Newsletter #12: Ask Three Before Me

“What did I miss yesterday?” This phrase is the bane of every teacher’s existence. Johnny or Susie were absent, and now they have you cornered, demanding answers, while the rest of the class waits. How do you handle this situation? Effective teachers have policies in place for what to do when lessons are missed. I’ll admit, after 22 years, I haven’t quite mastered this. Any class, whether it’s visual art, music, dance, drama, or regular class time, is hard to summarize in 30 seconds.

I want my students to feel missed when they’re gone and to feel welcome when they attend. I want them to know that the learning we do in my room is fun and important. I want a routine or procedure in place for missing class and I want to be approachable for when they have questions or problems, but we often undermine our interactions with students when we are too helpful. How do we build productive relationships and give students the opportunity to problem solve? It seems the answer is simple: stop answering questions. 

“...many times our answering the question will stop the student from thinking for themselves or from going to their peers. What’s the point in giving a task if we answer all the questions… Sometimes we need to stop and ask ourselves: ‘Am I the only one who can answer this question?’” (Ritchhart, Cultures of Thinking in Action).

Ask Three Before Me is a strategy in which students are instructed to approach three of their peers before asking the teacher. Ron Ritchhart and other collaborators have developed this thinking strategy in Project Zero. Project Zero, a Harvard Graduate School of Education initiative, encourages students to see their peers as resources, which is at the heart of collaborative learning. 

Ask Three Before Me is a procedure for missed assignments or questions about “what are we doing?” Tell students they need to ask three peers in the room—before they ask you—anytime they miss class or have questions about assignments. If they are still puzzled, they can approach you. This creates a new pattern of interaction between students, encouraging them to problem solve and initiate peer-to-peer conversations.

The next time a student tells you they have been absent, or asks a question you just answered, reply “Ask three before me!” Create a new procedure for collaboration and collective teaching in your classroom today!

Have you used this in your classroom? What worked for you about this routine? How did you solve the difficulties you encountered when you changed your teaching practice?