Sunday, June 16, 2013

Blog Post #6

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

Being able to ask questions is very important. It is not only the ability to ask questions but it is also the ability to know how to properly ask questions. In the video Asking Better Questions in the Classroom, Joanne Chelsey talks about the importance of asking questions that are open-ended as opposed to close- ended.  She said to try not to ask children questions that they could answer with a simple yes or no. The teacher needs to ask them questions that they can discuss. Each question should be an invitation into a discussion. As teachers, we need to encourage our students to think and debate.

There were some very good tips in Asking Questions to Improve Learning.  This site showed simple strategies for asking questions. One tip was to avoid asking leading questions. This means to not ask questions where the answer is being hinted in the question. This does not allow for the student to come up with an answer on their own. Another tip was to make your questions specific. Vague questions tend to be confusing and misleading. If the question is specific the student can better understand the topic, therefor deliver a more thoughtful answer. As teachers we need to realize that  with better questions come better answers.

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I really enjoyed this post. My favorite part was reading about the open ended questions. I think this is a very important essential into asking better questions. No, the answers to our questions should not be simpile as yes or no. They should stimulate the child to think more. Good post, Hannah.

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  3. Hannah,

    You did not exactly address the question. The question was, "What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?" However, you definitely gave some specifics about questions that we should keep in mind as teachers. Posing open-ended questions and not being too vague are certainly important. What in your opinion makes an effective teacher? Take that a step further and ask yourself, "Will asking ______ question qualify me as an effective teacher? Why?"

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  4. Hannah,
    I think you have stated a good point. Asking yes and no questions gets children no where. If all we did in class was ask children those kinds of questions we wouldn't really know if they were really understanding the concepts of what we were teaching. That way when asking an open- ended question we can tell who really knows the information and who does not. Good post!

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  5. OK. See Elizabeth's comment.

    Your TITLE tag does not work. It should be working by now.

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