Blog Post #6

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher? This is something that every teacher, new or experienced, should ask themselves. The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom states very helpful and accurate facts about this topic. This article shows that teachers have been asking students questions the wrong way for too long. Teachers ask a question to the class expecting an answer and hope that all the students who do not answer aloud are thinking of the answer in their heads. This too often is not the case. Most of the time as soon as a teacher calls on a student to answer the question all the other students sigh in relief that it was not them that were called on. A more effective way to call on a student is to ask the class a question. Wait a few seconds and then call on a students name. By doing this all the students will be thinking of the answer in their minds in case their name is the one call upon. This is a good technique that teachers can utilize to get more students to think about answers to questions and to answer aloud. This gets the most effect out of asking a class questions. This way not only the same two or three students answer the questions time and time again. I think what is stated in this article is very true and accurate.

Asking Questions to Improve Learning helped me ask my self "What questions do we ask?" I agreed with this article that before any class, study session, or office hours think and compose questions that you think students may ask and think about how you will answer them. This helps you prepare as a teacher and to be able to be prepared for your students. When planning questions to ask in class or on a test there are many things you should ask yourself when formulating questions. Some of these include but are not limited to; keeping in mind your course goals, not asking more then one question at a time in class discussions, and using a mixture of questions. You should ask "open", "closed" and managerial questions. "Open" questions prompt multiple answers. "Closed" questions have a limited number of correct answers. Managerial questions ask students if they have all the materials needed for a project or understand the material. This also taught me to wait 5-10 seconds for students to think and answer a question. It also taught me not to answer my own question if students do not answer quickly because if you do this it will teach them that if they do not answer you will do the thinking for them and answer the question each time. Another thing to remember is do not interrupt a student when they are answering a question. Give them time to think and speak.Show that you are interested and give them questions that keep them thinking. If the student answers incorrectly point out what is incorrect but give a followup question that will help the student and class to a better answer.

In Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom it says to do three things. The first thing you should do as a teacher when asking questions to your students is to prepare questions. Instead of just asking whatever comes to your mind in the moment you should think and prepare questions ahead of class time. This allows you to ask more stimulating questions and to ask them at the best time in a class discussion. The second thing you should do is to play with questions. Three ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom says "Playing with the question means leaving it unanswered for a while and using some strategies that encourage students to think about it." The third thing one should do as a teacher is to preserve good questions.

Overall, I learned a lot from the articles I read about how to ask questions as a teacher and what to ask. I learned as a teacher it is important to think about what I will ask my students and how I will ask them questions. It is important to prepare myself ahead of class time and to think about what I am going to say and how I will say it. It is also important to ask different types of questions and to give positive feedback even if a student gets a question wrong and to help them get to a better, correct answer.