There's a loving accountability for students to stay focused on the math. This is what adults who care about young people do.

Denarius's first question is, “Give me an example of a radius … [pause] … Ricardo,” and everyone in the room glances at the diagram and searches for an example of a radius during that pause.

If he had said, “Who can give me an example of a radius?” and taken hands, some students would have known they would be answering because they planned to raise their hands. Some, though, would not find a radius because they hadn't planned to raise their hands or weren't yet sure if they wanted to participate. The ratio would be low.

If he had said, “Ricardo, give me an example of a radius,” and used the Cold Call, then other students might or might not have taken the time to think through the answer to this particular question about the radius since they knew the Cold Call was directed to Ricardo. But the way Denarius frames the question causes every student to do the work during the pause between the question and the identification of the person who will answer. The recipe here is: Question. Pause. Name. The timing means every student in Denarius’s class is searching the diagram for an example of a radius in preparation for the possible Cold Call. The ratio has been multiplied, if not by thirty, at least manyfold.

A small thing: Denarius gives his students six or seven seconds of Wait Time here to observe and think abut the diagram before he even asks the first question. In fact there's Wait Time throughout. This reminds us of something else important. Cold Call is never a “gotcha.” Denarius is not trying to catch students daydreaming or embarrass them into paying attention; the intention behind the technique is to set them up to succeed. Giving them the time to get oriented and to think through their answers helps with that. Effective teachers make students feel safe and successful even as they cause them to be more accountable and attentive.

There's further wisdom in the video as well: the universality of Denarius's Cold Calls, for example. It's clear he's not picking on Ricardo—or anyone else—because so many people get Cold Called throughout the lesson. It's not the strugglers or the kids in the back row or any identifiable group. It's just how we do it here. Cold Call comes to everyone because Mr. Frazier cares that everyone is thinking, engaged, and participating. By spreading his Cold Calls around the room, Denarius indicates that he's attentive to the progress of every single student.

Denarius also emphasizes the universality and positivity of the technique by smiling as he quizzes students. Here he is asking Shamari to identify a chord:

Photo depicts a person addressing the students in a classroom.

There's another critical moment when Denarius calls on Shamari and she answers incorrectly, mistaking a diameter for a chord. Teachers worry about what to do if a student freezes or gets an answer wrong when they've been Cold Called (in fact, it's one key reason why some are reluctant to try the technique, an important consideration for trainers and school leaders to be aware of), but Denarius provides a simple and effective solution. He responds with a Turn and Talk to let everyone discuss the question. Implicit in this decision is the idea that if Shamari didn't know, others probably didn't as well. (You could also make this assumption explicit by saying it out loud: “Hmm. Tough question. I bet lots of us are struggling with it. Let's review.”) Coming out of the Turn and Talk, there's another Cold Call to make sure students engaged fully.

Now let's step into Na’Jee’s classroom to watch the video Na’Jee Carter: Cold Call Montage. His reading group is discussing internal and external conflict in stories. After a quick Call and Response where students answer that there are two types of conflict, Na’Jee Cold Calls Marcel to identify them. “Marcel, talk to me …” he says. Na’Jee’s language choice here is striking. He hopes Marcel will know but he's given himself a bit of wiggle room. What is the wrong answer to the question “Talk to me”? Na’Jee can turn almost any answer from Marcel into a positive starting point for the discussion. He can make Marcel and the group feel successful right from the outset, and increase their motivation and sense of progress. They will be more engaged and more willing to take academic risks throughout. We see this cycle of early success in motivating participants even with adults at our workshops, where people sometimes are reluctant to risk raising their hand in front of 100-plus people. Typically if we start the day by Cold Calling them in a way that ensures their success, they begin raising their hands of their own volition. Through Cold Call, they have successfully entered the conversation and have grown comfortable speaking in front of 100 colleagues. Cold Call has allowed them to take the risk and prove something to themselves; motivation, confidence, and hand-raising all increase.

With that in mind, the phrasing of Na’Jee’s second question borders on brilliant: “Tell me about the internal conflict, Yedidiah …” Again, the openness of the question allows Yedidiah many ways to contribute to the conversation. He is capable of contributing, even if doesn't know every last piece of the answer. Na’Jee makes it safe to start without having to be perfect.

Na’Jee's third Cold Call is a bit trickier. He's increasing the challenge a bit now but when Yedidiah gets it, Na’Jee’s appreciation is simple and quick but lovely: “You got it, dude.”

There are two more Cold Calls immediately after: “Can you tell me about that conflict, Marcel?” and “And what kind of conflict was that, Mark?” and then Na’Jee’s most interesting question stem yet: “Yedidiah, I want you to start to speak about what sort of conflict you already see evidence for. …”

The framing suggests, in asking Yedidiah to start to speak, that of course he won't be able to cover everything. He’s asked merely to get the class started. If there are follow-ons to expand Yedidiah's thinking, well, we expected that from the start and Yedidiah will experience his contribution to the conversation not as incomplete, but rather as exactly what was helpful to the class at that moment. In other words, he will feel successful.

