Blog Post #6

Asking Questions: What Question's Do We Ask? How Do We Ask Questions?

In "The Right Way to Ask Question's in the Classroom", Mr. Johnson writes that “...as teachers, we need to come to grips with the fact that we really do not know everything, and there is no reason to assume that the students know nothing.” He says that perhaps the most important question to ask is, "What does a teacher asking questions of a class expect the class to learn from the questioning process?" Is it to check for understanding? This benefits the teacher more than the student. Is this question useless? Mr. Johnson thinks so! He believes we are telling students that if they do not ask questions, then they understand completely. But what about students that “do not understand that they do not understand, and if they do not know what they do not know, there is no way that they can ask a question about it.” So how do we check for understanding, correctly? Mr. Johnson says to ask specific questions.

He writes about students’ knowing who is smart, who is not, and who doesn't care. When a teacher asks a question, the students who know they are not smart are not going to take the bait, and neither will the students who do not care. This leaves the smart kids as the only ones interested in answering, and almost before the question is finished, they have their hands up with an answer, right or wrong. The other two groups of kids are perfectly fine with this routine. Most likely, they will complacently say to themselves, "Let them answer the questions so I don't have to." Mr. Johnson has followed students of various grades and found that some students go through a whole day- maybe even weeks and months- and never answer a single verbal question! Just how many general questions do teachers ask in one class period? The results would be astounding. So Mr. Johnson asks, yet again: How do teachers ask a question the right way?

Mary Budd Rowe proposed that teachers simply ask a question, such as "What do you call it when an insect kills itself?" pause for at least three seconds, and then say a student's name: "Sally." By doing this, all the students will automatically be thinking about an answer and only after another child's name is said will they sigh in relief because they were not chosen. Mr. Johnson researched and found that if teachers are “not planning to have all the students answer questions at the same time, then at least we should be asking a question, pausing for three seconds and then saying a student's name in order to get the most effect out of questions. However, if we are satisfied with only some students paying attention and learning in our classrooms, then we can continue as usual.”

My Reflections:
I think that Mr. Johnson has realized a valuable lesson in teaching. The questions educators ask is crucial for students. The way we word questions, the tone of our voice, the effect… these are all crucial in determining the response from students. I hope to further explore Mary Rowe’s proposal of asking a direct question, pausing for 3 seconds, and then saying a student’s name. I believe this is a very positively beneficial method to appropriately ask questions in the classroom.



"Asking Better Questions in the Classroom" By: Dr. Joanne Chesley



In the video: "Asking Better Questions in the Classroom", Dr. Chesley speaks about the difference in closed- and open-ended questions. She says that often instructors find that students are unresponsive and when they do answer a question, their response is monosyllabic (such as "yes", "no", "I think so", "I agree", etc.). But aren't teachers getting exactly what they for when they ask questions that don't invite extended or thoughtful kinds of responses? According to Dr. Chesley, a teacher needs to understand the different ways to ask a question, and utilize an open-ended question approach in order to spark a more elicit response.

So what is the difference between open- and closed- ended questions?

A closed-ended question structures a simple response from the student and can be answered with a word or two.
An open-ended question leaves the form of the answer up to the person responding. This question approach elicits more thinking and yields more information from the respondent.

My Reflections: I think that it is crucial to use open-ended questions in the classroom. I will think of every question thoroughly before asking it to make sure it will spark a thorough and thoughtful answer. Dr. Chesley has given great advice and I believe every teacher should be required to watch some of her videos before obtaining their teaching license, to ensure teachers in the 21st Century will utilize every teaching style and tip available to better the lives of their future students. So when one thinks about Why Teachers Ask Questions, and How We Ask Them, one should think about using their words effectively and being able to create a response from their students' that will show they completely understand the materials being presented.


As Dr. Strange would say: "Questions are more important than answers!"