Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post 4

Questions:
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines the word question as follows:

Question - noun - \ˈkwes-chən, ˈkwesh-\
: a sentence, phrase, or word that asks for information or is used to test someone's knowledge.
: a matter or problem that is being discussed: a subject or topic.
: doubt or uncertainty about something.

In this assignment Dr. Strange ask us to take a closer look at questions and their use in the classroom by posing one of his own, “What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?”

Questions, Don’t Teachers Answer Them?
Dr. Strange can ask some of the most thought provoking questions and I must admit this is one I have previously given little thought to. As one who typically is not hesitant to ask questions, I just assumed that if I teach, then the students will ask questions. Perhaps there is more to this than I thought. Thus, to better understand how to ask students questions I read several articles, including Dr. Maryellen Weimer’s blog post Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom. In it she suggests educators should prepare questions, play with questions, and preserve good questions.

Prepare Questions:
Dr. Weimer freely admits that for most of her career she simply asked questions of her students without any preparation. She also states that this was often frustrating for both her and the students. Now that she carefully prepares selected questions before class the results have been much better. Dr. Weimer found that her prepared questions are clearer and more to the point yielding better responses.

Play with Questions:
Dr. Weimer suggests that as soon as an answer is revealed a question loses some of its power to provoke thought. She contends that students mostly just want an answer and are then ready to move on to the next problem. As a way to overcome this Dr. Weimer encourages educators to play with questions. One example is to write a question on the whiteboard before students walk into class but delay discussing it until class time is almost over. Thereby giving the question time to do its work; inspire students to think about the question before answering it.

Preserve Good Questions:
Questions can often lead to more serious in-depth thought, so as educators we should motivate our students to ask questions. Dr. Weimer recommends that teacher’s take note of the better questions asked by students and possibly use them to further discussion in other classes. She recommends giving credit to students who’s questions we share. Her theory is this demonstrates the skills of a good listener and the power of a good question.

There are no Wrong Questions:
Yes, this is a phrase most of us have heard repeatedly. I even had a professor once tell the class, “While there are no wrong questions, some are better than others.” At the time it seemed she was being sarcastic but maybe she was right. What is a good question? In the YouTube video Asking better questions in the classroom Pt. 1.wmv, Dr. Joanne Chesley tells the viewer there are two types of questions; open ended questions and closed ended questions. In her presentation, Dr. Chesley explains that closed ended questions are ones that require a yes or no answer, or a brief reply. She also states that by asking closed ended questions instructors are not getting the meaningful discussion they should be trying to engage their students in. At the other end of the spectrum are open ended questions. Dr. Chesley demonstrates the use of both and it becomes clear that to engross students into a subject, instructors should be asking open ended questions.

Questions, Yes, of Course Teachers Should Ask Questions:
As it turns out my original plan, if I teach, they will ask, was not much of a plan after all. As an educator, I now realize that I need to know the what, when, where, who, and how of asking questions in the classroom if I wish to engage my students. Yes, Dr. Strange can ask some of the most thought provoking questions.

C4T #1

C4T#1, comment 1
For my first C4T, comments for teachers, blog post I was assigned to Mr. Dave Sladkey’s blog. Mr. Sladkey is a math teacher at Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois. On the day I visited his blog the discussion was about geometry, the unit circle, and an exciting new online tool that he was implementing in his classroom. I followed his provided link to the unit circle tool and spent some time solving his assignment problems with it. For a math geek it was awesome.

As to the comment portion of this assignment; I introduced myself, invited Mr. Sladkey to my blog page, the class blog page, and provided him links to both. I commented on the unit circle tool he is using and confessed to spending far too much time playing with. It was much more fun than writing about it. I then explained to him my desire to bring more real life experiences into a math class. After which, I asked him for comments and suggestions.

C4T#2, comment 2
On the day of my second visit to Mr. Sladkey’s blog the topic of discussion was empathy.

More specifically Mr. Sladkey was exploring ways that educators could, and should, take time to reflect on what it is like being a student in today’s classroom. As a part of his research he shared an excellent blog post titled The Most Critical Skill for Being an Effective Educator by Matt Renwick. Next, Mr. Sladkey developed what he termed, “8 Ways to Incorporate Empathy into Your Teaching.” Each of which I have briefly paraphrased below.
1. Shadow a student. Spend a day learning what it is like to be a student in your school.
2. Questionnaires. Use Google Forms to get feedback on your students and use this information to improve your teaching. (EDM310 students, have we not heard this before?)
3. Listen to Students. Discuss class assignments with your students and find the area where they feel more instruction would be helpful.
4. Homework. Again, put yourself in the students place and do some of the assignments.
5. Spend time in thought about your students. Try to see each as a person and not only a student.
6. Phone Home Early. Call parents early, before there is a problem, and establish an open line of communication with them.
7. Records. Look at your students' records, IEPs, standardized tests, and so on.
8. Activities outside the classroom. Find out what interest your students enjoy in their free time. Perhaps, go to ballgames or to school plays to better understand their perspective.

WOW! Reading Mr. Sladkey’s blog I could immediately feel the compassion and caring he has for his students. The thought he put into this article was overwhelming and I told him so. As a student, I expressed my apperception that he took the time to see things from our side of the desk. Furthermore, I commented on his suggestion to use Google Forms to create questionnaires by explaining that our very own Dr. Strange uses them in EDM310. The experience proved to be yet another insightful visit to Mr. Sladkey’s blog.