As with Denarius's class, you can readily see warmth and positivity in Na’Jee’s Cold Call. He, too, is smiling while he Cold Calls. In the following photo he is listening to Marcel's answer to his first Cold Call, relaxed and smiling. His smile says to his student: This Cold Call lets me hear your voice. It's a good thing.

Photo depicts Denarius listening to Marcel's answer. Denarius looks relaxed and he is smiling.

Notice also in the next photo, Na’Jee’s body language after he has Cold Called Yedidiah and is listening to his answer. His body language—eyes on Yedidiah, facial expression of genuine interest, tilted head as if he's considering each fascinating phrase—is a different form of positivity. Na’Jee looks like a college student listening to a peer in a seminar. His body language says: What you are saying is interesting and important. I am listening. I value it. This is as important to positivity as a smile—possibly more so. He is building and reinforcing scholarly identity.

Photo depicts Denarius listening to Yedidiah's answer.

There are five key principles implicit in effective Cold Call, all of which Denarius and Na’Jee have modeled already. They are: positivity, predictability, universality, intentionality, and connectedness.

Principle 1: Keep Cold Call Positive

Both Denarius and Na’Jee endeavor to make a Cold Call feel positive and natural. Their smiles are the biggest indicator of this and they remind students to relax, that their teacher wants them to do well. You can also verbalize this idea so it's even more obvious. “We're going to do Retrieval Practice with Cold Call to help us remember these ideas. I'm excited to see how we do.” Or you could say what Brittney Moore says to her third graders as she's observing student work and preparing to Cold Call in the video Brittney Moore: So Hard to Choose. “It's going to be so hard to choose one person to share out,” she says, her voice upbeat with excitement. The implication is clear: You choose someone to Cold Call because you love their work and the class will benefit from hearing their thinking. Under those conditions, there's scarcely a child who wouldn't want to be Cold Called. After all, it's an honor. Or check out the video Summer Payne: Individual Turns, which I've retrieved from the archives of TLAC 1.0 (those super-cute kindergarteners are probably in college by now!) so you could enjoy her singing “individual tu-urns, listen for your na-ame” and be reminded that the positivity of this or any technique is almost always within your control. I mean, your Cold Call is your turn. Who doesn't want their turn?

Listening behaviors are also important to establish the positivity of Cold Call—think here of Na’Jee’s tilted head listening to Yedidiah. They make the interaction feel like a conversation, not a quiz show, with the positivity deriving from the feeling that the teacher values students’ ideas. A bit of head nodding or other gesturing that communicates something like, what you are saying now is very interesting, is always helpful, as is movement. Somehow a teacher who is walking slowly as she listens communicates a kind of professorial interest.

Of course the greatest source of positive emotions for students during Cold Call is their own success, and it's a powerful motivator. Cold Call requires that students engage in an activity that may be challenging, unpredictable, and maybe even cause a bit of healthy tension. And then they succeed. That feeling of success can be powerful, even more so because they've succeeded at something that is hard. This doesn't mean all Cold Call questions should be easy—the challenge has to be real. But all the more reason that teachers should plan their Cold Call sequences to begin with a question that sets students up to succeed as a preamble to greater challenge. Then students, as we saw in Na’Jee’s video, can ride the cycle of success-motivating-success for the duration of the lesson.

One additional aspect of Cold Call that leads to positivity can occasionally elude teachers when they aren't prepared: both the question and the ideal answer should be clear. Every teacher has had the experience of asking a student a question that, in retrospect, was confusing or unclear. It's doubly important to avoid this kind of question when Cold Calling, when it is essential that students are maximally set up for success. Many teachers address this challenge by planning their exact questions and answers word for word as part of their lesson-planning process.

One final bit of guidance in making sure Cold Call is a positive experience is to do a bit of culture building around how to respond when students have been Cold Called and aren't sure of the answer. Consider the power of explaining to students in advance what to do if (1) they don't know the answer (“Say, ’I'm not sure’ and then add ’but’ and then give me your best guess,” or “Restate the question and tell me why or how you're confused”); or (2) their classmate can't answer (“Be supportive. Smile warmly and keep your eyes on them. Don't raise your hand until they're done trying, and remember that all of us will be there at some point.”)

Principle 2: Make Cold Call Predictable

In some ways Cold Call works backwards: it's designed to influence what precedes it, to cause everyone to think harder by creating an expectation that anyone might end up being asked to answer just afterwards. This means that the more likely it is that students see a Cold Call coming, the more focused, active, and attentive they will be during the thinking that precedes it. Thus Cold Calling should be predictable. Using it regularly is one of the best ways to do that. If Cold Call is an everyday thing, students will make a habit of increased attentiveness and get better and better at responding.

