I agree with Michael's assessments. It is so easy to skip to the next question once the question is answered correctly. Another common mistake is to go through an entire lecture before allowing student interaction. I agree that it is best to mix it up to hold the students' attention, and assure the students are comprehending the material.
I prefer open ended questions because it invokes critical thinking.
My best advice to a new instructor about effective questioning is to take the necessary time. I have to consciously make myself aware of giving students enough time to respond. I was recently in a course that required some very difficult in-depth reading. The instructors wanted us to respond in the large group, but there was much hesitation to participate. One method I suggested was to break the large group into smaller groups. By doing this, the students had more time to discuss the question and were more willing to participate without feeling "ignorant" in the large group.
Jaime,
This is good advice. You also have to be sure to praise the dominating student and call on them.
Judy Mohammed
Olmarys,
Good advice. You are right we should always be positive with students. Guide them to the correct information I a respectful manner.
Judy Mohammed
Debra,
Good advice. Students pay attention more when they know that they may be challenged to answer questions.
Judy Mohammed
Shelia,
This is true, we need to encourage critical thinking in all of our classes, we can use probing and redirecting to accomplish this.
Judy Mohammed
If I were a mentor, I will advise the new instructor to:
1. Rotate questioning. In other words, don't focus on one student or a group of students but rather strive to ask different students. That way,all students will be involved in the learning process.
2. Ask questions that require critical thinking. Anyone can answer a direct question but questions that help students develop critical thinking skills are great and can enhance student learning.
3. Praise students who answer questions. Even if the answer is not 100% correct, find a way to use the student's answer. It may mean redirecting the student or adding more to his or her answer but praise goes a long way in encouraging future responses and can enahance learning.
I teach at both ends of the spectrum, brand new students and ones in their last semester. I find that the student at the beginning of the program are more vocal and willing to answer a question even if it seems as if they are guessing.
I try to make the classroom feel more like a discussion then me asking questions and looking for a response. A wrong response offers a better teachable moment for the entire classroom then a right answer and a simple complement.
The students seem more engaged when they can correct or talk through their own mistake then me simply correcting it for them.
I remember that as a new teacher I had difficulty in the waiting process. I just wanted to answer the question for the student who was struggling. I think because I was so eager to teach, I forgot to wait, and let them think. THis would be the piece of advice I would give to a new teacher: "slow down, let them answer, and enjoy the process!"
I try to get the entire class involved in participating with questions during the lecture I like to use redirection during the class session for class participation with questions.
K Harris
First, I would encourage the instructor to get to know all of their students and allow everyone to get a chance to answer questions; avoid having that one student who always wants to answer. Second, I would recommend having questions prepared before the lecture and to do their own brainstorming on acceptable answers and responses to incorrect answers. Lastly, I would suggest putting into practice some way for students who are shy and do not want to admit uncertainty to communicate with the instructor; either a drop box at the end of class or a way to message questions and thoughts so that the instructor can review those topics at the beginning of the next class without bringing unwanted attention to the student.
I completely agree with those suggestions, I had the same ideas in mind.
1. I would tell them to change up the types of questions. Even if they get the right answer I would ask others to add to answer. This way if and when a student gets the answer wrong the precedence is set that all questions have a follow-up and there is something that everyone can add to an answer.
2. Tell them its okay to have a pause in the lecture. If it is uncomfortable to you then it is uncomfortable to them. Let them squirm a bit so they push a little harder to get the answer. They will suprise you, I started doing it and I would wait for up to 20 seconds and you can see the uneasiness of the class. However, 10 seconds in- all the students were looking in their book for more answers and prep for the follow-up question.
3. Ask application questions that allow them to see how the knowledge they are learning can be applied to real-life. I will ask questions to topics before the subject we are about to learn to get then engaged and interested in the material. They are open-ended so anyone can answer. This encourages those that may not know the "correct" answer to participate because there is a loose "correct" answer.
The first advise I give is to remember you were a student at one time and consider the students mind set.
Build the confidence of reluctant students to participate by gradually increasing the level of difficulty of questions directly asked of them.
Frame questions to get a response that needs detail in explanation, whenever possible rework those that may be answered as yes / no responses.
1. Ask questions as you lecture/demo. Don't wait until the end of the teaching.
2. Don't let your good students answer all the questions. Call on students to mix it up. You can go around the room, row by row, etc.
3. Always commend a student for trying, even if the answer is wrong. Let them down gently so you don't discourage them from trying again in the future.
One thing I do is to have a slip of paper for each student labeled Muddiest Point. They turn it in at the end of class and I read them and go discuss their questions anonamously at the beginning of the next class. That way they don't feel singled out. Also some students tend to wait to see if someone else will ask the question they have.
I would first suggest that the new instructor use closed questions to make sure everyone is following the content and understanding the basics. I would then encourage them to use more comprehension and application style questions to get the critical thinking in the students going to make sure they can apply what they've learned to real world senarios.
I would first tell them to try and ask a lot of open questions to keep the class engaged.
Second, I would tell them to make sure they are careful with how they word their responses so to protect students' self esteem and to often praise them when it's deserved.
Lastly I would tell them that research has shown that an equal proportion of closed and open questions has been the most successful with students.
Mentoring a new instructor in classroom questioning, I would encourage them to ask more open questions than closed questions, allow adequate wait times for student responses and when responding to the student's answer and to engage every student with questions, not just the ones raising their hands.
