Blog Post #4

What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

The first article, The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom, I really like how the author of this article makes a point that teachers ask open-ended questions about concepts before the students even realize they may have questions. This does not allow the student to think in a higher-order of thinking. However, I do not agree necessarily with this process of pointing out students to answer questions. As a teacher, I would love to allow several group oriented discussions and have students collaborate together then present individual questions. This shows students that working together can bring more ideas to the table. If I do ask students question by calling on them, I will do so in the order of question, then calling the student's name. This gives all the students a chance to think of the problem. Another way to improve student's participation is by asking more in-depth questions. After reading, Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, I think it will be beneficial to have prepared questions. This way, I can revise and think of even better ways to engage the classroom.
The Youtube video, Questioning Styles and Strategies was the most beneficial source on how to ask questions while encouraging other forms of answering. For example, the student's are asked to describe Terabithia by drawing and writing to show someone who has not read the book what this place looks like. This is a great way to include art and writing skills into the classroom. Also, the student has time to think and reflect on the question. The students collaborated with partners at the table to work on this project and later the students were surveyed to see the popular answers to the question about how Terabithia would look. I enjoyed seeing good examples on how to ask students questions without the simple "yes" or "no" answer. I feel that in the way this teacher called out students individually played off of the other students comments and it made the classroom feel like a discussion instead of simply calling on a student to answer a particular question. I really enjoyed his different styles to asking questions and ensuring that the students understood the concepts.
For the future of my education career, I saved this video to look back and reflect on. As a teacher and a life-long learner, there are always ways to improve learning. By becoming better at asking questions, students will become better at answering them.