Popsicle Sticks and "Hands Down" are not the same as Cold Call

Cold Call, as you probably know if you read this blog regularly, is one of my favorite techniques– meaning that it’s one of the techniques that has the greatest potential to increase the rigor and engagement in a classroom. I also love that it can be used by almost any teacher, and in concert with almost any other approach. You don’t have to change everything about your class to enjoy the benefits of it. You can do what you do and add Cold Call to it tomorrow.

That said, the details matter. Without them, Cold Call can go wrong. Keeping it positive is one of the biggest keys to execution. I’ve written about it here. Managing the pause is another key point worth reading about (here).

But there’s a particular point of confusion about Cold Call that’s common both in the US and in the UK that I’d like to address. Teachers sometimes conflate Cold Call with something known as “Popsicle Sticks” (in the US) or as ‘Hands Down’ (or “lolly Sticks” in the UK). This involves telling students to lower their hands and calling on them while using a random generator—names on sticks, say. Many teachers find it easier psychologically than Cold Calling and they often tell me, “Oh, I love Cold Call,” and then they describe popsicle or lolly sticks.

I love a classroom where the expectation is that students may be called on at any time and expected to participate positively, and I think Hands Down can do that, so I don’t think that it’s necessarily wrong. But it’s not Cold Call, and I think the differences matter, so I want to take a moment to explain why.

You can read the full blog post on Doug Lemov's blog here: http://teachlikeachampion.com/blog/cold-call-not-popsicle-sticks-hands-key-differences-matter/