It's also important to think about the converse: If your Cold Calls surprise students, they may learn a lesson (“Darn, I should have been ready!”), but one too late to help them. They may also feel ambushed, caught off guard, and therefore more likely to be thinking about the past (Why did she do that?) than about the future (I'm going to be ready!). A Cold Call should never feel like a “gotcha” to students, and to use it that way—to try to embarrass Marcus a little bit by asking, “What did I just say, Marcus?” because you don't think he was paying attention—is to take a powerful and positive learning tool and cause it to undergo a counterproductive mutation that undermines trust between teacher and students.

You can see evidence of predictability in Denarius and Na’Jee’s classrooms—mostly in the fact that students seem so unsurprised by their Cold Calling. They react naturally and … well, honestly, they hardly react at all. Cold Call is a familiar occurrence to them. In fact there's a bit of an equation implicit in that: the more it happens, the more naturally it unfolds and the more comfortable students become. If the response by students is so-so at first, keep at it. Make sure you've got the positivity, make sure your questions are good, and then persist. Over time it will become part of the fabric of your classroom and the biggest benefits will accrue when it does that.

Another way you can make Cold Call predictable is to make it transparent—to tell students it's coming. For example: “Take a few minutes to work on this then I'll Cold Call a few of you to hear your thoughts.” Suddenly the incentive to do one's best work is even stronger. “Turn and Talk with your neighbor, and I'll Cold Call a couple of groups to share after your conversations.” You can also signal that students can expect it during class by Cold Calling right at the beginning. Not only does this let students know it's coming and keep them engaged all lesson long, but to the degree that you find it awkward to start Cold Calling the first few times you do it, it's actually easier to do it right away. You can plan it and then there's no awkward feeling to overcome when it suddenly starts.

Another essential step in making Cold Call predictable to your students is a rollout speech. Na’Jee’s and Denarius's can't be seen in these videos because they happened on the first day or two of school. A rollout is the ultimate in predictability—you make the what, the why, and the how totally transparent to students before using the technique so they see it coming and know how to react. You might say something like:

In this class I'm going to Cold Call you. That means I may ask for you to answer a question or share your opinion, whether or not you've raised your hand. This allows me to balance who participates and to hear from everyone. And sometimes I want to know what you and you alone are thinking. I'll try to remember to smile when I Cold Call, which is my way of reminding you that I always want you to do well. So if I call on you, do your best, even if you feel a little nervous. If you're stuck, tell us what you're confused about, and we'll help you out. That's what your classmates and I are here for. But, honestly, I think you're going to surprise yourself. Let's try a bit now…

BreOnna Tindall of Denver School of Science and Technology, whose teaching figures throughout this book, shared some great details of her rollout. “I tell them the difference between the different types of calls—I'll look for volunteers, I love hands, we'll do some warm calling. I might put a star on your page if I'm going to call on you. And there's also Cold Call, which is another opportunity for me to vary the voices in the room because sometimes I know that you know the material, maybe you're just shy, maybe you need a push, maybe you don't know that you know. We talk about that [when I roll out Cold Call] and they feel excited for the most part.”

The last thing that can help make Cold Call feel natural and predictable in your classroom is practice—your own. An awkward and hesitant lead-in to the Cold Calling by the teacher makes students awkward and hesitant. Denarius and Na’Jee’s Cold Calling seems natural, seamless, and conversational in part because they've done it a lot, but rehearsing a few times before class can help when you're just starting out. It's especially helpful to practice the first Cold Call or two—that's the one where you're most likely to pause or hesitate or suddenly change course. And since your working memory will likely be under intense pressure the first time you try it, practice smiling warmly when you rehearse—this will make it more likely that it comes off positively the first few times you try.

Principle 3: Cold Call Should Feel Universal

Teachers who use Cold Call take pains to make it clear that Cold Calls are universal. They come, without fail, to everyone and are not an effort to single out students for lack of attentiveness, in response to specific behaviors, or according to some other hidden calculus. You can see this clearly in Denarius's class. He Cold Calls seven students—enough to make it clear that anyone might be called, not just particular individuals or groups of students. This is typical. He tends to Cold Call in batches so that it doesn’t appear as though one person is “in the teacher's sights.” And he's careful to Cold Call all types of students—not just those whose attention might be questioned, say, or who are obviously high or low on the achievement scale. Finally, there's nothing in his affect—squinting, for example—to make it seem as though he's looking for someone or some behavior to latch on to. The seven students he Cold Calls are evenly spread out around the room. These aspects seem trivial but they are visual reminders that Cold Call is about expectations—“This is how we do it here”—and Denarius underscores this by asking Cold Call questions in a calm, even tone, with a smile or a look of sincere interest.

Be cautious, then, of tying your Cold Calls to specific behaviors when you're not sure students are eager to be called on. If you say, “Hmm, I see you hiding over there, Caitlin,” you not only risk making Caitlin self-conscious but also cause students to think about whether they look as though they are hiding and how they should look if they do (or don't) want to be Cold Called.

