Hi Richard- Thanks for your post to the forum. You are running a dynamic questioning program in your classroom - keep up the great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
Hi Carol - Thanks for your post to the forum. You make an excellent point. Our job is not to simply fill our students' heads with information but to also understand the "whys" so that they can move to a higher level when they are out in their careers. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
HI Richard- Thanks for your post to the forum. I really liked your idea to have the students re-take the tests as teams. thanks for sharing the info on Epstein - I will be checking that out! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I always use questioning as part of my lecture type presentations, but also have a more formal questioning event built into each learning unit. I use a team-based approach that satrts a unit by requiring students to complete a reading assignment. Students are required to take a 20 to 25 item multiple choice test on the material individually. Then they take the same test again as teams, using a lottery scratch-off type answer sheet (available online from Epstein Educational Enterprises) to determine the correct answers. If they miss on the first try, they continue until they find the correct answer. This elicits a fair amount of group discussion as the team comes to consensus. The tests typically contain items from the lower three levels of Bloom's taxonomy: factual knowledge, comprehension, and application. The test is followed by programming labs (I teach computer programming) to bring in the analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels.
I always ask why? When introducing a new concept; I want the students to understand the theory behind patternmaking and the human body. It gets them to look at the subject practically, so they understand the process and fitting the form so later when doing more advanced patterns they get better results.
I will start with a open ended question directed to the entire class. Sometimes you have to pause for a few seconds for someone answer, and once that has happened I keep the rest of the class on its toes by asking other students to elaborate furter, or ask them why the answer given was right or wrong. And I always praise the students on there correct answers and particapation in class, while never embarresing the students who answer with the wrong answer.
Giving them an example of something I did and ask what would they do in another similar scenario.
Hi Gilbert- Thanks for your post to the forum. Getting that immediate feedback through questions after your lecture is really effective. It can give you great direction when planning what to review. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
After a lecture I like to ask question to see how much information the class is getting and open the field and see where it goes.
Hi Robin- Thanks for your post to the forum. I really think that being able to "teach back" is the ultimate affirmation that the students understand the material. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
HI Paul- Thanks for your post to the forum. You are using some really effective strategies to get your students to do their reading and also to engage in active learning in your classroom. Great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Having students break into teams to teach the parts of the lesson makes the concepts easier for the rest of the class. They have less fear of asking peer-to-peer questions sometimes than asking questions of the teacher.
I tell my students to email me questions, to hand me questions before/during/after class breaks if they don't have clarity of what we've covered. They like anonymity when questions arise. Even as adults, they are fearful of looking "stupid" (which is impossible when asking a question). I take lag time to look around and really see my students. I can tell which have questions and talk to them during break.
I usually ask them to re-state what they have read for homework in their own words. Or if time allows, I will have them act as the instructor, and sit in their seat as they lead the discussion with the class
Hi Wendy- Getting that immediate feedback through questioning ensures that your students do not get off-track and saves time in the long run. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I try to ask questions that reinforces what we have just been discussing and it helps me to determine if the students have grasped the concepts or not. If not I can maybe do some problem solving with them.
Hi William - Thanks for an excellent example of effective questioning and use of "wait-time".Best wishes- Susan
I have found the most successful technique is to ask a question about the material being covered shortly after the presentation of the material, and then to wait, sometimes as long as 30 seconds, before asking for the answer.
Giving the students a scenario based upon the information covered and give a "what if this happened, what would you do?"
I use open ended Questions and sone times visual aids along with them, to get the students involved, and get feed back.
HI Mark - Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, even the best lesson plans must be "subject to change"! A good instructor will be able to guage the mood/energy of his/her students and adapt to that. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
