Know it all
I find that I want to provide the correct answer to each and every question the students ask of me. I feel badly if I do not know all information. I feel like they lose credibility with me. Am looking for ways to respond to students so that I do not look uninformed, but place the learning responsibility back on them.
I have been in that situation before and its hard. I feel like if i don't know the answer i would rather ask a co-worker if they know the answer before I might give them the wrong answer.
I always tell my students if i'm unsure or don't know the answer to the question,I will get back to them and find it out for them. I think if we try and play it off as if we know and give the wrong answer, it just loses credibility
No one knows it all, and the students are aware of this. Your integrity is much more important than knowing everything. Do your homework and make sure you know as much as you can on your subject, but then be willing to admit to your students when you don't know something.
If I do not have the answer to the question I will tell them I do not know, I will not give them incorrect answers but I will ask them to research it and give me and the class the answer that way they can use this as a learning experience.
Andrew,
very good point, it is better to be humble ourselves & admit our momentary lack of knowledge rather than try to prove someone wrong & end up being wrong ourselves.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
In my experience if I answer the student wrong and they find out I look worse than if I just tell them "you know what I'm not 100% Let me double check and get back with you" This seems to be acceptable in my class room. Maybe try something like that.
I have found that if the student asks me a question I am not oreoared to answer, it is better to stae this. I will offer to look it up or get great response when I allow the student to look it up quickly and share the answer with the class. Since almost every student has a cell phone they are able to access the answer quickly and it gives them a sense of accomplishment.
I simply tell them I do not know the answer to the question but I will find the answer and talk about it either later in the day (after returning from a break) or the next class day if ask at the end of class.
I actually make a point to do the same thing. I think being honest is better than trying to formulate an answer for something you don't actually 100% know the answer to.
If I don't know the answer to a question, I will have the students and myself research it for the next class and we will start off with a discussion on that topic.
Daniel,
this is a great way to approach the students & I like to emphasize that learning to learn is almost as important as learning the specific subject matter.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I am honest with the students and tell them I know about the area I work in ED & ICU, however to know about OR would be an impossibility as there is so much to know in nursing. You will be learning all your life, if not you will fall behind and this will affect your patients. If I have a student who likes to speak all the time I work with them to let them know others need to be involved to aide in the learning process.
If the information is available in a resource made available to the student, I have them look it up. They are usually not happy because it requires work to do this. In todays learning environments, I think to much emphasis is placed on the happiness and comfort level of the learner. The real world is not always kind and I think our society has become way to soft. As an educator, our employment weighs to heavy on the students experience more so than the information and knowledge. We have to make these kids strong!
I do my best to provife my students with all the correct answers but realize that I dont know everything about my subjects and I share this with my students
Some instructors feel the need to answer all questions asked by their students. I some cases they go off on tangents that make no sense and give false info or get caught in a lie. I will tell a student I don't know if I truly can't answer the question 100% correct. I will research and come back with an answer before the end of the day.
Tiwauna,
this is a good strategy as you're admitting you need to research & then you do. This is good training for the students as well to teach them to research.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I can agree but when I'm in this situation I encourage the student for asking the question and ask that we table the question until I can research the answer and I'll have the student bring more info in so that all factual points can be given to others
I agree with this reply. I tell the students that I don't know everything and if they have a question that i don't know we work towards finding the answer. Since we are a automotive school this sometimes comes up.
It’s not always about knowing the answer, sometimes it’s about knowing where to find the answer.
If am not 100% sure about the answer I’m not afraid to say “I don’t know, but I know where to find it lets look together†by doing this you are teaching how to fish not just handing out a fish that they will soon forget about.
I feel most will respect this much more than they will respect incorrect information given to them .
