4. Asking questions
⊹ Establish Expectations Early
⊹ Let students know who will be called on and why.
⊹ Prepare meaningful questions in advance.
× High Level Questions
× Divergent Questions
× Structure Questions
× Single Questions
⊹ Be cautious of asking “Are there any questions?”
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5. High Level
Questions
require analysis,
synthesis, or
evaluation and often
begin with "why" or
"how."
Divergent Questions
have multiple
plausible responses,
which make them
"safer" to answer
Structured
Questions
point students
toward a context or
frame within which
they can formulate
an answer
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Single Questions
clearly let students
know what you are
asking them
6. Strategies to use when students respond
⊹ Reinforcement
⊹ Probing
⊹ Adjust/Refocus
⊹ Redirect
⊹ Rephrasing
⊹ Using “wait time”
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Strategies to use when students don’t respond
7. Responding to students questions
⊹ Answer the question yourself
⊹ Redirect the question to the class
⊹ Attempt to help the student answer his own question.
⊹ Ask the student to stop after class to discuss the question.
⊹ Refer the student to a resource where she can find the
answer.
⊹ Defer the question until a more appropriate time if the
question is not connected to the material you're covering.
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8. Listening Actively
⊹ Repeat Questions/comments to the whole
class.
⊹ Give clear signals to students that you are
listening.
⊹ Acknowledge all students contributions.
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9. “ “Be less curious about
people and be curious
about ideas”
- Marie Curie
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Editor's Notes
The instructor should reinforce student responses and questions in a positive way in order to encourage future participation. The instructor can reinforce by making positive statements and using positive nonverbal communication. Proper nonverbal responses include smiling, nodding and maintaining eye contact, while improper nonverbal responses included looking at notes while students speak, looking at the board, or ruffling papers. The type of reinforcement will be determined by:
The correctness of the answer. If a student gives an answer that is off-target or incorrect, the instructor may want to briefly acknowledge the response, then think of ways to help the student provide a correct answer. The instructor could use strategies such as probing, paraphrasing, or asking the question in a different way.
The number of times a student has responded. Instructors may want to provide a student who has never responded in class with more reinforcement than someone who responds often.
