Getting student participation in questioning sessions
What are some questioning techniques you have used that were successful in getting students to participate in class discussions?
Today in class actually we were discussing batteries. I used their cellphone performance to mimic the same automotive application. Once they made the jump that the phone battery
Workers and charges the same way the question really started to flow and made a usally very dry class exciting.
I find it helps asking broad questions, this gets things moving in the right direction then asking questions that are more specific. This brings more students into the discussion. In addition asking other students for thoughts or comments on another students answer helps bring even more of the class into a dialog.
As an electrical instructor I find it rather easy to get the students involved by making it into a competition for finding the correct answers in the National Electrical Code. And than picking apart the wording piece by piece, the way the NEC is worded a lot of times makes what I'm asking to turn into a "gray" area. It's a lot of fun.
You can pose a question and have students work with each other to come up with an answer. This assists in team work and communication by all in the classroom and eliminates singling out of person.
I will try to get students more involved by telling them something that happened to me about the subject and ask what their experience in the subject may have been
During our discussions on a particular topic I'll ask questions of things we discussed earlier. I'll never ask one student two questions in a row and I'll always try to ask each student one question a day.
getting students to participate will keep them learning and focused
i found that starting with very basic questions to get students going and unafraid to answer is very helpful
I have found it difficult at times to get students started. I try to break the ice a bit, with a little 'my name' is session. Then start off with some easy questions and build from there.
Sharing life stories does help the students retain information and ask futher questions about subject matter.
Hi Christopher, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are adding content for your visual learners - well done! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Hi Cameron, Thanks for your post to the forum. Opening the question to the whole class in that way certainly encourages more questions. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Our students best respond when you can make them relate to the situation. As its driving related everyone can put themselves mentally behind the wheel faced with choices
Our students best respond when you can make them relate to the situation. As its driving related everyone can put themselves mentally behind the wheel faced with choices
I like to use some experiences that I myself have had. Someone in the class always seems to be able to relate. This in turn snowballs and someone else can relate to that and so on. Then I start adding questions to the mix. then the students themselves ask question back directed at me or sometimes other students.
I have found that my students are slow to ask questions in a lecture setting in front of each other. However, once we have moved into a lab setting and they can ask a question without everybody else hearing, they do so. I make sure to listen and respond to them but then I open up the question to the rest of the class with a "Guys, Mike had a really good question" and start a conversation from there. Sometimes I will have the student give the class the answer we just discussed, it seems to bring out more questions and start a dialog between the students and myself.
Students must know that no question is a dumb question. I begin the class discussion with a question of my own. When students ask a question, I want to be sure that they are using critical thinking skills.
I have used what I like to call Sesame street questions, where i utilize visual aides and hand gestures to help ask the questions and it seems to help bring in even the under acheivers to the topic. I remember the show and how they would use pictures and little puppets to engage the learning and even as adults it seems to help transfer the knowledge but also help the students understand the questions better to answer them
I agree that life experiences will "lighten" the classroom and help to get students to open up .
