Post #4

To be effective teachers, we need to know what questions to ask and how to ask them. I think a major part of understanding how to do this is to remember what it was like to be students in grade school. I was very shy until my last few years of high school and I hardly ever volunteered to answer questions and I definitely dreaded being called on. In his article, The Right Way to Ask Questions, Ben Johnson hits on this type of avoidance and on the thoughts of students as questions are being asked. We have all been guilty of avoiding answering questions because we know someone else will. In a perfect world every student would learn when another answers a question, but in the real world, only a few students are paying attention if not directly engaged.

A common problem in classrooms is the "yes or no" question. It is important as educators to ensure that our students are answering why and how instead of just reciting facts. Memorization of true and false answers is the reason students have retention problems. If we help our students understand why we are asking the question and how we arrive at the answer, we help them truly learn the information. Joanne Chesley talks about asking these "open-ended questions" as opposed to "close-ended questions" in her video, Asking better questions in the classroom.

When asking questions, it should be our goal to get every student participating and understanding the material. In my opinion, a teacher should begin each class by reminding students that everyone will be expected to answer at least one question and maybe even offer participation or bonus points. By giving the students incentive to pay attention and asking open-ended questions, it will be easier to accurately gauge understanding.