Simple tasks can work.

I had an interesting session in IT classes this week. As a lead-in, I set the students a simple task in groups, to draw a picture which represented the Internet.  I must admit that going into the sessions I thought the task was a little weak and I was worried about the

Walking around the class while they were doing this, I was amazed at how they reacted.  There was genuine discussion within the groups, with students sharing their ideas about the Internet with each other.  Of the 40-odd groups so far, only one managed to stray off task.

What was even more interesting was that students were asking each other questions.  These are the same students who would never put up their hands and ask a question of me.

So, the question here is this…

How do I get this level of enthusiasm and engagement in my Math classes?