Kagan 101: Round Robins

In my previous post, I discussed how incorporating Kagan engagement structures into your classroom can help not only increase the engagement in students, but also give ALL students the opportunity to share their knowledge, and learn from their peers. I always suggest starting out with cooperative learning to begin with the basics. In my opinion, Round Robins as a wonderful place to start dipping your toes. Round Robins are quick, efficient, and there are a few varieties to help meet your needs.

Round Robins

Round Robins are a great and easy way to start Kagan Structures in your classroom. Any time you pose an open-ended question a Round Robin can be used. The reason Round Robins are so great is that they give ALL students a chance to share their thoughts or ideas. We are NOT just calling on ONE student, we are allowing ALL students to respond within a lesson.

The steps to a Round Robin:

1. Teacher poses an open-ended question
2. Students are given think time
3. Teacher selects the student to start (#1-4)
4. Students take turns in number order sharing their idea

The steps to this structure are super easy! But there are some important things to note. The question should be open-ended for students to take time to share the same idea over and over (there's a different structure for that). Think time is important, depending on the question I would say 20-30 seconds of think time is enough to actively think about what they want to share. Always remind students that think time is QUIET, they should be thinking about their response NOT just sitting. You may need to model think time a few times, by thinking aloud for the class. To select the student that starts you can do it with a tool (for example, you can use a die), and just choose randomly. Just make sure your students' desks are numbered 1-4, and that all students understand what number they are. When students are sharing I always have them stand, it really helps the teacher see who is sharing and monitor the groups. 

Variety of Round Robins

Every time a teacher asks an open-ended question there are a lot of different expectations. Based on those expectations there are different Round Robins that a teacher can choose from. The first basic Round Robin is a Single Round Robin, this is where students share one time with their table group. If there are multiple things you want students to discuss or you want students to be able to add on to each others' ideas, you would use a Continuous Round Robin, this is where the students continue to share with their table group until the teacher calls "Stop". If the question can result in a long response you can always use a Timed Round Robin, each student is given the same amount of time to share. This student continues his or her idea until the timer goes off and then it's the next person's turn. This is also a great way to help make all the tables end at the same time, so tables aren't waiting around for others to finish. 

Why Not?

So next time you are asking students questions, ANY questions, have them respond in their table group with each other, so that all students have the opportunity to share their ideas. Just keep in mind PIES should be in place. I hope you find it beneficial and super easy to incorporate into your classroom.