What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?
A lot of teachers begin a class by asking an open ended question to make you think on the material before starting class. However, I find this to be a bit challenging to start a class. I find this challenging because it can sometimes be such a heavily weighted question that personally it discourages me when I cannot answer it. I think asking a few smaller questions with a simple yes or no answer to get the mind thinking about the subject can be more effective before opening up the floor with a critical thinking questioon. After watching the Youtube video "Questioning Styles and Strategies", I discovered better techniques to asking questions to get the students engaged. For example in the video he asked a question and then told the children to discuss their answers with the person sitting next to them. Sommetimes the way the teacher explains something does not always convey to all of the students the same way. This strategy allows for the students to not only have the opportunity to be a leader among their peers, but it also encourages students to have an opinion and really consider the material that is being taught. However something that I disagreed with in his techniques was when he did "random name calling", I do not like this because it can single out children. At younger ages they embarass more easily, and yes calling them out helps the teacher to understand if the students are understanding the material but I feel that there are other more effective strategies.
To be an effective teacher we need to have an organized plan of the lesson, but also the questions we are going to ask the students. We need to have them participating in group discussion. One way of doing this could be to create your questions ahead of class instead of asking them off the top of your head. If you prepare your questions before the class then that gives you a chance to properly word, and even prepare for the answer you are looking for. The more prepared we as teachers are then the more active it will allow for our students to be. If we ask a student a question and they do not know the answer then I think it is important to effectively lead the student in the direction of the right answer. Personally I learn better when I am forced to figure things out on my own, and with the aid of the teacher, the student is still actively participating and figuring things out.
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"that personally it discourages me when I cannot answer it. I think asking a few smaller questions with a simple yes or no answer to get the mind thinking about the subject can be more effective before opening up the floor with a critical thinking questioon. " Really? That flies in the face of current practice and recommendations. I think it is because you think you must answer the question which is what is required for closed questions. But that is not the case with open ended questions which are designed to get students to think and plan a strategy for learning. Our schools have for too long emphasized knowing instead of learning. This is the result of burp-back education which II hope to help end. If we want to know the answer to a closed question all we have to do is look it up. If the question is open-ended we have to think. That is what schools and teachers must now do. All of us, and I do mean all of us, must now be learners and now know it alls.
ReplyDelete" However something that I disagreed with in his techniques was when he did "random name calling", I do not like this because it can single out children. At younger ages they embarass more easily, and yes calling them out helps the teacher to understand if the students are understanding the material but I feel that there are other more effective strategies." How can a "random" process "single out" any student? What "more effective strategies"?
"The more prepared we as teachers are then the more active it will allow for our students to be." Active? I do not understand what you mean.
" If we ask a student a question and they do not know the answer …" This is the result of asking closed questions.
"...then I think it is important to effectively lead the student in the direction of the right answer." This is what happens with open ended questions.
" Personally I learn better when I am forced to figure things out on my own, and with the aid of the teacher, the student is still actively participating and figuring things out." Right. And that is why open-ended questions are so important.
I am not sure you understood the messages about questions that the authors were conveying. In fact, I do not think you did.
Did you read Johnson's article? If not, you should.
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