"Class? Class! I would like you to answer this question for a warm-up," Mrs. Jones said, immediately putting a third of her class back to sleep, frustrating another third who must apparently quit texting the boyfriend or girlfriend or mother or brother in order to pick up the pencil, and providing the rest with enough safe material to anticipate the teacher's desired response and mimic that as closely as possible.
But enough about boring classes with boring assignments in boring classrooms taught by ... real professionals who just need a little extra guidance. Teachers recognize the importance of activating prior knowledge from students, or checking student attitudes or opinions regarding a topic before engaging in the lessons. This kind of activation makes it more likely that the information of the lesson will be integrated and stored in long-term memory.
While the concept of the "warm-up" is an old one, GoogleDocs Forms can be used to create a more meaningful, more fully participatory environment. In this setting, students maintain a sense of safety through anonymity when necessary, and are encouraged to participate in the survey questions without fear of identification or reprisal.
Because the interface collects your data for you, and the results can be seen in pie and graph charts, it is not necessary to view what each individual in the classroom said. No one has to report out what the people in their group said. No one has to risk looking foolish or worse in front of her peers.
Using GoogleDocs Forms is a quick and easy way to assess student knowledge, understanding, and opinions. Teachers can share data collected by the Forms instantly with their student populations: to clarify a point of knowledge, to discuss a major concept, or to debate the opinions expressed in the Form.
For a tutorial video (not my creation), please visit
