Effective Questions - Weekly Web Wonder #5

Throughout a class, questions are created, asked and answered. Learning would not be possible without questions. With that being said, can this be any kind of question? The answer to that is no. Before we dive into this blog, lets look at why we create questions.

Teachers ask students questions and students ask teachers and themselves questions for many reasons. Some of the reasons are to assess the students level of understanding, develop the student's interest and motivation in a subject and then the student may ask questions to understand better, grow into a deeper level of thinking, and even challenge him or herself. Questions will be asked no matter where you go, whether it be in a classroom or on a boardwalk. All of these questions can then be categorized into a different level. To help describe the types of questions, they are divided into the upper and lower levels. The lower level help evaluate the students preparation and understanding while also diagnosing strengths and weaknesses and to summarize content in class. Higher levels of questions involve student to think deeper and more critically, while helping encourage them to solve problems and create in-depth discussions.

Image from: http://codebetter.com/gregyoung/2012/02/29/powerful-questions-2/

 

One of my major concerns for teaching at McGuffey High School is that I will repeat my questions too often. Another concern that I have about myself is to make sure I ask the right level of questions. Sometimes I think that I ask too advanced level of questions too early. Finding my balance will take time and practice in my classroom and at McGuffey. Some other things that I am practicing in class is calling on students. I should always ask for volunteers first, and then ask other questions like, "Let's have someone else who hasn't spoken yet," and then ask the question. I also like to randomly choose students. If you go down the line, students will only pay attention when it is close to their turn of answering a question. A lot like a conversation or interview, where you want to be engaged, it is important to keep eye contact while asking the question and then after when a student gives you the answer.

By getting the best possible answer from your students, there is something called wait time. Wait time is the time a teacher or instructor should give after a question in asked. Certain questions that are deeper and in depth require more of a wait time, than a lower level thinking question. Wait times should usually be around 5 to 7 seconds. Giving more or taking less time will minimize student understanding and participation.

Questioning strategies are helpful to assess the level of knowledge the student has, the students level of thinking, and to relate concepts together. I plan to work more on my questioning skills in my AEE 412 Lab to help myself and my future students at McGuffey.


Citation: Dyer, J. E. (n.d.). Effective Questioning Techniques. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC08400.pdf