Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Are there any questions?






This topic in PIDP forum 3250 impressed me most, apart from Power Teaching. 
Nearly all the teachers have said that in our class and almost all the students have heard this one. 

Asking a question is not a difficult one, but how to ask a question which can introduce more questions is a skill that teachers should learn. 

By reading this thread, I learned that the proper time for answering the question and some techniques for answering the questions. 

Only when can propose new questions can we tell them understand what we have taught clearly. Just saying " yes, I am clear" is not enough.
I think that both the students and the teachers should grasp the skill of asking questions.
For one thing, good questions from teacher can improve teaching. As a teacher, I tried to ask some open question instead of asking those questions with just "yes, or no". I need them to say more about the questions.

To be frank, I used to asked "are there any questions? are you clear? " Generally ,they say:"yes" . We do need them to push our student to explore further, and this is the responsibility of teachers.
For another thing, students should learn how to do critical thinking and how to ask effective questions to pursue their further study. Not only are answers  important to students but also questions are equally meaningful to students.

I gradually understand the difference between "any comments" and" are there any questions"? "any comment" can stimulate students to find more or ask more.
I may use "any comment" in my following class.


Here are some tips for asking question in class
http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/strategies/Pages/asking-questions.aspx
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/oct/24/teaching-questions-improve-pupil-learning
http://cet.usc.edu/resources/teaching_learning/docs/Asking_Better_Questions.pdf
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/three-ways-to-ask-better-questions-in-the-classroom/

I also like to quote some posts from my classmates Brenda, who offered some tips for asking questions.

I think that it would be a great idea to keep a list of essential questions (as discussed in the previous forum) that can be glanced at for guidance, especially for a newer instructor.  I think that I will write up 5-10 questions and then keep them with my lesson plan so that I have a cross reference to refer to when I get stuck. 
I know that there was  a list of EQs posted but I thought I'd write up a few that meet my needs...
Essential Question Suggestions
  1. Does anyone have any comments on what we have just been learning/discussing?                      
  2. What is the ‘muddiest point’ for you?
  3. Is there something that we have just covered that isn’t clear to you?
  4. Is there something that you would like more information or clarity on?
  5. If you were teaching this subject to someone else, what do you think would be the 1-3 most important points to emphasize?
  6. How do you think you can incorporate this information into your practice?
  7. What was the most practical piece of information you learned today & why?
  8. What was the least practical piece of information you learned today & why?    (From Brenda, PDIP3250 discussion forum)