Is there such thing as asking too many questions in the classroom? One teacher believes students need to question more.
Bill Ferriter, teacher and blogger for TeachingQuality.org, recently wrote a post on "encouraging student questioning" in his classroom. Ferriter said he was inspired by A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger, and "by the work of the Right Question Institute who both argue that innovation and creativity depend on one's ability to ask killer questions."
Ferriter asked students to reflect on questioning. "Specifically, I asked my students: How often do you ask questions in class? Why is that? What affects your willingness to ask questions in class?"
Ferriter said after the exercise, "two new themes appeared that have me rethinking my classroom practices again." One student responded, ""I try to ask questions a lot, but half the time Mr. Ferriter doesn't take questions."
I don't make enough room in class for questions. That has to change if I am truly committed to inspiring kids to always wonder. But I can't say I'm not worried about the consequences of turning time over to student questioning. It's not that I don't think my students will come up with interesting things to wonder about -- it's that I have a MASSIVE curriculum to cover before the end of grade exam that I'm held accountable for in June.
Ferriter also shared that a student was reluctant to ask questions because most of what the student would ask was covered by the lesson itself.
"That hurt too, y'all. It is evidence of crappy teaching in action," he said. " If I'm answering almost all of the questions that my kids have before they even get the chance to ask them, my instructional practices are literally preventing my students from becoming the barefoot, ragamuffin army I want them to be."
Read the full story.
Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor
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