Keeping it simple...asking questions effectively

After flipping through a book like Beyond Monet or Models of Teaching, teachers might feel pretty overwhelmed. There are so many things that can be done for students that will increase their chances of learning any given content. It sounds cliche, but yes, we need to engage them as much as possible. One of the most common parts of any class is the q and a session that inevitably develops. The usual recipe is very close to the scene from Ferris Buehler's Day Off in which the teacher poses a question, and then upon seeing no hands, follows up with "Anyone? Anyone?" He concludes by answering the question himself. In our classes, there are sometimes no hands, but usually there are between 2 and 4 "regulars" who seem keen to give any question a try. The other students sit patiently and wait with their hands down, rarely making eye contact, because they are sure that the regulars will attempt the question. The teacher looks around and sees the regulars as saviours of his or her Socratic "discussion." These kids get the answer or not, and the teacher is given the opportunity to correct or praise that student while the others have the opportunity to sit with their brains off and resting. There are countless things we, as teachers, can do to avoid this common pitfall. If even a handful of these are done, our classes become more effective, and that's without integrating complex things like Mind Maps, concept maps, other graphic organizers, Creative Controversy and performance tasks.

Okay, it's Sunday night and I like to pretend I have a life. This post is an intro to a much more involved post that will follow later this week. The blog is back. Stay tuned.