Blog Assignment #4: Asking Questions

What do we need to know about asking questions to become an effective teacher?

One of the most important things that a teacher must do is constantly ask questions. Asking questions allows students to think about what they’re learning and apply it. The question is, how do we determine what questions to ask and how they should be asked? In “The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom”, we are told that teachers don’t have to know everything. In fact, students often show the teacher new things about technology and new trends, as well as the teacher educating them in subjects such as math, reading, and science. The motto for our EDM310 class is “I don’t know. Let’s find out.” The teacher doesn’t always know the answer, and I don’t know how anyone could know it all. The simple solution to this is knowing what questions to ask, and how to find the answers.

“Asking Questions to Improve Learning” gives several tips on what we should and should not do when asking questions. First of all, we should come up with questions to ask, or potential questions that our students might ask before we enter the classroom, and be prepared for them ahead of time. That gives us time to think about the questions and come up with well thought out answers before class time. Also, we should avoid asking leading questions, or questions that answer themselves, because that takes away the opportunity for our students to really apply themselves to what they’ve learned. I really learned a lot from these sources about asking questions, and I did not realize how important it will be to ask my students questions to better their learning. Thinking about it, I realize where I learned to ask questions, and that was from some of my first teachers in school. In doing so I became a better student and hopefully will be a better educator because of their influence. I will strive to set a good example for my students in the same way my teachers did that for me.