Just bear with me for a moment and imagine this situation: You're standing in front of your elementary students, finished up with whatever your topic happened to be for that particular portion of the day. You look around at those bright eyes staring back at you and you're feeling accomplished that you managed to get through the segment with little, to no, interruptions. Even little Johnny managed to go the entire 30 minutes, it seems, without stealing everyone's attention. As you're wrapping up, you ask if anyone has any questions. Silence is your response. Not a hand is raised and you're feeling of accomplishment is dwindling fast. Bright eyes are fading and it looks like Johnny is getting antsy...
Sadly, I've seen this happen numerous times when completing my classroom observations. No teacher ever wants to experience that sort of ear-ringing silence from his or her students, but sometimes it just happens. That type of response doesn't necessarily mean he or she is a "bad teacher", it just means he or she didn't ask the question in "the right way". Ben Jason shares some very valid points in his blog post The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom. One might think that asking questions is just as easy as that, just asking the questions, but there is a lot more to it than just that. This bit of information from Johnson's blog, to me, was probably the most important piece of information a teacher can have in her "toolbox" so to speak. A good question has to be specific, and be able to assess a student's understanding. Whatever question a teacher, or I, will ask in the future to students needs to be thought provoking, engaging, and go beyond a simple "yes or no" answer. As Joanne Chesley says rather matter-of-factly in her video Asking Better Questions, questions need to be "open-ended". In a nutshell, how you ask the question is how you are asking your students to respond.
So we've established that how we ask a question ultimately determines how a student will respond, but, how do we get the response we're looking for? Again, it's all in the how. Questioning Styles and Strategies by ThoughtfulClassroom gives the best description of "how" that I've ever seen. Within this video are absolutely marvelous techniques to go about assessing just how much your students are comprehending, or taking-in, from your lesson. In Hannah Compton's fifth-grade class, the students are currently reading Bridge to Terabithia. I remember reading the book when I was younger, and I hate to say it, but I just couldn't bring myself to really be interested in what I was reading. However, after watching this video, and if I was in the fifth-grade again, I wouldn't mind picking it up and giving it another go. Not only was the instructor asking great open-ended questions that promoted higher-thinking, but he was also coupling those questions with techniques and strategies to make sure that all students were fully engaged. Using techniques such as "think-pair-share", "value-feedback", and "extending responses", the students were actively participating in the discussion and honestly looked to be enjoying it. To me, this was a great example of how learning can be fun for students as well! Being able to participate in the discussion by giving their views and opinions, while receiving positive feedback from the instructor, was wonderful to witness. I could practically see their "wheels turning". Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom even recommends that if a question is a really great question, then keep it!
Giving valuable and helpful responses is also important when asking students questions. Asking Questions to Improve Learning tells us that whenever we respond to a student, that response should "keep the students thinking". Our response(s) should keep their thought processes going, keeping that momentum in top notch. As long as teachers, current or future, go about asking their students questions and giving responses in the "right way", then I feel that the students' success in the classroom will be more easily attainable than ever. Even little Johnny, I bet, won't be able to resist participating with the rest of the class.
Hi Holli, I really enjoyed your blog post. Your writing style is great and very interesting. It makes it easier and fun to read your blog. I especially liked how you began with a scenario and led into your arguments. I agree with you, it is important to ask questions to your students; you just have to find the right way and the right time to ask the questions. Great use of links and pictures, keep up the good work!
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