Human Continuum

In this technique, also known as a mobile Socratic seminar, students put their bodies where their minds are. They're getting up, moving, arguing, justifying, and learning. And it all starts with just a line on the floor and a few questions from you.

When students stand along a continuum, they carry their notes, notebooks, articles, and anything else they need to justify their opinions and bolster their responses to your questions. Providing evidence for one's claim is a scholarly skill that, in conjunction with the conversation, gives this activity its Socratic seminar feel. (See page 140 for a detailed discussion of the Socratic seminar summarization technique.)

Basic Sequence

Place a line on the floor (using masking or carpet tape) or on the ceiling (using thick yarn). Because you are creating a line and not a line segment, place arrows on both ends so it resembles a continuum. Place a large “A,” for “agree,” just past the arrow on one side and a large “D,” for “disagree,” just past the arrow on the other side. At the approximate midpoint of the continuum, place a piece of tape or yarn perpendicular to the longer line. This position represents the “I don't know” or “I'm not comfortable sharing what I know” zone.

The line must be a minimum of 30 feet so it can accommodate students' bodies. Make it longer if you can. If you don't have a long straight space for such a line-up, don't worry. For years, my lines have wound among desks and tables in my classroom. As long as I have an “A” end, a “D” end, and a midpoint, it works fine. Or you can create the line outside your classroom. It works well in the front lobby of the school, on a sidewalk, in a hallway, in the gym, in the cafeteria, or even in the parking lot where you've set up traffic cones to block traffic. Our classroom walls are merely suggestions.

After establishing the line, use it. The human continuum can be done at any point in the lesson: as a pre-assessment or way to prime the mind, as a mid-unit check of comprehension, or as a way to process what has been learned and to assess comprehension at the end of a unit. Let's assume your students have just completed a unit of study, and you're helping them pull it all together.

If space is short, identify a subset of students to represent the whole class. If you have plenty of space, create two or more lines in the classroom, and divide the class among the multiple lines. Thus, everyone participates, instead of just a dozen students while the rest sit passively. Ask students to choose positions along the line and to stand there; it doesn't matter where they stand as you begin.

To start, make a statement to the students about something they've been studying. Then ask students to move their bodies' locations along the continuum to indicate they agree or disagree with the statement. If they only sort of agree with something, they can move just a little along the line toward the “A,” not all the way. The same holds for the disagree side. If they don't understand, are confused, or are not comfortable in responding, those students should stand at the midpoint of the continuum (at the perpendicular line).

“All trapezoids are quadrilaterals,” you say. Students must consider the key points—“all,” “trapezoid,” “quadrilateral”—and then must move. Give them about 30 seconds to get into position. Anything can happen, of course: they can all be gathered at one end or in the middle, they can be fairly evenly spread, or they can be lopsidedly spread with all but two students on one side. Regardless of the distribution, you can use it for a teachable moment.

After each statement and the students' repositioning, call on one or two students at several locations to justify their positions. If they need to leave the line for a moment to go to the chalkboard or to get something to help explain their thinking, let them. If you have students at both ends of the continuum, ask them to give points and counterpoints in their rationale. For those in the middle, ask one or two to explain their confusion. Ask those who are only partially toward “A” or “D” to explain their hesitation or to tell what it would take to move them fully one way or the other.

In the next step, ask students to adjust their positions after hearing their classmates' reasoning. The inclination to revise one's thinking in light of new evidence is a sign of an intellect. Let students re-adjust. Remember, too, that students hear and elevate in importance the content that comes from classmates. However, you must make sure that nothing inaccurate is communicated. If you think students are concluding something incorrect, you must increase your probing questions as you ask them to justify their position.

What do you do with students who always follow the supposed “smart” kids? Ask those students to defend their positions. If you already have a culture of randomly calling on students to justify their points of view, everyone will know that they can't be correct merely by association with the perceived “brainiacs.” They'll learn quickly that it's acceptable, even preferred, to stand in the “I don't know” zone when they truly don't know.

Another advantage of this technique is that it helps you to identify the students standing at the midpoint, in the “I don't know” zone. A quick glance shows you whom you need to reteach. Record the names of these students, the concepts, and the date on a sticky note, then put it in your planning book for a mini-lesson tomorrow. If more than half the class stands in the “I don't know” zone, you might consider reteaching the whole lesson in a different way. If you do reteach the whole lesson, then the mini-lessons would be for students who are standing at the end indicating the correct response. They will need a differentiated lesson to take them to the next level.