Of course there are times when the Cold Call is personal. Sometimes we do want to message to a student, I chose you for a reason; I want to hear your opinion; your voice matters. But that reason should almost always be a positive one. You are selected as an honor, or because of a unique perspective, or because I want you to know your voice matters. Brittney Moore's beautiful Cold Calling where she describes how she can't decide who to call on is a great example. Occasionally it will be clear to a student that they've been selected because they've made a common error that's worthy of study. If you intend to try that, make sure to read technique 12, Culture of Error, to make sure the context makes students feel secure and supported.

Na’Jee is also using Cold Call in a small group. In a way that's systematic, as it signals that Cold Call applies everywhere. Some teachers tend to think of small groups as more informal and not the place where systems and techniques apply. But it's also worth remembering why we are in small groups (for example, reading groups): We think what we're doing there is so important that we are willing to multiply the amount of resources we apply per student. If that's the case, we should use the systems that build productivity and focus too. Na’Jee is warm and welcoming with his reading group of four but he Cold Calls nonetheless. So do Brittney and Summer.

Principle 4: Cold Call Intentionally

Perhaps this is the unspoken principle that supports the other four, but it is helpful to say directly: Although your Cold Calls may sometimes or often appear random to your students, they should usually be intentional and, often, planned before you execute. In Chapter Two, Lesson Structure, I discuss deciding in advance whom to call on—either specific students or categories. Your notes might say, CC Abraham/Sasha or CC two quieter voices or circulate to CFU and CC an “almost right.” These require you to use data—either from assessments, such as Exit Tickets, or from real-time observations during the lesson. Brittney Moore Cold Calls one of her students three or four times in the lesson we taped. She wanted to give her extra practice because, in looking at the data the night before, Brittney had noticed that this student was struggling and wanted to make sure she got lots and lots of at-bats. Sometimes you will have to make the choice of whom to call on with a tighter turnaround, after Active Observation, for example. Then you'll want to use student responses to determine whom you will call on after the moment of Everybody Writes or Turn and Talk.

Most of the time when you Cold Call a student to contribute their thoughts to the conversation, you should have a decent guess of what they are going to say—or you should select them because of what you know about their patterns of academic participation, success, and struggle.

· Pre-Call: In Pre-Call, you reveal to the student you call on that your Cold Call is intentional by letting them know in advance that you will be asking them to speak. Christine Torres does this during her Keystone lesson when she tells Makaye during the Turn and Talk, “I'm coming to you to share.” This tips a student off that you will Cold Call them. This can allow extra time to prepare or to imply that their idea is especially worthy, thus building positivity. You could also use pre-call before students have completed their work to incentivize effort. “I'm going to call on you for question #4. Make sure you've taken time to double-check it.” You can also occasionally use it to signal discussion dynamics from the outset. For example, after a few minutes of writing about how the protagonist is changing, you might kick off the conversation by saying, “Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Let's start the discussion with Jasmine, then Carlos, and then Imani. Make sure you build off each other and use your Habits of Discussion …”

Teachers are sometimes concerned that using Cold Call may be counterproductive by making students anxious. It's important to be aware of students' concerns and also to do our best to assuage their anxieties. I very rarely see a student who cannot adapt relatively quickly—almost never in classrooms where Cold Call has been rolled out positively and according to the principles I describe in this chapter. There is not much to be anxious about in being asked questions by a caring adult.

That said, no two human beings are the same and you may at some point have a student who struggles with Cold Call. I offer two bits of guidance in such a case: first, an extra bit of relationship building goes a long way. Speaking to a student privately and reassuring them of your appreciation of them and your belief in their ability to handle any of your classroom expectations is a good first step. Second, offer initial modifications; for example, let the student know in advance via a pre-call or perhaps a nod that a Cold Call is coming the first few times you use it. If that's the case I would also suggest engineering the student’s first experiences so they are sure to be successful—and the student is able to answer and feel quietly successful (as opposed to heaping on a lot of praise, which might only make the student self-conscious). “Please read the directions for me, Chris,” is a great starting point (the answer is right in front of them). It's worth noting that the most effective response to anxieties—even those far more pronounced and debilitating than a bit of nervousness—is “gradual systematic exposure” to anxiety-inducing phenomena, as Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff note.10 The solution to a child who's afraid to jump into the pool is to encourage him to do so in an environment of psychological safety. The accomplishment of the task usually conquers the fear.

Principle 5: Connect Your Cold Calls

From the teacher's perspective much of Cold Calling is about deciding strategically who will talk (though it may appear random from the student's seat). But in many ways Cold Calling is also about socializing listening, and the fifth principle is about maximizing that potential. Unbundling and using follow-on prompts are two ways to do that.

