Off Topic Questions
How valuable can questions be that are off topic?
William, I encourage these as I am usually pretty good at bringing it back. To me the feedback I get from students is that they like that I can "answer anything" and it allows me to see their personality a little bit. Some get more animated and even some have that "oh thats why" moments which I noticed over the years gets them to feel more comfortable with my knowledge but also speaking in front of others. It also allows others to jump in and gets the group going. When I do reel it back in I try to remember these "off topics" and use them in other lectures with "remember when we were talking about this and you said this..." It shows that the information was meaningful even though it may not have been related to that days topic.
I think they can be valuable to a certain extent. Staying off topic too long would not be good but may be needed for certain students to learn something.
Hi Cynthia, Thanks for your post to the forum. That is a great strategy to deal with off topic questions! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Off topic questions can be difficult to handle if there is one student who always does this during lecture. I write their question in my notebook, and offer to discuss it after i am finished with my lecture. I allow about 5 minutes to answer their question, and if they still want more information, I ask them to look up their topic. I also also ask them if they would like to share their research with the class, so it can be a learning moment.
Hi William, I "park" off topic questions on a corner of the whiteboard. When I come back to them I always preface with "What do you want to know about ____?"
Susan Polick
