Using Popsicle Sticks for Equitable Participation

In my third year of teaching, I worked as a middle and high school math teacher at a K–12 school. One of my goals that year was equitable participation. I found that the same students always participated after I posed a question. I tried longer wait times and more pair-and-shares. While they both helped a little, I still was unsure whether all students were learning, and some voices were seldom heard.

I debated cold calling, but it felt too stressful for students, and fewer and fewer teachers used it. (At my current school, we have a policy against cold calling.) I wanted equitable participation with psychological safety. As an introvert myself, I wanted to protect the quieter students while still challenging them to step outside of their comfort zone and simultaneously have a quick way of gauging student understanding.

Using Popsicle Sticks Deliberately

My instructional coach at the time suggested Popsicle sticks. It isn’t a new idea (they’re sometimes called equity sticks), but we spent the year refining how I used them: whether to put sticks back, when to use them, how often, and whether true randomness was actually fair. By the time I left the school four years later, the practice had spread across the math department, and almost the whole department still uses Popsicle sticks today.

Each student has a stick with their initials on one end and a color for their class section on the other. Students can decorate the initials end if they want. The sticks sit in a mug, initials-down, so I can see only the class color and don’t know whose stick I’m pulling.

Instead of cold-calling after I pose a question, I typically say, “Discuss with your partner, and then I’ll pull a stick at random.” I’m also transparent with students about their utility—the goal isn’t to catch anyone off guard. Students always get time to think and talk with others first. I want sharing to be predictable.

Why It Works

Warm calling is a gentle version of cold calling. Students know ahead of time that they might be asked to share, so they have a reason to get ready. Their partner or group becomes an accountability buddy and a rehearsal space. When their stick is pulled, they don’t have to come up with something on the spot. They can share a partner’s idea or say, “At first I thought this, but after we talked…” If they are truly stumped or don’t want to share, students can always pass. But they know that if they choose to pass, I’ll come back to them to repeat or summarize what someone else said. Passing gets them out of speaking first, not out of listening.

Warm calling also requires that all students participate and think about the question. Previously, I would ask a question, one student would answer, and we would move on. With the use of Popsicle sticks, students are expected to engage with their partner under the expectation that they might share with the rest of the class. I also use Popsicle sticks to have students summarize the new learning taking place, even choosing multiple sticks one after the other to have students repeat in their own words and emphasize important ideas.

Randomness matters too. Peter Liljedahl’s research on visibly random groups shows the benefits of students being able to see that a selection is random. The mug makes the selection transparent, which takes inherent bias and favoritism out of the picture, or at least out of students’ minds.

However, randomness isn’t always equitable. Here are a few ways I keep stick-pulling fair:

• I put the sticks back. If I pull a stick and keep it out, I’ve given that student permission to check out.
• I pull a stick out when randomness doesn’t match theoretical probability. If a student gets called three times in a row, I might secretly remove their stick for the remainder of the class or the next class.
• I sometimes fake randomness. If I haven’t heard a student’s voice in a while, and if their Popsicle stick seems to evade me, I may glance at a stick and call on that student instead. I may take liberties so that more voices get included in the conversation.

What Shifted for Students

The biggest change I noticed was in partner talk. Once students knew a stick might be pulled, pair-and-share stopped being a chance for one partner to talk while the other waited. Both partners made sure they could explain the idea. Quieter students who used to let their partner report out now came in with something rehearsed. Students cited each other’s ideas more, which made the whole-class discussion feel more connected.

Perhaps most important, students know that there isn’t favoritism for who gets to participate. Sharing your thinking is just a part of the everyday, and the expectation is that everyone contributes.

When Not to Use Popsicle Sticks

Sticks aren’t the right tool every time. Sometimes I use strategic warm calling instead. If I’m walking around and notice different strategies or a productive mistake, I’ll ask those students ahead of time if they are willing to share. For some tasks, which voice gets heard and in what order matters more than randomness.

Additionally, an overreliance on Popsicle sticks can lead to less organic discussions. Every class of students is different—some need them more, and some need them less. I’ve begun to use them less for quick responses, but more as a way of answering larger, open questions and summarizing so that everyone is on the same page.

Here are some other uses:

• Groupings: I organize them into random partners and groups, though sometimes I choose groups on purpose.
• Seating: Students spot their sticks from across the room (a perk of decorating them!) for quick seating arrangements.
• Rapid-fire answers: I pull without replacement so everyone answers once.
• Student-pullers: Letting different students pull sticks shares ownership and authority.

A mug of Popsicle sticks is a small change I implemented, but it has made a big impact on participation and engagement. After all these years, I’m still refining how to use it, but I no longer wonder about whose voices are left out.