I think that modeling is important in a classroom. However, I particularly like how VanDeWeghe explains it one step further as being more than just showing the students what to do. Allowing students to see the teacher's thought process and feelings about the task at hand bridges the gap between "impossible" (as so many of them think classwork can be) and possible (maybe even enjoyable). I also like how he points out that when, "we plan lessons with an eye toward modeling such habits, we teach ourselves as much as we teach our subjects (51)." By putting ourselves out there to our students, they are gaining insight of how to reason in their own heads. It goes back to making the material relatable to the students.
Furthermore, I enjoyed reading the section about "Engaging Silence." In all but one of my 6 classes, I can pick out at least 2 students that will raise their hands every time the class is prompted with a question. Before I finish asking the question, I look up and there are hands raised and the class is filled with "pick me!"s. This makes the discussion go faster, and it almost becomes difficult to catch up. Thus, I like the idea of maintaining some silence. I can tell them to put their hands down until I ask for responses, and this will open up the opportunity for other students to answer. The statistics supporting the method of engaging silence really blew me away. I would really like to try this to see how my students' responses differ from their normal quick answers.
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