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What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?

What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?

What’s being learned? What’s the topic?

  • What seems most important about what’s being learned? At first glance, what’s the ‘big idea’ of what’s being learned?
  • What do I already know and not know about this?
  • Why is this important?
  • What is my role in learning this?
  • How does asking questions help learning?

    The process of asking questions allows them to articulate their current understanding of a topic, to make connections with other ideas, and also to become aware of what they do or do not know.

    Why is it important for teachers to ask questions in class?

    It increases student engagement with the lesson – Teaching is not a one way process where you talk at students and they listen passively. A good teacher knows that learning happens when both she and the student are actively participating in the lesson. Asking questions (the right ones) increases student engagement.

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    Is it okay to berate a student for asking questions?

    But before you berate a question for asking the question, appreciate the fact that a question has been asked. Questions represent curiosity and interest in the lesson that is being taught. If the question is not really relevant to the lesson, gently deflect it. Teacher explaining answer to student’s question.

    When should a teacher add a student’s name to a question?

    The Solution: The teacher should add a student’s name AFTER the question has been posed, and/or after wait-time or several seconds have passed by (3 seconds is appropriate). This will mean all students will think about the question during the wait-time, even though only one student (in our instance, Caroline) may be asked to provide the answer.

    Do teachers use wait-time when asking questions?

    The Problem: As mentioned previously, researchers have observed that that teachers do not pause or use “wait-time” when asking questions. Teachers have been recorded as asking another question within an average time span of 9/10 of a second.