R. Maurice,
Like the way you use your years of experience to provide an answer to questions. By admitting you don't know and that you are willing to learn even after years of experience you are showing your students that you are a life long learner just as they need to be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Calvin,
Good point about the students reducing their questions because they might have to find the answers. I have found for the most part this is not a major factor but it does reduce the questions that are being asked just to throw me off topic.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Paulette,
Good strategy to follow in getting students involved in the answering of questions. This gets them invested plus it reduces the number of questions asked just to try and throw the instructor off topic.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I do try to find the answer and share next class. But sometimes by then, they act like they never heard the question or even subject. I like a reply below, that asks the student to address and share. I can add to that, perhaps share the resource and put this on the overhead for everyone to see and hopefully spark some discussion.
I, too, address this issue on the first day of class. Even though I've been in the field for 30 years there is still a considerable amount that I do not know. I tell them that there will be questions that are asked that I do not know the answer and collectively (instructor and students) an answer will be obtained. But perhaps the most important thing I tell them is this: "The older I get the more ignorant I become, because the older I get, the more I realize that I do not know." That goes over well with the students and when a question is asked in which I do not have an answer, it is easy to say: "I don't know," or "I haven't a clue."
But the bottom line is that relatively quickly an answer will be obtained.
I also tried the approach of assigning the question as work for them to do. The result was students being hesitant to ask questions for fear that it would add to their homework. I normally respond that I will check and that I do not know that answer at this time. The key for me is to not forget to bring the answer the next class.
I have actually used this strategy to encourage my students to find the answer. When I was teaching programming, many times a student would ask me a question that I didn't know the answer to.
I would answer, "I don't know, why don't you find that out?" When the student found the answer, they would share will all the class.
It helped them learn to find their own answers, showed them that I was not the font of all knowledge, and validated their learning.
It worked so well, sometimes I would use it even after I knew the answer, realizing that the student would learn much more by discovering the answer on their own.
Paulette
Jean,
Good way to lay the foundation for answering or not answering questions. This way the students see that you are working hard to share your knowledge with them but as with any field there are answers that are not known. This puts all of you on the hunt to answer these questions as a part of the learning process. This is a very effective tool to use.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I always address this potential issue during the first meeting. I make it clear to the students that I am not and don't have the total of knowledge in the subject that I'm teaching, thus I might not be able to answer a question right away but will eventually get them an answer. I also tell them that I am also a guide, helping them put the knowledge together because with today's technology, information come and pass so fast, who ever see it first a great advantage. I say that because the student might ask you a question about a new discovery that he just read about or see on the internet and you don't have any clue about.
Jackie,
Right you are about the value that can be derived from a question that requires effort to answer. Everyone benefits from the discussion and research that goes into finding and sharing the answer.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Leeann,
Good way for mutual learning to occur. One of those teachable moments for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Terry,
This has been my experience as well. I welcome these opportunities because they let us expand the discussion as well get the students involved in research to find the answers to those questions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When a student asks me a question that I am not sure of the answer,we look up the answer together as a class.
I actually find that having a student ask a question that I am currently unable to answer opens up a whole new discussion topic. I encourage students to ask for further clarification and try my best to positively reinforce this habit by working together as a team to find (and learn) the correct answer. I feel that learning a subject can be greatly strengthened through discusssion and clarification of student questions. I think that it is important that the students understand that the knowledge data base is constantly being updated in our world and we will always need to strive on improving our own personal data bases in order to stay current in our field of interest.
Terry
By telling my students that I currently don't have an answer to their questions(s) I am admitting that I don't know absolutely everything. That shows several things: that I am human; that I, like they, am still learning; that I am willing to admit I am still learning and will happily work on finding an answer for them.
That gives me more credibility with them than it would were I to bluff my way through with an answer that didn't ring true.
Tony,
Good way to respond to questions you don't know and how to follow up with the answers. This makes for a teachable moment for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I tell the student good question and we look the answer up. So that way we all are learning how to improve ourselves and are working as a class to find the answer to the question asked.
I have had that come up alot, and I just explain to them that i am not sure and will look it up and get back with them. Make sure you do, they will be expecting an answer. There is to much in any field for you to be expected to remember everything.
Joseph,
I think this is such a common sense approach because out in the work world none they will not be able to answer every question so they need to learn how to find answers and follow up. Your method helps that to happen.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When a student asks questions I don't have the answer to I use it as an opportunity to make a closer connection to the class. With all the practiced presentation that we do as teachers students often fall into the notion that I'm supposed to be this endless information dispenser. I want to get them past this kind of thinking so I usually see if someone in the class has the answer if not I call for the whole class to search out the answer. I usually get several different answers that quickly becomes valuable class discussion.
