Hi Kathryn, Thanks for your post to the forum. You shared a good technique to get student participation! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
I plan a structured, small group activity where groups are assigned, and each group works on the solution to only 1 question as a team. This promotes team behavior, and during this I walk around to encourage participation from all.
Hi Kelly, Thanks for your post to the forum and for mentioning the importance of having the topics posted on the board. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
I try to use redirecting if the questions get too far from the topic. Sometimes by having the topics on the board, it's easier to redirect back to the focus of the class. staying focused can be a challenge. If we get too far, I ask a question to the class which pertains to the topic we are covering.
I'll ask a broad question first, get the ball rolling. It's less intimidating for them because the answers can be limitless, and not necessarily black and white. After that initial question and answer, I'll start to focus the question more and build off of that initial discussion. I'll keep doing this until we've nailed down the information we need to examine and then at the end, summarize what we learned and discussed.
Hi Cynthia, Your technique definitely sends the message that your students' input is valued. Susan
Susan Polick
Three of the methods that I use when striving to keep learners focused on the questions are similar to what was shared in the Harvard Business videos. One technique that I use centers on first acknowledging what the learner has shared (repeating and writing down their response) on the whiteboard. This ensures I have captured what they conveyed and it keeps them on target surrounding the goals of the questioning session. Second, I use probing questions to prompt learners to elaborate and/or expand on the responses shared. Engaging learners in this way encourages more focus on the question asked at the time. Third, once I have received all of the possible answers to a question, I summarize the responses by highlighting the relevance of the answers shared by learners. After doing so, I reach out for an acknowledgment from the class to ensure we are in accord with the summation before moving forward to the next question. In closing, using the aforementioned methods improves my ability as the instructor to keep the learners engaged and focused throughout the question/answer interaction.
I do this as well. Sometimes students already know some things about me and I of them from our introductions from the first class. This will help me to be able to figure out which topics may relate more to their real life situations and will generate more questions (sometimes).
Hi Jon, Thanks for your post to the forum. That's a good way to handle answers that did not really "hit the mark". Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
I like to redirect an answer from a student when it isn't exactly the answer/information I was looking to get when I ask an open ended question to my class. Usually to encourage that student to keep participating/answering questions, I say that is not what exactly what I was looking for, but that may be/is a valid point for a different topic that we may get into later.
Focus on the relevant questions to receive relevant responses.
Hi Dan, Thanks for a very deep discussion of questioning. I must say that I agree with much of what you say, however that we "control" discussion is a necessary evil as our goal is to be sure that we are able to teach the required material in what always is limited time. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Michelle, Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree that ultimately our goal is to help our students be able to take the concepts that we have taught them and apply them in the field.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Certainly, one could praise those responses which are within the purview of the discussion, or redirect questions to other students, or even explicitly mention those arenas which would be better left for future discussions.
Of course, ultimately this privileges a certain type of response. I suppose in a sort of utopian classroom, the students ask each other questions while the instructor sits back and moderates. The degree to which this is possible is, bluntly, problematic. We should also keep in mind that, despite our democratic goals, class discussions are inherently hierarchical. Our responses to these questions--our methods for keeping students on target with their responses, etc--are an exercise in domination, in squaring the discussion with those topics which, as instructors, we believe are most importantly covered.
There is no escaping these power structures within the modern classroom. Even student participation--group discussions, etc.--happens under the panoptic gaze of the instructor. I wonder then, if we're better off admitting that class discussions, questions and responses, that is, is an expression of power if only to facilitate the students' challenging of that power.
Honestly, I already incorporate a rather Socratic teaching method and have used discussion for my students' learning. I start lecture with the necessary definitions to put everyone on the "same page" and then ask discussion questions in a variety of ways. For the tougher questions, I ask them to write an answer(s) down. For days when they seem unfocused, I will put them in groups of 2 or 3 to brainstorm answers first. I believe my job is to make them think about the issues.
Hi Kizzy, Excellent example of how to make what students are learning relevant to their future careers! Susan
Susan Polick
I try and get an overview of student life experience and gear the technical questions down or up based on findings.
The question that I ask my students the most is, "If you were in the office......" I always fill in the blank with a scenerio that relates to the topics we're discussing for the day. It helps them to visualize themselves in the position.
Hi Julie, Hi Julie - good point! If we reel the semi sidetracked comment in immediately to bring the discussion back to the topic we avoid going totally off topic. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Mary, Thanks for your post to the forum. I like your "Hot Potato" idea as it gets students using physical movement. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
