Rephrasing your questions
If my questions aren't getting answered because of being too complex or too far ahead, what's a good rule of thumb for how far to backtrack while rephrasing my questions to get the class back up to speed?
A good technique Nichelle! Although it is often the case that the students did not understand the question, it may also be, as you point out, that they have not got a solid grasp of the content/topic at hand. This is then an excellent opportunity to close the gap.
Rephrasing a question also allows me to monitor if students understand the content. I backtrack two step ask another question to set a base. Student may have forgotten the information.
I find that rephrasing the question can actually increase participation. Students have different perceptions and understanding of what is being said, so rephrasing the question can actually capture their attention.
If I do not get any feed back right away, I stop and make sure they all understand before I go on. I also make them answer verbally yes or no or have a question, this way you can see the ones who know it and who don't just by there response and response time.
The problem is perhaps they are not paying attention to the lecture. If students are paying attention, taking notes, and seem interested in the subject being taught they should be right on in answering questions. Sometimes my students will be getting distracted especially if their laptops are opened during a lecture where we are not using our laptops.
i find that if i have some students who dont quite understend the questions I will ask the students what the issue is. a lot of times it seems that if i rephraise the question, then they can work out the answer.
I would say it would really depend on the topic. A technical subject that involves sequential steps would logically lead you as the instructor to backtrack to the previous step. A theoretical or more abstrct topic might be approached by asking the class to help you quickly outline on the board the ideas leading up to the immediate question. The outline should emerge quickly up to the point where the disconnect appears.