When you “unbundle,” you break up larger questions into a series of smaller questions, ideally with contingent answers, and distribute them to multiple students. This can help build energy and momentum in your pacing; it also builds a culture of peer-to-peer accountability. Answering one part of the question requires students to listen and react to the previous answer. Consider, first, Ms. Martin who has Cold Called D'Juan to ask him how to find the volume of a cylinder. The class listens while D'Juan ably describes the necessary calculations, but they become increasingly passive participants to the exchange. Actually, D'Juan really knows his stuff and he proudly stretches out his answer so it's as thorough and methodical as it can be. Ironically this has a counterproductive effect on the class. The longer the answer goes on, the easier it is to tune out. Students realize they won't be answering this question.

Now, compare that sequence to this one, in which Ms. Martin unbundles the question:

Ms. Martin:

How many variables and constants do we have to consider in finding the volume of a cylinder? D'Juan?

D'Juan:

Three of them.

Ms. Martin:

Good. Tell me one, Janella.

Janella:

Radius.

Ms. Martin:

OK, and D'Juan, is that a variable or a constant?

D'Juan:

Radius is a variable.

Ms. Martin:

OK, so what's the other variable, Carl?

Carl:

Height is the other variable.

Ms. Martin:

Good. So, what's the constant that we need, Kat?

Kat:

Pi.

Ms. Martin:

And how do we know it's a constant, Jameer?

Jameer:

Well, because it never changes.

Ms. Martin:

Good. So, Taylor, when I multiply my constant and my two variables, I get my volume, right?

Taylor:

Well, no, you need to square your radius.

Ms. Martin:

Ah, yes. Thank you, Taylor. Well done.

By breaking up a single question into pieces and Cold Calling multiple students, Ms. Martin keeps all students on their toes; in making questions contingent on one another, she causes students to attend even more closely to what the others say. Not only were six students engaged actively where only one had been before, but all students were likely thinking through the answers silently, given the plausibility of being called on. And because the students are all working together toward answering a question, unbundling tends to build a positive cohesive culture. It makes school a team sport.

Follow-on is the term for sequencing a series of more open-ended prompts that similarly cause students to listen to, reflect on, and expand one another's answers. Let's say Ms. Carrasco is teaching her students about plate tectonics.

Ms. Carrasco:

Jennifer, what does this tell us causes earthquakes?

Jennifer:

The plates.

Ms. Carrasco:

Doing what?

Jennifer:

The plates colliding.

Ms. Carrasco:

Can you develop that a bit, please … Jalen?

Jalen:

Well the plates collide and sometimes one slides under the other but other times they scrape alongside each other.

Ms. Carrasco:

Good addition, Jalen. One thing we haven't talked about is the role of pressure. Teana, can you add to that?

Teana:

I think so. I think what happens is that as the plates collide in either of the ways Jalen talked about, the pressure builds up and builds up and then suddenly there's an earthquake.

In this sequence Ms. Carrasco has used follow-on prompts—phrases that explicitly ask students to expand upon or react to the previous answer in order to build a culture of listening. Her phrases are Can you develop that, Jalen? and Can you add to that, Teana? I'm sure you can imagine others. Agree or disagree is a common one though I tend to prefer prompts that don't limit potential responses to just two. It's worth noting the difference in her follow-ons: the first, to Jalen is open ended—he can develop in whatever way he wants—but Teana's comes with guidance—please talk about the role of pressure. In either case, effective listening is reinforced and made critical to success.

Four Purposes for Cold Call

In the previous section, I discussed principles for how to Cold Call, but it's also important to know why you are Cold Calling so you can make adaptations accordingly. I can think of at least four purposes for the technique.

Purpose 1: Voice Equity

Let me begin by describing a Cold Call of my own, one you might not think of as a Cold Call at first but one that I hope will frame the conversation about it in a new light. I have three children and at dinner recently the discussion was dominated by my two older children. Their voices were confident. Of course, we would want to know what happened to Aijah and Jane in math class or Nilaan and Derrin at soccer practice. My littlest sat quietly at the end of the table, tracking the conversation with her eyes. Her brother and sister are five and seven years older, so perhaps she wondered: Were her stories from the day also relevant to the discussion? Would they meet with approval from her older siblings? When and how might she break in to try?

So I Cold Called her, turning to her at a tiny break in the discussion, and saying, “What about you, Goose? Are you still doing astronomy in science?”

She had not volunteered to join the conversation but I wanted her to know her voice mattered, and that her contributions were important. I wanted to show her the importance of her voice to the conversation. If she felt nervous, I wanted to break the ice for her.

There are few things more inclusive you can do than to ask for someone's opinion or input, especially when they do not yet know whether their voice is important in a room. To ask a student who has not volunteered, “What do you think?” is to tell them their voice matters. This idea is called “voice equity” and I first began to use it after a conversation with some colleagues who trained teachers for the Peace Corps in sub-Saharan Africa.

