When answering the question of what educators need to know about effectively asking questions, I found it helpful to learn more about how the students react to the questions being asked. When I was a student in highschool, there were times when I would never ask or answer a question. The anxiety of being called on or thinking that I was crippled my confidence in the classroom, even when I knew the answer to the question. I sooner realized after entering a college classroom that it wasn't my fault necessarily, but more so the questions that the teachers asked.
After reading the article Asking Questions to Improve Learning, I noticed that my teachers would often use "leading" questions which are questions that already have the answer to them. And if they weren't using leading questions, the teachers would most likely end with "Are there any questions?" basically telling use we better have a full grasp of the subject because we will be learning new subjects immediately. Not until college did my instructors ever ask a question to provoke the class into critically thinking. Critical thinking allows the instructor to assure that the students are properly digesting the information and are able to use it effectively. Below is a graph by Benjamin Bloom implementing his six cognitive process that I found quite informative. It allows the combination of lower order thinking with that of more critical higher order thinking. As an educator I can see this graph being beneficial in the classroom in designating when to ask certain questions and what questions to ask as well.
Thoughtful. Interesting. What did you read or watch?
ReplyDelete