
Hi Ann, Thanks for your post to the forum. That is so important! It tells our students that we care about them, that we have an interest in them! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
Susan Polick
I actually try to talk with them one on one before the class session begins. I try to find out something about them as far as their likes and dislikes and how they might percieve the information that we are learning. Then when we are in class, I am better able to know when a question from them might be appropriate, or they may be able to better answer it or comment on another's reply. This way it helps to move them into the discussion in a way that they will be able to contribute and be successful.
Hi Jerrod, That's a clever way of getting a shy student to participate by asking a question that really has no "right" or "wrong" answer. Susan
Susan Polick
There is always the direct calling of students, but I usually watch their face and see if something sparks a response. Sometimes when I use examples I will pick a quiet student to be part of the example and follow up with a "how would you feel, or react, or what would you do"
Hi Nelson,
Thanks for your post to gthe forum. Questioning is an art that needs skill that can be learned. Once instructors learn how to use questioning effectively, the results can be amazing. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
making sure that we as instructors give continuos positive feedback and encourage people that participate in class. Every student enjoy being recognized and praised. Re-directing questions is also one of the best tools in order to get students to participate, but we have to make sure that the question is relevant to the level of comfort of the students. one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to redirect a though question to someone that doesn't participate to begin with.
Hi Marla, Thanks for sharing a great idea to get all our students participating!
Susan Polick
We have a system where the name of every student is written on a tongue depressor. They are then placed in a cup and pulled out randomly. The students know this from the first day so they more likely to prepare for class (read ahead over the material)because they want to be able to answer the question if called upon. We have had great success with this.
If the student does not know the answer then they can "phone a friend" and call on someone in their class to help. This involves all the students and makes it more enjoyable like a game, instead of being looked at as just testing.
Good day,
A friendly atmosphere help to make questions to an specific student but simultaneously to all the class leading to a blend of discussion and commentaries has been helpful in my class
Regards
I like using the directing of questions to the class as a whole. If I have non-responsive students, I will try to get them to work together in groups to answer the question and then call on the group to answer. If the student that is more non-responsive is not answering for the group, I will tend to ask each of the remaining group members if they were in complete agreement with the answer and if they had anything else they would add.
This is often challenging as it seems that the same students answer the questions without being called on so I try to address the student first before asking the question.
Hi Eric, Thanks for your post to the forum. Good technique - thanks for sharing! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
I have a diagnosois activity where I simply go down the roster and call on everyone. Nobody can be skipped, but everyone does have a "lifeline" if they get stuck... a Cash Cab type shout out. Works great.
I would have them work in pairs or small groups so they gain confidence in their knowledge. I would also ask for their input after another student had answered a question.
Hi Steven, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are using some great questioning techniques. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
When you engage your students in questions, #1 it helps them remember and also it lets you know if they are paying attention.
I like to start each class day with a short review of the previous day's material. I do this by asking questions. One simple but effective method is to draw names out of a hat. When a particular student answers a question that student's name is removed from the hat. This ensures that each student will have an opportunity to answer a question. As that day's lecture unfolds, I continue to draw names again until each student has answered a question. After each student has answered, the cycle can simply be repeated. I also place a question of the day on the board at the beginning of each class. Each student must answer the question and I will randomly pick a student to give their answer to the rest of the class. Another method is to have the students write a small list of questions on a particular topic after it has been covered. The students can then exchange questions and answer them before their classmates.
I agree that telling students they are wrong can discourage students from answering questions in the future. If a student does not give a correct answer, I usually try to find something good about the answer they provided along with a word of encouragement. A responnse from me may include the statement "That's good thinking but there may be a better answer.
Hi Jessica, Thanks for sharing a good strategy to get participation from non-responsive students. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
After I ask a question and have a response from a student I will ask a non-responsive student to add to the response or to give their input. Most of the time they have something to add or another question to ask based off of the response.