In many parts of the countries where they worked, “Girls are not called on,” one of the team, Becky Banton, noted. There's an unspoken gender norm and girls often do not speak up readily. Sometimes the norm comes from their families and sometimes despite their families. The expectation is transmitted invisibly, socially, mysteriously—but inexorably.

“They sit quietly in the back of the room knowing the answers but not actively participating, not raising their hands, not going to the board,” Becky noted.

“When our teachers Cold Call, especially when they know a girl has a good idea by having circulated first and they say, ’Come forward. Tell us your thinking,’ the girls answer and they succeed and you see it in their faces,” said Audrey Spencer. “It's so fast. In the space of a single class. It builds their confidence and then we see an increase in their achievement.”

When there is a norm or an expectation that a student should not or cannot speak in class, be it societal (girls should be passive) or personal (there are three kids who volunteer; I am not one of them), the Cold Call breaks the norm for the student, absolving her of the responsibility for the violation of what is or appears to be a social code and perhaps even causing the student to see the code as a false construct.

Cold Call can remind a student that their voice matters and, often, that they are capable of participating credibly. In that sense it is a reminder that part of a teacher's responsibility is to reinforce everyone's right, legitimacy, and sometimes, just maybe, responsibility, to speak—for the sake of their own learning and to contribute to the classroom community.

In fact, a recent study suggests just how powerful Cold Call is in shaping students' beliefs and expectations about their own participation. The study, by Elisa Dallimore and colleagues, tested the effect of Cold Call on voluntary participation by assessing what happened over time to students in classes where Cold Call was frequently used by the teacher as compared to classes in which it was not used.11 What they found was that “significantly more students answer questions voluntarily in classes with high cold-calling, and that the number of students voluntarily answering questions in high cold-calling classes increases over time.” There is a double effect, in other words. Not only do more students participate in classes where the teacher Cold Calls because of the Cold Calls directly, but also because afterwards—perhaps because they experience success or perceive the norm of universal participation more strongly—they begin to participate more by choice. Further, the effect the authors describe “also increases over time.” The more the Cold Calling becomes part of the fabric of class the more profoundly it causes students to choose to raise their hands. Finally, students' affective response to class discussion changed. The authors found that students' comfort in participating also increased. Being Cold Called didn't cause stress; it caused comfort and confidence.

Purpose 2: Creating a Culture of Engaged Attention and Loving Accountability

Later in this chapter—in technique 36, Means of Participation—you will see a soccer coach, James Beeston, explain to his players why he is going to Cold Call them during training: “Sometimes I might call on you guys even if your hand isn't raised, because the game requires you to be switched on at all times.” What James knows is that if the game demands it, practice must prepare them for it. His job is to help them be the best athletes they can be. Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child, as the expression goes. Somehow, we understand that a coach should prepare each athlete so they can hope to reach the highest level. This is the sign of a good coach and part of how a coach shows that he cares. Perhaps this is why the bonds between athletes and their coaches often run so deep.

Does it need to be said that teachers should prepare each learner as if they will go to the highest levels too? That this means a learning environment that also requires them to be, in James’s words, “switched on at all times”? To care about young people is to build an environment that lovingly and supportively prepares them for success, and that requires most of all effort and attention. Where people direct and focus their attention and how successful they are at focusing that attention will play a large role in determining what they accomplish, in the classroom and more broadly. And attention is a habit, mostly shaped by both individual decisions and larger culture. The effect of smartphones on our capacity to concentrate should make that clear enough.

Cold Call is one of several tools that builds a lattice of loving accountability into your classroom culture. Certainly you can decide not to use it and leave your students' levels of effort and attention to chance. Many teachers do. But, in my opinion at least, it is a disservice to the young people we care about to not immerse them in a culture that socializes them to attend and focus and give their best every day. James Cold Calls because he cares. It is the same for a teacher.12

Purpose 3: Checking for Understanding

As I discuss in Chapter Three, knowing the difference between “I taught it” and “They learned it” is the core challenge of teaching and requires effective, real-time data collection. This is one of Cold Call's most important contributions. To fully assess what students in your class know you must be able to ask questions of any (and every) student at any time. Students who voluntarily participate are more likely to know the answer than the students who don't. If you are limited to assessing only these students when you ask a question, you will never be able to assess all members of the class, and you will always think the class has learned more than it has. When you set out to use questions to assess students' understanding, your default should be to use significant amounts of Cold Call. This will allow you to not only call on people “randomly” but to go one better and to call on what is likely to be a statistical sample of the room—or on students you are worried about. These things are critical to ensuring the accuracy of the data you gather.

