Weekly Writing #5

Effective Questioning 

Effective questions are something I have struggled with. How can you use questions to be beneficial and not dreadful to the students? I can always remember doing anything to not be called on by the teacher to answer a question. Not making eye contact or trying to answer the first question I knew the answer to so I wouldn't get called on later. 

The article by James E. Dyer was incredibly beneficial at addressing many of my questions about effective questioning in the classroom. One of my favorite sections was when he listed many tips on how to maximize student participation which was one of my biggest fears. I don't want my students to be afraid to answer my questions and be active in class. 

One of the first tips was to call students by names instead of pointing in their general direction. I thought this was a great idea and something I really want to strive to do. Along with calling them by name you should be intentional about your nonverbal communication. Looking them in the eye when saying "good point" instead of looking at your notes is so beneficial. 

He went on to give many useful tips including calling on the class as a whole, randomly selecting students, repeating the responses and even giving the students a chance to ask the questions. 

The article also gave effective ways to handle the students responses. You never know what students are going to say. I am always nervous I will not know how to respond to a student and will end up embarrassed in the situation. My favorite part of this section was when he gave tips on how to rephrase or redirect your questions to get a better response from the student.

The final part of the article by Dyer was about answering student questions. I loved the strategies they gave for answering these questions. 

1. Have the instructor answer

2. Redirect the question to the class

3. Help the student answer their own question

4. Ask the student to see you later

5. Defer the question to a more appropriate time

6. Redirect the student to a resource

7. Admit you don't know and work together to figure it out.

Effective questioning was something I worried about but I really feel like I have a better grasp on it after reading this article.