Change My Mind

See how it works

At a glance

Time in class

5–8 minutes

Prep

2 minutes: write one multiple-choice question.

Materials

None. Students vote with fingers.

Grouping

Individual vote, then pairs.

Use it when

You’ve just taught a concept and want to know if it stuck before moving on.

Why it works

Explaining your answer to someone who disagrees forces you to check your own reasoning. In classes that use this routine (called peer instruction), the number of correct answers usually goes up after partners talk, even when only a few students were right at first.

1. Write the question2 minutes, before classGive it 3–4 answer choices. Make the wrong choices tempting: use the mistakes students usually make.
2. Ask30 seconds“Think on your own. No talking yet.”
3. Vote 130 seconds“Hold up 1, 2, 3 or 4 fingers against your chest so only I can see.”Note the spread, but don’t reveal the answer.
4. Convince2 minutes“Find someone who voted differently. You have two minutes to change their mind, or let them change yours.”
5. Vote 230 secondsSame finger vote.
6. Reveal1–2 minutesGive the answer and ask a student who switched: “What changed your mind?”

   Quick rule: if nearly everyone is right on vote 1, skip the discussion and move on. If nearly everyone is wrong, reteach before voting again.

See it in action

Watch out for

• Students copying the loudest voice: keep votes hidden against the chest.
• Nobody disagrees: pair students with someone who voted differently, or ask partners to argue for the answer they didn’t pick.
• Question too easy: if everyone’s right on vote 1, the next question needs a more tempting wrong answer.

Level up

• Students explain what changed their mind.
• Students write the next vote question, including one tricky wrong answer.

Make it work for everyone

• Multilingual learners: post sentence starters: “I chose ___ because ___.” “I changed my mind when ___.”
• IEP and 504 supports: let students point to A/B/C/D cards instead of holding up fingers, and allow a partner to read the choices aloud.
• Early finishers: write a new wrong answer that would fool most of the class.

Tech option

Any polling tool works for the two votes, such as Google Forms or a live poll. Finger votes are faster and need no devices.

Resources