Qestions,questions, qestions, always questions. My style breaks the subject matter down into smaller sections and I use questions at the end of each section of discusion or ledcture. As far aswhich types I use???? I have never really anlyized it, I would venture to say allof them. My favorite is a leading question that opens the door to discovery.
Hi Dean - You are using a graduated approach to assessment; moving into higher order assessments as your students progress. this does allow them to succeed more easily early on which gives them more confidence. Well done!
I would say roughly 10 to 15% time is spent on questions. This can vary depending on material and class. I tend to ask many easy questions, some that require great thought and even add in some very abstract ones to see if the student is able to carry the topic to a logical conclusion.
Typically I ask questions as I go through our information in smaller bites if you will. Since there are large amounts of information to cover. Early in the class since. Usually all the information is new, I would use knowledge, comprehension and some application questions. The other question types Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation would come later after more hands on has been done with the students.
Hi Dennis - welcome to ED 103! Just a thought - have you thought about reversing what you do sometimes? When particpation in the class is not good, try breaking them up into groups to do some activities. Sometimes getting them up and moving and interacting encourages particpation.
The amount of questions, levels and types really depends on the group.
If the participation is really good I may have the students break up in groups and do a research and report, while using myself and reference materials to aid in the research.
If the participation is not very good I will go through the lecture. Post questions on the board, and if there are students that dont usually participate or have trouble getting them away from their phone, I may wait until the review period and perform the review and call on those students a bit more. This technique seems to be getting a great response from many of those students, sleepers, as well as students that may be a little challenged when it comes to recalling facts or specification.
I also do leave time about once per hour (10-15 minutes) for open questions, related to the topic.
I will also use the redirection method, when the a question is off topic. If it is not too far off I might choss to answer it or have that particular work group research it and report the findings back to the class the next day.
Hi Tim - The "Westfall Way" sounds very effective! (-; I think all experienced instructors develop their own style of teaching. We just need to challenge ourselves to always keep it fresh.
In My lecture a am question the students all day long I use repetion ,explantion ,deduction and generalization , buy the time the students leave my class they understand the material!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my lectures always have questions in them.i do not count questions.as i lecture,i am always asking questions.i see what students are paying attention,and fire the questions on the ones that are not.they learn to pay attention quickly and it keeps them engauged at all times.i probably use all 7 ways,the 7th one is the westfall way
Hi william - Although it may take longer to get an entire class to respond to higher order questioning, getting students to thnk critically is worth the effort as it will be very valuable in their careers.
I would have to say that I have not looked at the amount of time I spend questioning it is just a prt of the lecture or discussion or reading process. In looking at the 6 levels of questions I would say the bulk of the questions fall into the first three catagories and then a few with the brighter students will come from the later three catagories and then in lab the final 3 levels get used a lot more with the lab sheets.
Hi Shawn- That's a very good technique also because it allows you to check for understanding before you have covered a lot of material.
I tend to break it up into 15 minutes of lectue, and then 5 of questioning. I then repeat that for the class period. I find it keeps them engaged, and mixes in a lot of conversation, rather than a long lecture period.
