Teachers have the daily task of pulling answers from their reluctant students. We have all been in a class where we are confused about our lesson so we hide our faces and hope the teacher does not call on us.
As teachers we will have to find the correct questions to ask our students to get the most engagement. Edutopia has a wonderful list of questions to get your students engaged in your classroom discussion. The questions used in this text go back to the basic questions we learned in elementary school; how, what, and why. I have included the list how www.edutopia.org.
#1. What do you think?
This question interrupts us from telling too much. There is a place for direct instruction where we give students information yet we need to always strive to balance this with plenty of opportunities for students to make sense of and apply that new information using their schemata and understanding.
#2. Why do you think that?
After students share what they think, this follow-up question pushes them to provide reasoning for their thinking.
#3. How do you know this?
When this question is asked, students can make connections to their ideas and thoughts with things they've experienced, read, and have seen.
#4. Can you tell me more?
This question can inspire students to extend their thinking and share further evidence for their ideas.
#5. What questions do you still have?
This allows students to offer up questions they have about the information, ideas or the evidence.
The next question is "How do we ask?" We, as teachers, have all been warned about asking close-ended questions. How do we ask questions to engage the entire class, not just the students who actually enjoy your class? Ben Johnson on Edutopia has a simple and engaging suggestion to keep your students focused. When we are asking our students a question, do not immediately call on a student to answer. When you immediately call on someone to answer, the other students disengage with a sigh of relief. Instead, let the question hang for a minute before calling on someone to answer. This allows each student to think about an answer in case they are called upon. I have included an ex cert from Johnson's The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom.
A Simple, Effective Approach
Most of us have been exposed to the questioning strategies researched by Mary Budd Rowe. She proposed that teachers simply ask a question, such as "What do you call it when an insect kills itself?" pause for at least three seconds, and then say a student's name: "Sally." By doing this, all the students will automatically be thinking about an answer and only after another child's name is said will they sigh in relief because they were not chosen.
asking questions is a important way to keep kids intrested and asking a good question will make them want to learn!
ReplyDeleteHey Meaghan! I loved what you wrote about, and how you set it up. I like how you had each questions typed and underneath it said what the value of that question can be. You writing style and technique also looks great. Good job.
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