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.