Tweet this!

Classrooms are not always safe places to share what you don't know. Call it human nature or whatever, but there are precious few students who are willing to expose their ignorance in public. The result is that the "loud" and "overconfident" students often take over the discussion - until you tap the Power of Anonymity...

I was first introduced to the importance of anonymity in a face-to-face classroom by Professor Richard Anderson (University of Washington), who created the now famous (and still free) Classroom Presenter software.  Dr. Anderson described the new dynamics occurring during his class discussions, where every student could answer a question during class by submitting their own hand-drawn solution via their tablet pc. What was becoming apparent was that students were saying and sharing more than they would normally share "out loud".

Since then, I've heard MANY instructors echo the same refrain, along the lines of "We're having conversations we never had before" and "students are not afraid to contribute during class". Classroom response systems (clickers) as well as full-featured classroom interaction software like DyKnow are also tapping into the Power of Anonymity. It's fascinating.

I'm curious if anyone is studying this effect, because it seems to me that anonymity, constructively applied, is creating a safer place for students to share what they don't know. It's the ultimate formative assessment nirvana, where everyone wins: The instructor can finally see what students don't know (in real time!) so they can redirect and re-explain; students can see that they are not the only ones who have the same misunderstanding; instructors can compare and contrast incorrect and clever/unique solutions that would not have been offered during a typical discussion.

Anonymity is not always the anecdote, and at some point students need to be identified in order to be helped. But there is something refreshing about students being able to more freely share, discuss, wrestle, fail - and in the end, succeed.

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Programs
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard
Twitter @jgvanides

For information about the HP Global Social Investments, visit www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants