In our institution, we will call on other students to add to the thinking process....sort of a brainstorming if you will of answers. That allows all the students to interact and critically think their way thru the problem to see what answers are correct and why, and those that are incorrect and why.
Ask open ended questions, ask questions that allow the students to take the knowledge they have and apply critical thinking skills to the answer, make class participation an integral part of the class grade.
anne,
This is true. We need to encourage critical thinking strategies.
Judy Mohammed
It is good to involve the student in the creative thinking process and let them come up w/ the answer on their own.
Scott,
This is great advice. When you ask the class if they agree followed by why or why not, they become aware that they must be alert and thinking about the response.
Judy Mohammed
Ellen,
This is very good advice. I try to break my questions into specific parts for better understanding. We should try to look at the questions from the students' points of view.
Judy Mohammed
Karen,
It seems that you were not quite finished with this response. We can indeed use redirection and probing to help students arrive at the correct response if they appear hesitant.
Judy Mohammed
Herman,
This is good advice. Be sure to share it with new teachers.
Judy Mohammed
First- Never jump in to answer the question for the student before he has time to reply.
Second- Don't just tell the student he is wrong. Try to find out why he thought the answer was what he said.Just don't make him feel dumb.
Third-When a student answers a question ask the class if they agree with the answer before you reply. It opens some great discussions.
1) Allow the student time to answer the question
2) Make the question broad enough to elicit the most information in the answer
3) Dont ask to many things in a single question. Sometimes we run questions together & the student is unsure of which question to answer 1st
The importance of redirection and probing as a way to get the student to think about the subject matter
I would explain to the new hire that being patiant when asking questions, giving the students time to answer is a major part of the process. I would also explain you want to start asking closed questions, and then move the class towards open questions to start a dialog that draws the entire class into the discussion.
Richard,
Salaam. This is great advice. You should have opportunities to work with new instructors and share your advice.
Judy Mohammed
Leslie,
This is great advice for new instructors. I hope that you have opportunities to work with new instructors.
Judy Mohammed
Scott,
This is great information to share with new instructors.
Judy Mohammed
Salaam, Judy, that is a good question. Well, I would tell them that they know more than they think they do, and they will learn more from the students than they think they will.
Regarding effective questions, park your ego at the door:
1. Listen. If you can't hear the answers you will not know when they are right.
2. Accept that there may be alternative answers to your questions that you did not expect. When they are right, show that you are happy to have learned something, and praise them for finding a new way.
3. When they are wrong do not crush egos, that is no way to learn. Always be patient and gladly admit that you had to learn this too, (and remember that it probably wasn't any easier for you).
4. Oh, and encourage the class to participate. In my math classes there are only certain answers that are right, but several ways to get to them. I encourage the students to help each other find them, then show me how it was done. Teaching is the best way to learn something, so the well versed ones are involved and reinforced and those having more to learn get non-threatening help.
For most people, short-term memory is very limited. There is only so much a person can comprehend, especially in a four-hour class. The types of questions an instructor asks become very important. When first presenting new material, I think it is fine to use closed questions, especially using redirection and probing. Asking open questions that involve comprehension or translation are more appropriate during a review of the material. A review of the material could also include extrapolation, interpretation, and application questioning to reinforce students' understanding. For instance, when I initially present massage therapy students with the anatomy of the heart I might ask them to label the various structures of the heart. When we are reviewing the material at a later time, I might ask them to describe what is happening during coronary artery disease and the outcomes of certain therapies that are used to treat the disease. It would also be appropriate to ask students how they would modify a massage for clients with coronary artery disease. All types of questions are included in massage therapy board exams.
Mentoring a new instructor is quite rewarding, it allows us to offer them the learning styles in which we have been successful with in front of our own students. I like to engage the classroom in a few closed questions after covering a certain course content, then ask a few open questions to have them expand on their answers, coaching the instructors to allow time in between to allow the students to collect their thoughts
Ann,
This is very good advice. I hoep that you are able to share with other teachers, even the trained teachers need and appreciate reminders at times.
Judy Mohammed
Jason,
Do you use open questions often in your classes? How do you do so?
Judy Mohammed
