Everyone should be encouraged to ask questions and to ask plenty: "To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions." And when we enter a classroom we are on a quest, on a quest for knowledge, for wisdom, for answers. The Chinese say that "One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever."
In all the classes I teach I ask plenty of questions and I never give my students the answer, rather, I make them work hard for the answer. It is true that sometimes students do not know the answer to a question but that is perfectly fine. It gives me as an instructor the opportunity to assess each and every student. But while I often ask questions I may also choose to give her/him half the answer or lead her/him to the answer.
How would the world have evolved had it not been for the first (wo)man to ask a question? Bernard Shaw once stated that "New opinions often appear first as jokes and fancies, then as blasphemies and treason, then as questions open to discussion, and finally as established truths." Yes! All effective teaching starts with questions and questioning, it starts with digging, probing, magnifying, amplifying, clarifying, pointing out, etc.
At the same time, specially in Korea where I currently teach it is important to be aware of your students' cultural background. In some cultures, the use of questions is not only encouraged but discouraged, i.e. former USSR, Arab countries, and Asia.
For example, Taiwanese and Korean students are quite timid and are used to memorizing and regurgitating answers. They feel quite uneasy in their English environment, so what do I do? I encourage them to say "I don't know." Something which doesn't always work because they feel they are losing face. So how do we remedy this last problem? Humor! And that will be the subject of another blog; however, humor does wonders to break the ice and get students to let their hair down.
Asking questions is an effective and powerful tool in the classroom. As much as 35 to 50% of time spent should be spent asking questions. Questions should be stated in ways that lead students to the answer. They should not be meant to demean the student but rather to stimulate her/his thinking.
Questions are used to:
* Help to motivate students
* Help teachers to evaluate her/his students
* Helps students to develop their thinking abilities
* Help recall previous lessons
* Excite students to look for answers elsewhere
* Ask questions which require critical thinking
* Do not use questions that require literal memorization
* Allow 1 to 2 seconds “wait-time” before responding
* Formulate questions that are woven into your teaching
* Finally, use praise often and after every answer
REFERENCES worth checking:
Good, T.L., and Brophy, J.E. “Looking in Classrooms.” New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1978.
Henson, MT. "Questioning as a Mode of Instruction." The Clearing House 53(1979):14-16.
Mills, S.R.; Rice, C.T.; Berliner, D.C.; and Rosseau, E.W. "The Correspondence between Teacher Questions and Student Answers in Classroom Discourse." Journal of Experimental Education 48(1980): 194-204.
Partin, R.L. "How Effective Are Your Questions?" The Clearing House 52(1979): 254-256.
.
| Views: 56
Email This to a Friend 