A second, related application: One of the biggest challenges in checking for understanding is the gap between performance and learning. What our students appear to be able to do at the end of a lesson is almost always in part a false positive. They have not yet begun to forget. We assess what we think our students know at the end of a lesson and even if their answers are all correct, we are likely to overestimate their knowledge because forgetting has not yet occurred. What's critical to arresting the pervasive force of forgetting is Retrieval Practice (see technique 7) and Cold Call is the best way to build Retrieval Practice into your lessons. It allows you to make your Retrieval Practice speedy and energetic so you can do it frequently. Students like it and it allows you to maximize the number of students retrieving every answer. Denarius Frazier's video Parts of a Circle is an example of this: He has ensured long-term mastery of key geometric terms via Retrieval Practice, and the Cold Calling makes sure everyone is benefiting.

Purpose 4: Pacing

Picture this scene from a classroom near you. Mr. K is reviewing a problem set from last night's homework. He says, “OK, who'd like to tell us how they answered number 2 on the homework?” Pause. Crickets. Finally, after five or six seconds, Natalie raises her hand. Unfortunately, Natalie also answered the previous question, so Mr. K tries another approach. “I'm seeing the same two or three hands,” he says, scanning slowly and awkwardly. “Do I need to remind you that participation is graded in my class?” Teachers waste a great deal of time—ten or fifteen seconds per question, perhaps, but hours and hours over the long run, doing what Mr. K is doing: pleading for someone to answer their questions. What's worse, hearing your teacher plead for someone to participate slows the pacing—students' perception of passing time—to a crawl. It would have been a lot simpler, a lot faster, and a lot less painful for everyone for Mr. K to say, “OK, let's take a look at the second problem. How'd you answer that one, Mamadou?”

One of the best ways to engage students in learning is to make it feel dynamic and worthwhile, to give it flow. This makes it feel like something important and engaging. Pleading for hands is the anti-flow. It announces that the train has come to a halt and is stuck on the tracks. It causes students to lose faith in a teacher's competence (“See, nobody even participates in Mr. K's class; he's so boring”) and in the value of the classroom. Cold Call is one of the best ways to control the pace of class, keeping things moving when you want (like Na’Jee Carter, who uses his Cold Call to keep things moving), or to slow things down a bit like Denarius Frazier, who uses it to disincentivize eager hand-raising that might put pressure on him and students to go faster.

Two Common but Important Misconceptions

There are two common misconceptions about Cold Call that warrant discussion. In both cases they involve confusing Cold Call with a different technique.

The first misconception involves random generators—names of students written on popsicle sticks and drawn from a can or a computer app to select students at random to participate. Using such random generators is common and participants at workshops often suggest it as the best way to Cold Call. Random generators can be quite useful at times, but I want to explain why they are not to me an example of Cold Calling. Again, they're fine to use sometimes but the reasons they are not a form of Cold Call are important and I want to take a moment to explain them.

The first reason is that sticks aren't strategic. Intentionality—whom you call on and when—matters. You choose to call on Daniella or Domari because they have a great answer or because they've been quiet or because they are often confused in similar situations or because they are your “still waters run deep” students (the ones who never volunteer, yet jaws often drop after their unexpected, insightful comments). Earlier I discussed the importance of deciding whom you will Cold Call and why. Cold Call is rarely actually random, though it may appear to be so from the students' perspective.

In fact, it's often beneficial to communicate this intentionality to students. Using a random generator makes it explicit that you are not making intentional decisions about who to call on, but this is often the most important part. For example, to say: “David, what are you thinking?” tells David that you value his unique opinion and are thinking about his perspective at that moment. To use sticks is to say, “Anyone can go next. It's all about the same to me.” There is no longer anything special about David being asked his opinion, then; a popsicle stick made the choice.13 The message of inclusiveness—your voice matters—and voice equity is not communicated by randomness.

One other key difference is efficiency. Getting out the popsicle or lolly sticks takes time. Each time you pull one (“Oh, boy! Let's see who it is! Whoops, Jaden's not here …”) takes time. And it interrupts the flow of normal conversation. It's hard for Amari to truly build off and elaborate on Janelle's point if there's a carnival event in between.

Again, I am not saying not to use popsicle sticks. One benefit is that they are psychologically easy and don't require as much bravery of teachers as Cold Call, so they can be a starting point for teachers who are anxious about not calling on students without their hands raised. And they can be a fun and easy way to remind your students that it's important for everyone to participate. They might work well with Retrieval Practice; the game-ishness of stick pulling is more of a match for content that is organized around specific questions than a discussion that relies on the continuity of comments. But please be clear: Popsicle sticks are not the same as Cold Call.

The second misconception has to do with a technique often called “hands down,” in which the teacher tells students to put their hands down because she is Cold Calling. Do this too many times and students may not raise their hands. Again my argument is not that “hands down” is not a valid approach—it's an adaptation of Cold Call—but I think it is one with limitations, so it's important to understand the differences.

