Blog Post #6

Who, What, When, Where, Why, How?!
We all know what a question sounds and looks like but, what is the purpose? All day long students are lectured and drilled with new information and the teacher always ends with, "does anyone have any questions"? The silence following that question has to be the quietest 5 seconds in a teachers classroom. All teachers hope that each student understands the material presented and the reality is, some students have no idea what is going on. So what do you need to know about questioning to be a more effective teacher?

Ben Johnson, a high school principal, consultant author, and instructional learning coach seemed to hit the nail on the head in his blog post The Right Way to Ask Questions in a Classroom. Some simple and innovative ways to make sure students not only pay attention but make sure they understand is to ask a question to the entire class, wait a moment, then call on a student randomly. This gets their brains working and processing to come up with an answer just in case they are called upon. There will always be the outspoken students and the students that sit back ad allow others to answer every question thrown out during class discussions. As a teacher, you should want to keep every student involved and to create a comfortable environment where not only will the students answer questions but they will ask you valuable questions.

For Elementary teachers, individual white boards should be their best friends. While it may be hard to keep their little eyes from wandering onto their neighbors board, it will allow you to teach as a group, extend a problem or question and each student give an answer at the same time without the loud outbursts.

Questions give clarity and sometimes demand students to think critically. It's one thing to recall information but it takes learning to a new level once a student understands and can expound on a simple topic. When asking a question, I think it is important to get the child to explain how they got the answer, what helped them come up to that conclusion, or to ask an if then question. In the video,Questioning Styles and Strategy, there was a constant dialogue between the teacher and the class. From applying concepts in the text to real life, to drawing what they imagined to be in the story, each student was able to recall facts from the text. A good technique seen in the video was having the student restate the question. That is one habit I will truly try to form with my class so they can understand what is being asked.

As long as you ask questions that allow the entire class to start thinking,and not just the usual over achievers, you can really get your students brains moving.