No Response: When a student is not giving a response to a question asked I believe it could be for a few different reasons. Possibly the student never did the work, from a previous class or was absent, and therefore does not have the previous knowledge to answer the question. As the teacher I would think to myself what content or vital piece of information is the student missing that they would need in order to help them answer the question. I would try and figure out as a class why the student did not answer the question, but I would also be careful not to single the student out for not knowing the answer.  I would call the student out privately and investigate the reasoning behind the “no response” situation.

Partially correct response: If a student is only answering the question partially correct, it also might mean they are not understanding the concept or question fully. I might have to ask different questions, to have the student elaborate, which would give myself a better understanding of what the student knows.  Again questioning would have to be conducted on a student to student basis, as I do not want to discourage the student from learning because of not understanding the question asked.  I would also call the student out privately to investigate further the partial correct response.  Maybe all the student needs is a little clarification to achieve the correct response.

Silly response: When a student is giving a silly response, I think they either want to be the class clown and makes jokes, or they are just trying to avoid the question because they do not know the answer. I do feel as if students should be allowed to make jokes from time to time in my classroom. The “class clown” has a personality to be this way, and I do not believe that teachers should impede on this.  I feel that it is easier to go along with the silliness to some degree, with modification.  This would help create a safe classroom environment, where students feel comfortable expressing themselves. After the student gives their silly response I would re-ask the student the same question again looking for the real answer. This way the student still had the opportunity to make their joke, and I would still have  a better understanding as to what the student knows and understands.  Sometimes students act silly because they do not know the answer, and hiding behind a joke is easier than confronting the issue.  I feel that it is important for the teacher to try and understand what the motive behind the silliness is and respond to it appropriately.

Guess response:  If it is a guess response then this might  mean the student really did not know what to respond with. As the teacher, it is my responsibility to figure out why they are just guessing, rather than giving the correct response. A guess response is not different than getting the wrong response, as the student is just guessing at the answer and  it is hit and miss getting it right.

Incorrect response: Similar to the “no response” and “partially correct response”.  The teacher needs to question if the student is lacking some kind of information or is the question worded in a way that the student does not understand fully.  Asking more questions and trying to figure out why the student did not give the correct response would be required. The teacher needs to figure out why the students got the incorrect response, and clarify that for the student.  Again, this can be done in an open forum as a class, and/or privately with the student.

Correct response: If a student gives a correct response then that means they are in line for what I want to teach them. At the same time I would reflect on what positive things I did that allowed the student to respond accordingly, so that I can replicate it for other lessons or class activities.  Another aspect of the correct response that educators need to be aware of is that the student got the correct response because he/she knew the answer and that it wasn’t just a guess.  The teacher would still have to probe further to investigate such and respond appropriately.  Again, the teacher might have to speak to the student privately if need be, for clarification.