One of the primary purposes of Cold Call is to build student engagement and involvement. One of the most important results of being Cold Called, in fact, is the increased desire to raise one's hand and the increasing belief that one is capable of contributing. This was a big part of the story for my colleagues in the Peace Corps—not just that Cold Calling allowed girls to participate where otherwise they would have met with social sanction, but that it caused them to gradually begin raising their hands on their own. Therefore we want to balance Cold Calling with hand-raising to provide opportunities for students to choose to participate, even while we are choosing them via Cold Call. Further, hand-raising provides critical data. How many hands we see and how eagerly they have been raised tells us a lot about our class and their interests and confidence. Of course it's fine to occasionally tell students to put their hands down—it can be a nice change of pace and saying something like, “No hands for the next few minutes; I'm going to Cold Call,” can be especially helpful in making the Cold Call predictable. But since Cold Calling is something we can do just as easily when students are raising their hands, I think it's best to most often allow hand-raising during Cold Call.

So … can “hands down” or popsicle sticks be useful and an occasional fun change of pace? Yes. But teachers often assume they achieve the same ends and value as Cold Call, and I just want to be clear on why I think they are different.

Cold Call in Synergy

The videos I've chosen of Denarius and Na’Jee’s Cold Calling are unusual for a variety of reasons: first, because of the skill and proficiency they show. You're watching masters at work, at least in my opinion, and that's good to keep in mind if you're just beginning to use the technique. Your Cold Calling may not look like theirs right away. Another thing that's distinctive about these two videos is that they show Denarius and Na’Jee in the midst of sustained sequences of heavy reliance on Cold Call. This of course makes it easier to see and study how they do what they do. But it's also a distortion. Much of their and other masters' Cold Calling happens in combination with (and embedded within) other questioning and engagement techniques. In those instances the Cold Call itself occurs with less frequency but it is still essential because it works so well in synergy with other techniques. I write more about this synergy in technique 36, Means of Participation, and you can see this synergy in action in many of the Keystone videos.

In the video Sadie McCleary: Keystone, for example, Sadie begins reviewing answers as the Do Now ends. She Cold Calls Alissa, Alex, and N'Kaye, but then she sends students into a Turn and Talk to review the rules of particle motion. There's a Cold Call for Sterling. Then another Turn and Talk. J'Karah is Cold Called to review. Next, another Turn and Talk and a pre-call for Habib. For the follow-up—why isn't “average kinetic energy” incorrect?—she takes volunteers. Then another Turn and Talk followed by a bit of written practice. Back and forth she goes, changing the format or Means of Participation (technique 36). But the ways that Cold Call works particularly well in combination with other techniques deserve reflection. It is, for example, an ideal backstop to an activity like a Turn and Talk, which you might use to boost the ratio in your classroom, because Cold Calling afterwards increases accountability and therefore engagement in decentralized tasks where you can't monitor what everyone is doing. The Turn and Talk, on the other hand, provides a counterbalance to Cold Call as it takes the attentive focus developed via Cold Call and channels it into a peer-to-peer interaction that maximizes active engagement. So Sadie is especially likely to use Cold Call before or after a Turn and Talk.

Cold Call is similarly ideal for increasing student attentiveness and effort during an Everybody Writes. Giving students two minutes to write about how Jonas is changing in the chapter, for example, is a great activity, but it's even better if you Cold Call Ella coming out of it—“Ella, please share a bit of what you wrote about.” And it’s even better still if you Circulate slowly, reading students' thoughts as they write them and then Cold Call to validate and discuss one particular answer —“Ella, I was struck by your use of the phrase ’rising tension.’ Can you tell us a bit about what you meant and where you see it?” A bit of loving accountability after independent work, accomplished through occasional Cold Calling, helps students get the most out of the independent task.

Timing the Name

Deciding where in the Cold Call you will name the student who is to answer is important. The default approach is to ask the question, pause, and then name a student—for example, “What's three times nine [pause], James?” Using the sequence question, pause, name ensures that every student begins preparing an answer during the pause. For example, everyone does three times nine, with one student merely called on to give their answer aloud. Saying the name first, as in “Jairo, what's three times nine?” will result in fewer students preparing the answer because they know they won't be called on. Since the difference in ratio is significant (twenty-five students answering a question and one saying it aloud versus one student answering a question and twenty-five watching) is significant, so question, pause, name is the default.

In some cases, however, calling a student's name first—name, pause, question—can be beneficial. It can cue a student to listen attentively before the question has been asked and increase the likelihood of success. This can be especially effective with students who might be reluctant to be Cold Called or who might struggle the first few times, perhaps because of language processing difficulties, or because knowledge of English is still developing. Using the name first can also help establish clarity about your Means of Participation (see technique 36). After a chorus of Call and Response (technique 35), for example, saying, “And, Damari, why do we multiple there?” would signal to students that you're no longer asking students to call out answers. In some cases placing the name in the middle of the question—“And how does wind, Damani, play a role in the erosion process?”—can let your question pick up the conversational thread from the previous comment and create continuity, but confirm full attention from the student you're Cold Calling so they hear the question.