One technigue I use is to tell students I'm giving them 15 seconds (or whatever) before I want their response. This keeps the "over-contributers" quiet for a bit and gives the less hastly answerers a chance to gather their thoughts before responding. I find it increases the quality of responses from all students.
Often, to introduce new topics, I ask questions that studeents can relate to their lives like, "how many of you ate breakfast today" Then we get into what and why they ate - this is a great introduction to the overall topic of marketing. Marketing is such a great class to get students to relate concepts to their lives.
I try to take the material "out of the classroom" and apply to real-world situations. This way students bring in their own experiences and it seems to stimulate discussion. Full agreement on the "what if" format.
That's a great idea Brenna - thanks for sharing! Susan
I like to use real life example questions. I make them open ended so students can use their experiences to answer.
I find that silence from me also helps an open ended question
I really have to make sure that I have questions prepared ahead of time, so that I have open ended questions that stimulate discussion. Otherwise, when I am on the spot, my questions tend to solicit yes or no responses. I often also call on a student specifically, and when I call on them I say something like, ".....(present question)....and "Molly" will be your backup if you need some help." This way, the first student is more comfortable knowing it is okay not to be sure about their response, and another student mentally connects to the same question.
Hi Annette- Great creative idea - thanks for sharing!! Best wishes - Susan
Hi Annette- Thanks for your post to the forum. As you mention, showing students how what they're learning applies to their own lives makes it real and therefore valuable!
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Marilyn- Thanks for your post to the forum. Too many instructors ask their students to hold questions till the end of the lecture - as you mention- BAD IDEA!
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
using group participation, asking open ended questions and moving through a problem, building on each step that we just discussed
I have the student relate the subject matter to something he or she did over the weekend. They like to talk about weekend events.
Yes, I also think it is a very good idea to stop
and ask questions during the presentation of a lecture. This offers an opportunity for students to ask questions and allows for further explanation of key concepts. I find this to be quite beneficial for the students.
I think that's a great way to draw the students into the discussion. It also lets them know that it applies to their real lives and will apply to working situations.
I like that! I just recently had each student create a puzzle using key terms (using an online puzzle creator), and I made enough copies of each puzzle so that each student could have a copy of each one. It turned out to be a great way for the students to study through preparing questions for others to answer.
The two most successful types of questions that I've used are asking open-ended questions or giving a scenario and asking simply what the students think. I think it's much better to stay away from questions that can be answered simply with a yes or a no.
I also find that asking questions while students are learning a skill helps them to think about the procedure in a more complete way.
Hi Rosalie- I know exactly what you mean. Does the Learning Management system you use ( BlackBoard, Angel, Ecollege) include a function that also emails your responses to the student within the discussion boards? Best wishes- Susan
Hi Paul- Thanks for your post to the forum. Building "question points" into your PPT is an excellent practice. Too often we inflict Power Point Paralysis on our students by lecturing on and on without checking for understanding. Best wishes- Susan
As an online teacher, I must start with the assigned discussion questions posted on the discussion board. Each student is expected to answer the assigned questions and respond to other students. I can ask follow-up questions but have no way of directing the flow questioning as one would in a residential environment. The student may not log on to the discussion board again or may do so only after several days have lapsed. From my experience, the amount of participation is highly dependent on the topic of discussion for the week.
