Blog Post #6

 

Being an effective teacher is a difficult task.  Every student is different, thus, making each “right” question and/or answer different.  Being able to ask an effective question in a way that pulls relevant information from every student, will allow us, as educators, to evaluate where our students stand in the learning process.  Our questions must be legitimate and relevant to the material, but should remain on a level that is understood by students. Specifically, we want to pose questions that challenge our students. We, as educators, want to determine what a student is capable of achieving. However, we must be careful not to pose such a challenging question that the student is intimidated and, in turn, shuts down from the learning process. Additionally, we should not complicate the information. Specifically, questions should be concise while allowing the student an opportunity to respond in a manner that allows the educator to assess their understanding and knowledge of the material.  

  

I don’t believe there is a book that an educator can read that will teach them how to ask the “right question” every time.  Furthermore, I believe the “wrong question” can carry just as much significance as the “right question.”  There are some students that need to hear the “wrong question” to understand why there is a “right question.”  This strategy can contribute to the student’s learning process. Every student is different, and an educator must find out how to relate to each child in his or her own unique style.  If the teacher cannot find a way to relate to each student, then the questions begin to mean nothing.  Constructing correct questions begins with knowing your student.  This concept reminds me of a mantra I learned while working in sales, “if you know your customer, you know your business.”  I believe this can translate to education: if you know your student, you know the “right” questions. Basically, if you have a student that is type A, then the ‘right’ question is, “What is the definition of tsunami? However, if you have a student that is unmotivated and distracted, then the ‘right’ question may be, “how long have you enjoyed  skateboarding?” Quickly followed by, “can you surf? And further followed by, “what kind of waves do you think a tsunami would produce?

I do believe it is important for educators to step outside of the traditional learning box in pursuit of answers to traditional questions like illustrated in Ms. Elizabeth Cornell's Blog. In this process, a volley of questions/answers between the teacher and student may arise. Thus, teachers should be honest in their responses, as students should be with their questions. However, if we, as educators want honest responses from our students, then there should be some honesty in our responses as teachers. If you cannot be honest with your students, we cannot expect our students to be honest in return.  Like adults, if no respect is gained, the questions presented will be less indicative of the learning process.