Best Practice 18: Eliciting

Best Practice 18: Eliciting

Eliciting means getting information from people as opposed to giving it to them – it allows the teacher to turn questions into learning opportunities.

In practice this means that when a student asks a question (i.e., “What does this mean?” or “What’s the past of this verb?”), ask if anyone else in the class can help. Not only does this provide an impromptu comprehension check, but also a good opportunity to provide students with an alternate, student-generated explanation (that might make more sense to them).

DO: Use eliciting to build self-confidence. Students have a lot of passive

knowledge and tapping into it can make them proud.

DO NOT: Try to elicit something once it becomes clear that no one knows the answer. Striking a balance will help the teacher maximize student involvement without wasting valuable lesson time.