A quiet moment before the random call

It was one of those mornings where I was still reviewing my own notes at the last minute, coffee going cold on the desk. I wanted the oral test to feel less like a spotlight and more like a conversation, but calling on students always felt a bit arbitrary, a bit unfair.

The weight of a name

You see the same hands shoot up, and you see the same students shrink back. It’s not that they don’t know the material; sometimes it’s just the pressure of being singled out. I’d make a mental note to circle back, but in the flow of a lesson, those notes often got lost.The guilt of that was worse than the test itself. You want everyone to have a chance to show what they know, not just the ones who are most comfortable speaking up.

Letting the wheel decide

So I made this little digital spinner with everyone’s name on it. The first time I clicked it in class, there was a collective intake of breath, then a few quiet laughs. The tension broke just like that.It wasn’t about offloading responsibility. It was about making the process transparent. When the wheel lands, it’s not me picking on someone; it’s just chance. And chance, it turns out, feels a lot fairer.

A different kind of listening

Now, when a name comes up, I’m not just listening for a right or wrong answer. I’m listening to how they’re thinking, where they might need a gentle nudge. The pressure shifts from performance to participation.

The quiet ones find their voice

Some of the most thoughtful contributions have come from students who would never have volunteered. They had the space to prepare, knowing their turn was coming, but not knowing exactly when. It gave them a kind of quiet agency.