So I wrote out the process, got them to explain it and I then repeated the process so they could again explain, adding any further details they noticed. Encourage students to say “stop!” if they are confused during an explanation – Emma Turner – audio– video He said: “The donor bodies we utilise are at the heart of everything we do in anatomy. When we receive a donor body into the university, they become a ‘silent teacher’. If the player makes more than one mistake on the same type of question, the program will ask him several times similar questions even if he answers correctly the next one, just to make sure he has really understood the concept. For this reason, someone who answers all questions correctly will be asked in total less questions than someone who keeps making mistakes.

In the absence of teacher explanation or narration of events, students must piece together the pattern or meaning themselves, developing focus, attention, and problem solving skills.

Target

Some letters are not used, to avoid some confusions between letters and numbers (o / zero, l / 1, s / 5).

The surgeon wanted to see if it would be possible to remove the tumour and asked if he could access a cadaver to see what exactly would be involved in the surgery. The whole operating team came to see how they might remove this tumour and what complications they might face. Practice, practice, practice…not until you can get it right but until you cannot get it wrong – Julia Smith – audio– video You communicate by drawing or showing in silence and children watch in silence too. At the end of the demonstration, children are invited to ask questions such as, “Why did you draw an arrow through the numbers?”, “Why did you divide the boxes in half?” etc. The interface is minimalist, we want players to be focused on the questions and nothing else, and once again we don’t want any teacher around. When the player finishes a level, an abstract spiral shaped design appears. The player will gradually realize that it is a sort of recap of his progress. The button to access the recap only appears after the player finishes several levels.

What is it?

Not only does it tie in with theories on working memory, but it also involves self-explanation, which in itself is a knowledge-building process.

As students catch on and participate, they feel smart because the discovery is all theirs; nothing was explained to them. The player needs to understand that they are not supposed to know the answers to the questions straight away, and that they should view them more as riddles. Review every lesson plan in terms of what the student is thinking about – Daisy Christodoulou – audio – video Begin your explanations as a series of questions that everyone can answer – Michael Pershan – audio– video

Brief summary

Tom Gillingwater, professor of anatomy at Edinburgh University, has overall responsibility for the teaching and research activities that involve the body donors. The Silent Teacher technique involves a teacher modelling how to do something – its basically teaching without talking using examples instead of words. It’s particularly effective when first introducing a concept. To reduce “choppy time” in lessons, use a Front Loaded Means of Participation and wait for Golden Silence – Adam Boxer – audio– video Because students expect you to be talking, the first time you teach without words may require a special move so that students realize that you are already doing something with them, not just preparing something that you will then talk about.