Teaching Resource: The Random Person Picker
There’s a classic scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Ben Stein, playing an Economics Teacher, has a one-way discussion with a class full of bored students.
If you’re a high school teacher, you probably know how he feels. Sometimes you get a class where the students just don’t want to volunteer any information. Or maybe you get one or two kids that answer all the questions while the rest of the class sits there in whatever world teenagers drift into when they tune out.
Screenshot of Random Person Generator
One thing that I like to do to get the entire class involved when reviewing material is to use a Random Person Picker. The “Picker” is just an excel spreadsheet with a list of student names and a formula that randomly selects a name from the students on the list. By using this random selection method, I can keep students on their toes, because they never know who may be picked. This also eliminates any tendency I may have to call on certain students (aka – the ones that know the answers) over-and-over.
The spreadsheet itself is fairly simple to operate. You enter the student names in one column, tweak a formula, and then hit “F9″ to generate a random selection. Most of the time I have the students pick a number between 1-5 and then click “F9″ the corresponding number of times. Using this method, they get to see their names flash along the screen and it builds a little suspense for the class.
The instructions on how to use the spreadsheet are spelled out specifically in the actual file, which I will link below.
Resource
Excel Workbook: Random Person Picker
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